The Emory community has access to a wealth of business research databases. This series highlights many of these great resources, including content and the best applications for classes and career prep.
What You Will Find
While not officially a database, consulting firm white papers are the perfect internet supplement to market research reports, and so well worth including in this series. First, who are the consulting firms? These are the top seven global firms – Deloitte, PWC, EY, KPMG, McKinsey, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – that provide strategic, operational, and other types of consulting services to the major companies across most industries; when these companies have business problems they need to solve, they turn to these firms. As a result, they possess deep knowledge about multiple industries, the challenges facing them, business best practices, and avenues for success.
All seven firms publish white papers, all freely available on the internet in full text; we think of these as mini-market research reports. Each includes timely, expert-level insights and data; they are well-written, take advantage of credible secondary sources, include complete citations and often bibliography, and more. While you might not find one for every industry or topic, the range and scope of content is impressive, and don’t forget, free!
To locate these on the internet, use the following search strategy in any web browser:
[your keywords] inurl:mckinsey
- Search for one consulting firm at a time; repeat the search and substitute another consulting firm, e.g. [your keywords] inurl:deloitte
Use for Class Projects
Think about using consulting firm white papers for any projects for which you need to understand the current “state of” an industry, competitive landscape, business challenges, best practices, future outlook, and more.
Use for Interview Prep
The consulting firm white papers reflect deep knowledge of an industry, and a keen awareness of the many business challenges it is facing; insights and data from these can help distinguish you from others interviewing for a job, providing you with layers of unique understanding and awareness about strategy, arming you with questions and insights that will demonstrate that you have prepared by conducting smart and thoughtful research.
Additional Business Resources
You can also use the Business Research Guide to locate additional business resources, locate tips for how to use them, and understand which are best for your specific research needs.