Can I use a multinational company for my IB Business Management IA?

Yes, a multinational company can be used, provided you investigate one clearly defined issue affecting that organization. The main danger is choosing a scope that is too broad for 1,800 words. Narrow the question to a particular market, product, strategic decision, or recent initiative when the evidence allows this. Multinationals usually provide strong financial and corporate data, but their reports must be balanced with independent sources. Choose the company only if the available evidence supports analysis rather than a general description of its global operations.

Does my IB Business Management IA company have to be local?

No, the organization does not have to be local. The official requirement concerns a real issue or problem facing a particular organization, not the organization’s distance from your school. A local company may provide easier access to interviews, observations, or customer data, while a listed company may provide stronger public records. Compare the quality and relevance of the evidence rather than assuming one type is automatically better. Your teacher may still establish practical approval procedures, so discuss your proposed organization before beginning extensive research.

Is primary research required for the current Business Management IA?

The current common SL and HL research project may be based on primary and/or secondary research, so primary research is not an absolute requirement. An interview or survey should be included only when it supplies relevant, credible evidence that cannot be obtained more effectively elsewhere. Weak primary research, such as a tiny convenience survey, does not automatically improve an investigation. If you conduct research involving people, obtain appropriate consent and follow your school’s ethical guidance. A carefully selected set of reliable secondary sources can support a strong project when it provides sufficient depth, breadth, and contrasting perspectives.

Can I choose a small private business with limited financial data?

Yes, but you must establish that enough usable evidence is available before finalizing the topic. Ask the owner what information can be shared and whether figures may be presented as percentages, ranges, or indexed values if exact amounts are confidential. Interviews, observations, customer data, local competitor information, and public economic statistics may supplement limited accounts. However, you should not build the project around financial analysis if the necessary figures will remain unavailable. Select an operational, marketing, human-resources, or strategic issue that matches the evidence the business can realistically provide.

How many companies should an IB Business Management IA analyze?

The current research project should refer directly to one business organization. You may use competitor or industry evidence when it helps explain the pressures affecting that organization. This does not turn the IA into a general comparison of several companies. Keep the analysis and final judgment centered on the named organization in the research question. Competitors should function as benchmarks or contextual evidence rather than equal case studies.

How do I know if my company choice has enough evidence?

Conduct a source audit before asking for final approval. Find at least 3-5 plausible supporting documents, confirm their publication dates, and note exactly which claims or data each one contributes. Check that the set includes more than the company’s own perspective and that the documents contain enough substance to attach and analyze. Then identify which business tools could interpret the evidence and what limitations would affect your conclusion. If you cannot outline two or three evidence-based arguments on different sides of the question, choose another issue or company.

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IB Business Management IA: Choosing a Real Company

IB Business Management Internal Assessment IB IA

• 2 Oct 2026•10

IB Business Management IA: Choosing a Real Company

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IB Business Management IA: Choosing a Real Company | RevisionDojo

Back to all posts

IB Business Management IA: Choosing a Real Company

IB Business Management Internal Assessment IB IA

• 2 Oct 2026•10

The company you choose for your IB Business Management IA must be real, connected to a genuine business issue, and supported by enough recent evidence for meaningful analysis. The best choice is not necessarily a famous multinational. It is the organization that offers a focused issue, reliable data, contrasting perspectives, and opportunities to apply relevant business management tools.

Under the current course, SL and HL students complete a research project about a real issue or problem facing one organization. The project uses one conceptual lens: change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability. This guide explains how to evaluate a potential company before committing to it.

What the IB Business Management IA requires

The official IB subject briefs describe the internal assessment as a research project about a real business issue or problem facing a particular organization. It accounts for 30% at SL and 20% at HL, with approximately 20 hours allocated to the task.

Students produce a project of no more than 1,800 words, attach 3-5 supporting documents, and use one of the four key concepts. Research may be forward-looking or backward-looking and may use primary and/or secondary evidence. Your school should confirm submission details against the current subject guide.

Your company choice must therefore support more than background description. You need evidence that allows you to analyze a specific decision, strategy, problem, or outcome.

Criteria for choosing an analyzable company

Apply these tests before asking your teacher to approve your choice.

Criterion	What a strong choice offers	Warning sign
Real issue	A documented decision, problem, or development	A hypothetical situation invented for the IA
Specific scope	One organization and one manageable issue	An entire industry or several equal case studies
Recent evidence	Several useful sources from the relevant period	Mostly old or undated material
Evidence variety	Corporate, independent, financial, or regulatory evidence	Sources repeating company publicity
Analytical potential	Data that can be interpreted using course tools	Company history and descriptive facts only
Conceptual fit	A natural link to change, creativity, ethics, or sustainability	A concept mentioned but not analyzed
Feasibility	Accessible sources that can be cited and attached	Paywalls, confidentiality, or unavailable data

Do not choose the company until you can identify both the issue and the evidence. “I want to study Nike” is not enough. A focused investigation of a documented Nike decision, supported by corporate and independent evidence, is much more workable.

