This newly updated and expanded edition of a reference bestseller is the only work available that guides business researchers and librarians to the most valuable sources for information on international business--and shows how to interpret and use that data. The authors discuss the best available resources and how to use them to find answers to a wide range of questions about international business. They also describe business practices in various regions and countries, the basics of international trade and finance, international business organizations, and relevant political departments and agencies. Many exhibits and tables are included, and the book's appendices include glossaries, checklists for evaluating sources, and sample disclosure documents.

As businesses grow less capital and infrastructure intensive and more people and knowledge intensive it becomes increasingly vital for today's managers to know what business information is available and how to apply it to their own decision-making processes. This book relates organisations' real information needs to specific types and named examples of information sources and services. The final chapter shows how to exploit the vast array of available information systematically, looking, for example, at the role of the information intermediary, the Internet and online hosts. This is a book no well-informed business should be without.

Over the last decade, capital goods manufacturers have added services to products as a way of responding to eroding margins and the loss of strategic differentiation. Based on over twelve years of research, this book provides a thorough overview of the strategies available for value creation through service business development.