Sections of the Macro-Environmental Scan include:
A. Competitive environment: Using Mergent, Yahoo! Finance, or another valid source. This is based on revenue NOT market capitalization. Includes: primary (3-5 of industry's biggest companies) and secondary (smaller companies) competitors within an industry, market share held by competitors.
B. Demographic environment: Using adage.com, census.gov, Statistical Abstract of the United States, CIA Factbook. Who buys from this industry? What are the income and education levels of consumers or other descriptive factors?
C. Economic factors: What is the economic impact of the industry (employment, contribution to GDP) and the elasticity of demand for output from the industry?
D. Political/Legal Situation: What are the political concerns? Is there legislation pertaining to the industry?
E. Societal/Cultural Concerns: With social issues, how does the industry affect consumers? In terms of cultural considerations, how do consumers affect the industry?
F. Natural environment concerns: Includes cradle-to-cradle impact of industry, waste reduction and resource maximization.
G. Technological influences: What are the current trends and future implications?