Choose an issue, not merely a company

A company name is not an IA topic. Subjects such as “marketing at Starbucks” or “Tesla’s growth” are too broad and usually encourage description.

A stronger research question identifies:

the organization;
a defined issue, action, or decision;
an analytical focus;
a relevant period where appropriate;
one conceptual lens.

Possible starting points include:

To what extent has Company A’s reusable packaging improved its environmental sustainability?
Should Restaurant B expand its delivery operations in response to changing demand?
To what extent did Retailer C’s pricing change improve its competitive position between 2024 and 2026?

These are models, not templates to copy. Your question must match the evidence that exists. The RevisionDojo Business Management IA guide explains how to refine the resulting structure.

Public company or local private business?

Public companies

Listed companies commonly publish annual reports, financial statements, investor presentations, regulatory filings, and press releases. They can suit questions involving profitability, expansion, investment, operations, strategy, or sustainability reporting.

Their scale creates a risk. A multinational may be too broad unless you define a product, market, division, or decision. Corporate reports also present management’s preferred narrative, so balance them with independent evidence.

Local or private businesses

A local restaurant, retailer, manufacturer, charity, or social enterprise may provide access to owners, employees, customers, and operational observations. This can produce distinctive primary evidence and a closely focused investigation.

However, private businesses may not publish accounts or market data. Confirm what information can be shared before committing. Access to a manager helps only if that person can provide evidence relevant to the research question.

Primary research is permitted, not universally required. A well-documented public company remains valid even if you cannot conduct an interview.

Where to find reliable company data

Begin with corporate and regulatory material, then add independent sources that test or contextualize company claims.

Source	Useful evidence
Company investor-relations page	Annual reports, objectives, results, risks, and strategy updates
SEC EDGAR	US company annual, quarterly, and current filings
Companies House	UK filing histories, ownership details, and available accounts
SEDAR+	Canadian financial statements and disclosure documents
Government agencies	Inflation, employment, demographic, trade, and industry data
Regulators and courts	Investigations, penalties, decisions, and compliance evidence
Reputable business news	Independent reporting and stakeholder perspectives

Consult the original document rather than a search-result summary. Record its author, title, date, URL, relevant page numbers, and access date immediately. Official filings still require critical evaluation because registration services do not necessarily verify every statement submitted by a company.

Test the evidence before committing

Create an evidence map for each potential company. Identify 3-5 plausible supporting documents that are recent, directly relevant, and substantial enough to analyze.

A balanced provisional set might include:

a company annual report or results announcement;
an independent news or industry report;
a government or regulatory source;
an interview, survey, or customer dataset where appropriate;
a contrasting stakeholder perspective.

Avoid selecting several short webpages that repeat one claim. Supporting documents should help you analyze consequences, stakeholder interests, limitations, and alternative interpretations. Current guidance generally limits supporting documents to material published within three years before submission, but confirm the applicable dates with your teacher.

Match the issue to suitable business tools

Start with the issue and evidence, then choose tools that help answer the question. Do not force every investigation into a SWOT analysis.

Useful connections include:

expansion: Ansoff matrix, decision trees, investment appraisal, or force field analysis;
profitability: ratio analysis, contribution, or break-even analysis;
product portfolio: BCG matrix, sales data, and market-share analysis;
workforce change: motivation theories, culture, and stakeholder analysis;
sustainability: circular business models, stakeholder analysis, and cost-benefit reasoning.

A tool is valuable only when its output affects your judgment. Business Management Study Notes and the Business Management Questionbank can help you practise applying tools rather than merely reproducing them.

Common mistakes and final checks

Common mistakes include choosing a famous company without a narrow issue, relying entirely on company publications, selecting an issue with no measurable evidence, and assuming access to confidential information will appear later. Another frequent error is choosing tools first and forcing unsuitable evidence into them.

Before proceeding, confirm that:

the organization and issue are real;
the issue can be stated in one precise sentence;
one key concept fits naturally;
3-5 recent supporting documents are available;
sources provide data or contrasting perspectives;
relevant syllabus tools can support analysis;
a balanced judgment is possible within 1,800 words.

You can review Business Management IA examples to understand successful structure, but your question, evidence, analysis, and writing must remain your own.

Conclusion

The strongest IB Business Management IA company is attached to a focused, genuine issue and supported by accessible, recent, varied evidence. Public companies offer extensive filings, while local businesses may provide stronger primary access; neither is automatically superior.

Complete an evidence check before committing, confirm the conceptual lens, and select tools that genuinely support your judgment. RevisionDojo’s Business Management IA Grader, Study Notes, Questionbank, examples, and Jojo AI can help you review the plan alongside guidance from your teacher.

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What the IB Business Management IA requires

Your company choice must therefore support more than background description. You need evidence that allows you to analyze a specific decision, strategy, problem, or outcome.