MACMILLAN Directory of UK BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES. Third Edition

Transcription

1 MACMILLAN Directory of UK BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES Third Edition

2 MACMILLAN Directory oi UK BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES Third Edition J AMES TUDOR M

3 Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 1987, 1989, 1992 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 3rd edition 1992 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WIP 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First edition published Second edition published Third edition first published by MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS LTD, 1992 Distributed by Globe Book Services Ud Brunel Road, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / A catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library

4 CONTENTS Preface How to use this book Finding Business Information Directory of Business Information Sources and Centres Foreign Trade Organisations located in the United Kingdom British Trade Press and their Editorial Offices Alphabetical Index to NACE Classification Alphabetical Index to Information Centres Classified List of NACE Categories vii ix

5 PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION In the previous editions of this book, I indicated that its objective was to try to provide a 'one stop' guide to business information. As I wrote at the time, "Put simply, the Macmillan Directory of Business Information Sources aims to provide guidance on both the published and organisation al sources relevant to the needs of the non-professional business researcher. It aims to cover both because an awareness of one without the facility to check and substantiate facts and figures provided by the other would see m to be a recipe for misunderstanding". I was much encouraged by the response given to that volume, particularly by information specialists for whom the book was not initially intended. In preparing this third edition, I have aimed to improve on the basic format used before and, of course, to correct those errors which have been drawn to my notice. In doing so, I have been faced with the problems of accommodating changes - only partly recognized in earlier editions - which significantly affect a publication such as this. These changes include: the commercialization of business statistics: the structure of public sector services is disappearing like sandcastles in the tide, being cut or contracted out; free services provided as part of corporate public relations activity are being charged for at (as aminimum) cost-recovery rates; fee-based services (previously non-profit making) are escalating rapidly to full profit generation; and the "Europeanization" of business activity: in the last months before the Single Market is fuhy implemented, every industry sector is having to take account both of the threats posed by possible competition from mainland Europe and the opportunities provided by (for some) freer access to the European markets. However, to monitor and (as appropriate) regulate the Single Market has necessitated an extensive restructuring - and relocation - of both EC and pan-european bodies. Dealing with the first of these changes: this third edition, aimed primarily at aiding the exploitation of 'public domain' sources by information nonspecialists, has focussed on the more publicly-accessible sources. Thus, for example, multiclient studies (as a source of market information) and CD-ROM databases (for company information) do not feature in detail in the following pages. It was also feit, perhaps perversely, that given the changes in Europe, this volume could not do justice to the wide range of pan-european organisational sources available. Even so, in addition to a parallel volume (Macmillan Directory of EC Industry Information Sourees) on the European Commission's services to industry, both the UK national organisations and vii

6 Preface the various British and European source publications cited here provide avenues to the appropriate pan-european body. These changes apart, the format and acknowledgements due, remain essentially the same. Again, comments and suggestions for future editions would be most welcome. Finally, I can only acknowledge that any mistakes and omissions are mine and ask the forbearing reader to let me know of any corrections for future editions do The Macmillan Press. In doing so, I trust that Andrea Hartill and lohn NormanseIl will continue to show the patience and fortitude granted me over recent months. Lastly, my simple thanks - once again - to my family for their support and encouragement. lames Tudor March 1992 Footnote: One extra complicating factor which arose towards the end of the preparation of this edition was the collapse, and then disposal to new owners, of the various parts of the Maxwell publishing empire. The addresses given for the former parts of this group - the PFDS online service and the numerous MBC trade press titles - were correct at the time of going to press. viii

