Google and Sony are the World's Most Reputable Companies According to Consumers Across 24 Countries
By Reputation Institute, PRNESunday, May 23, 2010
NEW YORK, May 24, 2010 - Google and Sony share the top spot in a study of the world's most
reputable companies conducted by Reputation Institute
(www.reputationinstitute.com). Disney, BMW, and Daimler round out the
top five in a consumer survey that measured the reputations of 600 of the
world's most prominent companies. The study provides a first ever assessment
of the global reputation landscape — the companies that are most liked,
trusted, and respected by the general public across 24 countries. Data
collection was powered by Survey Sampling International.
The study was conducted in two parts. In January 2010, Reputation
Institute measured the reputations of the world's 600 largest companies in
their home countries. The highest rated companies in each of 32 countries
were then selected as candidates for a second study that also rated the
world's most visible and valuable corporate brands provided they had above
average home country reputations. The outcome of the second study was a final
roster of 28 global companies that are well regarded at home but that have
also successfully exported their reputations around the world.
The World's Most Reputable Companies
Rank Company (Home Country) Global Reputation Pulse
---- ---------------------- -----------------------
1 Google (US) 78.62
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2 Sony (Japan) 78.47
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3 The Walt Disney Company (US) 77.97
--- ---------------------------- -----
4 BMW (Germany) 77.77
--- ------------- -----
5 Daimler/Mercedes-Benz (Germany) 76.83
--- ------------------------------- -----
6 Apple (US) 76.29
--- ---------- -----
7 Nokia (Finland) 76.00
--- --------------- -----
8 IKEA (Sweden) 75.60
--- ------------- -----
9 Volkswagen (Germany) 75.55
--- -------------------- -----
10 Intel (US) 75.39
--- ---------- -----
11 Microsoft (US) 74.47
--- -------------- -----
12 Johnson & Johnson (US) 74.12
--- ---------------------- -----
13 Panasonic (Japan) 73.67
--- ----------------- -----
14 Singapore Airlines (Singapore) 73.54
--- ------------------------------ -----
Philips Electronics (The
15 Netherlands) 73.31
--- ------------------------- -----
16 L'Oreal (France) 73.17
--- ---------------- -----
17 IBM (US) 73.03
--- -------- -----
18 Hewlett-Packard (US) 72.67
--- -------------------- -----
19 Barilla (Italy) 72.45
--- --------------- -----
20 Nestle (Switzerland) 72.37
--- -------------------- -----
21 Ferrero (Italy) 72.36
--- --------------- -----
22 Samsung Electronics (Korea) 71.62
--- --------------------------- -----
23 FedEx (US) 70.84
--- ---------- -----
24 Honda Motor (Japan) 70.82
--- ------------------- -----
25 The Coca-Cola Company (US) 70.40
--- -------------------------- -----
26 Carlsberg (Denmark) 70.31
--- ------------------- -----
27 Procter & Gamble (US) 70.21
--- --------------------- -----
28 UPS (US) 70.07
--- -------- -----
"Technology has a powerful grip on the global rankings," says Dr. Charles
Fombrun, Chairman of Reputation Institute. "Companies like Google, Sony,
Apple, Nokia, Intel, and Microsoft have earned our trust and respect because
they are all-pervasive solution-providers that affect our daily lives.
Disney's global mind-share as an entertainment provider is remarkable, as is
the admiration with which consumers hold auto-makers BMW and
Daimler/Mercedes-Benz. They are power-houses of reputation-building around
the world."
Geographical Highlights
Reputation Institute examined how these companies were perceived across
five regions: Asia, Central Europe, Central & South America, North America,
and Northern Europe.
Top rated Sony and Google were consistently strong around the world, with
Sony scoring among the top five in all regions and Google in four of the five
regions. Google did not make it into Asia's top five.
The rankings within regions are:
- Asia: 1) The Walt Disney Company, 2) Daimler/Mercedes Benz, 3) BMW, 4)
Sony, and 5) Singapore Airlines.
- Central Europe: 1) Sony, 2) BMW, 3) Google, 4) Volkswagen, and 5)
Daimler/Mercedes Benz.
- Central & South America: 1) Nestle, 2) Sony, 3) Google, 4) BMW, and 5)
Johnson & Johnson.
- North America: 1) Johnson & Johnson, 2) Google, 3) Nestle, 4) The Walt
Disney Company, and 5) Sony.
