Examples of Citing Corporate Authors: 3 Practical Examples (Plus More You’ll Actually Use)

Let’s skip theory and start with what you really need: examples of citing corporate authors in situations that come up all the time. Think of corporate authors as any group author:

• Government agencies (e.g., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Large organizations (e.g., World Health Organization)
• Professional associations (e.g., American Psychological Association)
• Companies (e.g., Microsoft, Apple Inc.)
• Research institutes and think tanks (e.g., Pew Research Center)

In all major styles, you treat the group name as the author. Let’s walk through three core examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples you can model, then we’ll layer on more variations.

Example 1: Government Agency as Author (APA & MLA)

Government agencies are probably the best examples of corporate authors because they publish a ton of reports, statistics, and guidelines.

Source: A CDC page on physical activity in adults.
Corporate author: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

APA (7th ed.) In‑Text Citation

Imagine you’re citing a 2024 CDC page on exercise recommendations:

• Narrative citation:
  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2024), adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week.

• Parenthetical citation:
  Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024).

Once you’ve introduced the abbreviation in your paper, APA lets you shorten it:

• Later citations: (CDC, 2024)

This is one of the clearest examples of citing corporate authors with a long name: spell it out once, introduce the abbreviation, then use the short form.

MLA (9th ed.) In‑Text Citation

MLA doesn’t use the year in the in-text citation, just author (corporate or individual) and page number if available.

• If there’s no page number (typical for web pages):
  Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

• If a PDF report has page numbers:
  Adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4).

Again, this is a straightforward example of citing a corporate author where the organization is clearly named on the page.

You can explore real CDC content here: https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/index.htm

Example 2: International Organization Report (WHO)

International bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) are classic examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples style questions on exams and assignments.

Source: A 2024 WHO report on mental health.

APA In‑Text Citation

• First narrative citation:
  The World Health Organization (WHO, 2024) reported a significant increase in global anxiety and depression following the COVID‑19 pandemic.

• First parenthetical citation:
  Global anxiety and depression increased significantly after the pandemic (World Health Organization [WHO], 2024).

• Later citations (after abbreviation is introduced):
  (WHO, 2024)

This gives you another clean example of citing a corporate author with a long official name and a simple abbreviation.

MLA In‑Text Citation

• Narrative:
  The World Health Organization notes that mental health services remain underfunded worldwide ("Mental Health” 7).

• Parenthetical (if the corporate name is not already in the sentence):
  Mental health services remain underfunded worldwide (World Health Organization 7).

If there are no page numbers, MLA allows you to omit them and just use the corporate name.

You can see real WHO reports here: https://www.who.int/publications

Example 3: Corporate Author That Is Also the Publisher

Sometimes the corporate author and the publisher are the same organization. This is common with company white papers, annual reports, and association guidelines.

Source: A 2024 report on AI in education published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

APA In‑Text Citation

• Narrative:
  The American Psychological Association (2024) emphasizes that AI tools should be used to support, not replace, human judgment in educational settings.

• Parenthetical:
  AI tools should support, not replace, human judgment in educational settings (American Psychological Association, 2024).

Note that in APA, you don’t repeat the organization name as publisher in the reference list if it’s the same as the author. But in the in-text citation, you just treat it like any other corporate author.

MLA In‑Text Citation

• Narrative:
  The American Psychological Association warns that AI grading tools may reinforce existing biases (12).

• Parenthetical:
  AI grading tools may reinforce existing biases (American Psychological Association 12).

This is one of the best examples of citing corporate authors when the organization essentially does everything: research, writing, and publishing.

You can browse real APA publications here: https://www.apa.org/pubs

More Real Examples of Citing Corporate Authors You’ll Run Into

Now that you’ve seen examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples, let’s widen the lens. Here are more real-world situations where corporate authors show up, with short, usable models.

Think Tanks and Research Centers (Pew Research Center)

Scenario: You’re writing a paper on social media and politics and use a Pew Research Center report.

• APA narrative:
  Pew Research Center (2024) found that a growing share of adults get political news primarily from social media platforms.

• APA parenthetical:
  A growing share of adults get political news primarily from social media platforms (Pew Research Center, 2024).

• MLA parenthetical:
  A growing share of adults get political news primarily from social media platforms (Pew Research Center 5).

Pew is a nice example of a corporate author because the organization name is short and doesn’t need an abbreviation.

University Centers and Institutes (Harvard, NIH‑Funded Centers)

University-based institutes are common in academic reading lists.

Scenario: You cite a 2025 brief from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.

• APA first narrative:
  The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy (2025) notes that AI-generated content complicates efforts to combat misinformation.

• APA later parenthetical (after abbreviation):
  AI-generated content complicates efforts to combat misinformation (Shorenstein Center, 2025).

• MLA parenthetical:
  AI-generated content complicates efforts to combat misinformation (Shorenstein Center 3).

This is a good example of citing a corporate author with a long formal name: introduce the full name once, then shorten it logically.