7 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK In any book of this kind on information sources, there are bound to be different views as to how the information should be organised: alphabetically, subject groups, etc. The author has chosen to organise the directory so that both published sources and [British] information centres are grouped together under their applicable NACE (Nomenclature de Activites Economiques) Rev. 1 number and heading. The NACE arrangement has been used because: following the Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3037/90, it establishes "a common basis for statistical classifications of economic activities within the European Community" and, as such, both supersedes the [admittedly more familiar] SIC and is - or soon will be - more familiar to the intended users of this book than other, library-oriented, subject classifications; it provides a new, comprehensive cross-sectional view of both manufacturing and service industries as a whole; it will provide the framework for all industrial statistics published by both the European Commission and its member governmental statistics services. Since no book can provide all of the possible information sources and centres, I will express my sympathies in advance to any users who are unable to find in the following pages an appropriate source - published or organisational - for their particular query(ies). In such a case, I can only recommend that they think again clearly about their need and, in particular, try to relate their problem to the structure of the industry. So, if the producers or services suppliers of the industry are poorly reported, or 'keeping a low profile', then wh at about their suppliers or the end consumer(s)? And who are the monitoring agencies? Take a broader view and see wh at foliows. If all else fails, an understanding of how the industry is organised and the relative 'strengths' of suppliers, producers and end users will enable the outsider to make an intelligent assessment of the market. To locate the published sources mentioned, the user is advised to contact his/her usuallibrary or, as an alternative, one of the major business libraries listed at the end of the introductory chapter. In either case, both will usually be able to provide access, either from their own resources or from other sources such as the British Library Document Supply Centre at Boston Spa, to the publications cited. The Directory aims to provide for the two main approaches to subject information: 1. What has been published/appeared recently on...? 2. Who/where can I ask about...? For want of better terminology, I have defined the first of these categories as sources and, typically, including: ix

8 How to Use this Book Journal articles andlor special issues Newspaper articles andlor surveys Directories Market reviews Market research re ports Corporate annual reports (public companies and nationalized industries ) Official and unofficial statistics. Except by indirect reference to Information Centres listed under the same NACE heading and by the more general guidance in the Introduction on libraries, I have not attempted to give any suggestions as to where the specific sources mentioned can be consulted or borrowed. Given the continuing financial constraints faced by the library community, it would be inappropriate to even begin to identify locations. By way of compensation, however, it is reasonable to suggest that libraries, particularly in the public sector, are becoming increasingly aware of their interdependence. As such, they are making resources far more openly available by: wider dissemination of information about holdings, etc.; and greater use of 'distance-reducing' devices, e.g. fax. So, even if your local public library does not provide immediate access, it should be able to act as a 'gateway'. In considering these sources, readers should note that very many references cited in the second edition have been superseded by later information and this is (hopefully) reflected in the currency of the items listed, for which the cut-off date for inclusion was the end of In the second category, which I have described as Information Centres, I have tried to include those organisations which focus on specific, discrete industry sectors. To do so is not to discount the ability of multi-disciplinary or 'crossindustry' organisations, e.g. Confederation of British Industry, or the larger professional engineering institutions, to provide information services in these areas. Rather, the continued emphasis on industry-specific bodies has been because the would-be enquirer would, it is hoped, find that the majority of these information requirements can be met each time by - at the most - one or two telephone calls. It may be that, in practice, this ideal will prove unattainable. However, it was - and still is - the author's intention to try to limit the number of organisation al sources in the Directory to the 'most worthwhile' insofar as that quality can be established. Accordingly, as in previous editions, a questionnaire was sent to various 'information centres' including: Trade associations Development associations Industry-specific market research agencies Specialist research institutes Selected professional institutes Industry-supported information services. x

9 How to Use this Book Some (but by no me ans all) of these organisations replied to enquiries, and the essence of their descriptions of services and facilities available is given in the following pages. Also induded, without comment, are brief details (name, address and telephone number) of non-responding organisations. HOWTO FIND What publications are relevant to a specific industry or market? (a) Look in the Alphabetical Index to NACE for the appropriate industry description, or its nearest match, and its number. (b) Turn to entry in the main directory under appropriate NACE number: details are given under 'Sources'. (c) As appropriate, look under the nearest equivalent two-digit number (e.g. '01: AGRICULTURE' for fruit and vegetables), in the section 'British Trade Press and their Editorial Offices' for the relevant trade publications. 2. What organisations are relevant to a specific industry or market? (a) Look in the Alphabetical Index to NACE for the appropriate industry description, or its nearest match, and its NACE number. (b) Turn to the entry in the main Directory under appropriate NACE number: details are given under Information Centres', (c) As appropriate, look under the nearest equivalent two-digit number (e.g. 'NACE 01: AGRICULTURE' for fruit and vegetables), in the section 'British Trade Press and their Editorial Offices' for the relevant publishers of trade journals. 3. The address, telephone number and any other information for a specific organisation (induding foreign trade organisations)? (a) Look in Alphabetical Index to Information Centres for NACE number. (b) Turn to entry in main directory under sub-heading 'Information Centres', or (c) For foreign trade organisations based in the UK, look in 'Foreign Trade Organisations located in the United Kingdom'. xi