General Search Strategy
Search by company name (both private or public) or industry and add other search terms relevant to your project such as:
- "organizational behavior"
- "interpersonal communication"
- "organizational culture"
- "corporate culture"
If you are looking in a ZSR database (such as ProQuest) use the publication/source type filter to make sure you have academic articles in your results, as well as trade publications!
Don't forget to explore the company's website and social media platforms.
Company Background Research
- International Directory of Company HistoriesThis online encyclopedia is focused on public company histories, 'search within' by company name to find the section on your company
- Hoover's Company ProfilesSearch by company name, public companies only
- EDGAR (SEC)Search for public company filing's (annual reports or 10K), search by company name
- Data AxelUse the "US businesses" section (search by business name). Great for private companies & will link you directly to their Indeed openings, etc. Good for private and start-up information.
- IBIS WorldProvides extensive reports on 300 industries and numerous companies. Includes size, trends, market share, descriptions of key participants and more.
- Pitchbook This link opens in a new windowPitchbook tracks every aspect of the public and private equity markets, including venture capital, private equity and M&A. Access detailed data on companies, deals investors, funds, and professionals. Users will need to enter in their WFU email to access.
Search Library for books, ebooks, etc
Use the filters on the left-hand side of the results screen after searching for your company name to limit results to what is available online!
Academic articles & long form journalism pieces
- ProQuest CentralIncludes articles from Wired, TechCrunch
- Nexis UniIncludes articles from The Atlantic
- America's News (Newsbank)America’s News features national, regional and local news content from more than 3,650 U.S. news sources including the Winston-Salem Journal, Mercury News, and more
- The EconomistSearch for company name!
New York Times Online - You can also now access the full version of New York Time's Online. Click here to learn how.
- Business Journals This link opens in a new windowYou will need to create an account using your WFU email to access this resource. Find the latest breaking business news, updated throughout the day, this week’s top stories from 46 Business Journals including the Greensboro/Triad Business Journal and the Charlotte Business Journal, and other popular features from the print edition.
Organizational Culture & Social Science Journals
- Human RelationsHuman Relations addresses the social relations in and around work – across the levels of immediate personal relationships, organizations and their processes, and wider political and economic systems. It is international in its scope.
- Journal of ManagementThe journal covers such areas as business strategy & policy, organizational behavior, human resource management, organizational theory, entrepreneurship, & research methods.
- Journal of Management StudiesThe Journal of Management Studies was established in 1963 to publish original, innovative, and high-quality papers that advance conceptual and empirical knowledge, and address practice in the area of management and organization.
- Management Communication QuarterlyManagement Communication Quarterly articles cover all aspects of communication in management and organizational contexts.
- Organization StudiesOrganization Studies (OS), published in collaboration with the European Group for Organization Studies (EGOS), is a global, peer-reviewed journal that promotes the understanding of organizations, organizing and the organized, and the societal relevance of that understanding.
Sources for Social Listening
Social listening is learning about a company, brand, or product through online sources such as social media sites, review sites, and special software programs that track mentions of specific phrases across the web. Below are examples of websites that can be used when undertaking "social listening" as it relates to learning about a company's culture.
Search strategy - In addition to searching on your company's specific social media or hiring-related sites, utilize hashtags including #[company name] along with hashtags such as #corporateculture #companyculture #employee #workplaceculture #workplacewellness etc. when searching on sites such as Twitter.
Remember reviews and personal opinions shared in these sources tend to be filtered through other's experiences but you can look for patterns to inform your analysis of a company's culture and generate new search-terms that can be utilized in academic or news sources.
Social Media Sites
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok
Review & Hiring Sites
Glassdoor, Indeed
