So you want to go international? What information do you need and where will you get it?

A recent survey of Canadian exporting firms found dramatic differences in the information-seeking behaviors of more intensive exporters as compared with less intensive exporters. In general, the more intensive exporting firms made greater use of virtually every source of information on international markets, while the less intense exporters often did not know where to go for international information, nor did they fully understand the differences between collecting for domestic markets vs. foreign markets. To help executives better understand how to collect information on foreign markets, several sources of international information are described, including addresses of various Internet sites that cover such items as export leads, foreign laws, international newspapers, “how to export” guides, and trade show directories. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.