You can see real policy briefs from Harvard here: https://shorensteincenter.org

Medical Organizations (NIH, Mayo Clinic)

Health topics almost always involve corporate authors, especially large medical organizations.

Scenario 1 (NIH): You’re using a National Institutes of Health article on sleep.

• APA narrative:
  The National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2024) recommends consistent sleep schedules to improve overall health.

• Later APA parenthetical:
  (NIH, 2024)

• MLA parenthetical:
  Consistent sleep schedules improve overall health (National Institutes of Health).

Scenario 2 (Mayo Clinic): You cite a Mayo Clinic article on migraine treatment.

• APA parenthetical:
  New migraine treatments target specific pain pathways in the brain (Mayo Clinic, 2025).

• MLA parenthetical:
  New migraine treatments target specific pain pathways in the brain (Mayo Clinic).

Both NIH and Mayo Clinic give you clean, modern examples of citing corporate authors used in health and nursing papers.

Explore NIH here: https://www.nih.gov and Mayo Clinic here: https://www.mayoclinic.org

Companies and Tech Firms (Microsoft, Apple, Google)

Corporate white papers and documentation from tech companies are showing up more often in 2024–2025 assignments, especially around AI.

Scenario: You reference a 2024 Microsoft report on responsible AI.

• APA narrative:
  Microsoft (2024) outlines several principles for responsible AI development, including transparency and accountability.

• APA parenthetical:
  Responsible AI development should emphasize transparency and accountability (Microsoft, 2024).

• MLA parenthetical:
  Responsible AI development should emphasize transparency and accountability (Microsoft 8).

This is another straightforward example of a corporate author where the organization’s name is exactly what you’d expect.

How to Recognize a Corporate Author (So You Can Copy These Patterns)

You now have multiple examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples plus several extras. The next step is learning to recognize when an organization, not a person, is the author.

Ask yourself:

• Is there no individual author name, but a clear organization at the top of the page or report?
• Does the copyright or footer say something like © 2025 World Health Organization or © 2025 Pew Research Center?
• Does the title page or header list a department, agency, or institute (e.g., U.S. Department of Education, National Cancer Institute)?

If the answer is yes, you almost certainly have a corporate author. From there, you can plug it into the patterns you’ve seen in these examples of citing corporate authors.

Quick Style Tips When Citing Corporate Authors

To keep this practical, here are a few style-specific habits to pair with the examples you’ve seen:

For APA (7th ed.)

• Spell out long organization names the first time, then introduce an abbreviation:
  World Health Organization (WHO) → later: (WHO, 2024).
• Use Title Case for the organization name in both in-text citations and the reference list.
• If the organization is both author and publisher, list it once as the author in the reference list and skip the publisher field.

For MLA (9th ed.)

• Use the corporate name in the in-text citation, plus a page number if one exists.
• If the corporate author name is long and already appears in the sentence, you can shorten the parenthetical:
  According to the World Health Organization, … (7).
• In the Works Cited entry, you’ll list the corporate author in the author position, just like a person.

Once you’ve absorbed these habits, all the earlier examples of citing corporate authors become templates you can adapt to almost any source.

FAQ: Common Questions About Corporate Authors

How do I know if I should use a corporate author instead of “Anonymous”?

If an organization clearly takes responsibility for the content—like the CDC, NIH, or a university research center—treat that group as the author. Only use “Anonymous” if the work is explicitly published that way (which is rare in academic or professional contexts).

Can you give more examples of corporate authors in everyday research?

Yes. Everyday examples of corporate authors include:

• U.S. Census Bureau for population and demographic data
• U.S. Department of Education for policy and statistics
• World Bank for global economic data
• UNICEF for reports on children’s welfare
• American Heart Association for heart health guidelines

All of these follow the same basic patterns shown in the earlier examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples and the additional cases.

What if there’s both a corporate author and named individuals?

Follow the style guide you’re using:

• In APA, if a report lists individual authors and also a sponsoring organization, you usually cite the individuals as authors and mention the organization in the source element or text.
• In MLA, you also generally lead with the individual authors in the Works Cited, and you can mention the organization in the title or container element.

If the individuals are not clearly credited as authors, treat the organization as the corporate author.

Is it okay to shorten long organization names in citations?

Yes, but do it carefully and consistently. In APA, you formally introduce the abbreviation in parentheses after the full name, then use the abbreviation later. In MLA, you can use a logical shortened form in parenthetical citations if the full name appears in the sentence. The earlier WHO, CDC, and Shorenstein Center examples of citing corporate authors show you how this looks in practice.

If you keep a few of these examples of citing corporate authors: 3 practical examples handy—CDC, WHO, APA—and pair them with the extra cases from NIH, Pew, Harvard, and Microsoft, you’ll have a ready-made mental toolkit. Any time you hit a new organizational source, you can match it to one of these patterns, tweak the details, and move on with confidence.