- Northern Europe: 1) Google, 2) IKEA, 3) Sony, 4) The Walt Disney
Company, and 5) Singapore Airlines.
Reputation, Can You Take it With You?
Most companies can expect to be more liked, trusted, admired and
respected in their home countries than around the world. Of the 54 companies
measured in the study, only five had a better reputation globally than they
enjoy in their home markets: Apple, Ford, Google, Nestle, and Sony.
According to Kasper Nielsen, Managing Partner of Reputation Institute,
"companies often ask us whether we think they can export their home-grown
reputations to other countries. Based on this study, the answer is a
qualified yes. Some have done it, but most have not fared as well abroad as
they could. It clearly suggests that the same communication strategies used
in one country will not always succeed in another. In our reputation
analyses, we find that what matters most to consumers can vary widely from
one country or region to another. But universally it pays off to build
reputation. If you improve reputation by 5 points you improve recommendations
by 6%. So companies must identify what people are expecting from them so they
can identify areas to focus on in order to earn the support of consumers."
How to Tell Your Corporate Story
Consumers want to know what a company is doing beyond its product and
services. Excellent reputations are built across seven key dimensions:
Products/Services, Innovation, Governance, Workplace, Citizenship, Leadership
and Performance. Statistical analysis shows that each dimension accounts for
over 12 percent of the variation in reputation. Top scorers Google and Sony
performed well across dimensions, with Google rated among the top five on all
seven dimensions and Sony among the top ten. The results confirm that a
balanced reputation platform is what earns trust, esteem, admiration, and
good feeling from consumers.
Drivers of reputation vary by industry and country. In 2010, across the
final 54 companies measured by Reputation Institute, the most influential
factors with consumers are Products/Services, Innovation, and Governance. As
Nicolas Trad, Managing Partner, Reputation Institute, puts it "…the key
insight from this analysis is that people care more than ever about the
companies behind the products and services they use. Companies can create
deeper connections with consumers than products alone can achieve, and they
do this by speaking out about who they are as companies and engaging on what
matters to them. Getting the word out helps drive business results."
About the Global Reputation Pulse Study
The multinational companies whose reputations were measured across
countries include: Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T), Barilla, BP (BP), BMW (BYMTF,
BAMXF, BMW), Carlsberg (CABHF, CABJF), Carrefour (CRERF),
Daimler/Mercedes-Benz (DAI), Dell (DELL), FedEx (FDX), Ferrero, Fiat (FIATY),
Ford Motor (F), General Electric (GE), Google (GOOG), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ),
Hitachi (HIT, HTHIF), Honda Motor (HMC, HNDAF), HSBC Holdings (HBC, HBCYF),
Hyundai (HYMLF), IBM (IBM), IKEA, Inditex / Zara (0HAB), ING Group (ING,
INGVF), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Kraft Foods (KFT), Lenovo
(LNVGF, LNVGY), LG (LGLD), L'Oreal (LOL), Marks & Spencer Group (MAKSF,
MAKSY), McDonald's (MDNDF), Microsoft (MSFT), Nestle (NSRGY, NSRGF), Nissan
Motor (NSANF, NSANY), Nokia (NOK), Panasonic (PC, PCRFF), Pepsico (PEP),
Petrobras (PZE, PEFGF), Peugeot (PEUGF), Philips Electronics (PHG), Procter &
Gamble (PG), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS), Samsung Electronics (SSNLF),
Singapore Airlines (S55:SGX), Sony (SNE), The Coca-Cola Company (KO), The
Walt Disney Company (DIS), Toyota Motor (TM, TOYOF), Unilever (ULVR), UPS
(UPS), Vodafone (VOD), and Volkswagen (VLKAF).
In May 2010, consumers were invited to rate these 54 finalists in each of
24 countries: Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway,
Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the
United Kingdom, and the United States.
Each respondent rated a maximum of five randomly assigned companies with
which they were familiar, using Reputation Institute's standardized measure
of corporate reputation-the Reputation Pulse. A Reputation Pulse score is a
measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging the degree of trust,
esteem, admiration, and good feeling people have for a company. Reputation
Pulse scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100, and scores that differ
by more than +/-0.5 are significantly different at the 95% confidence level.
Scores are normalized to enable cross-country compilations and comparisons.
Over 181,000 reputation ratings were obtained in this study, and each
company received an average of 3,360 ratings across the 24 countries. A total
of 28 companies earned global scores above 70 and therefore membership on
Reputation Institute's list of the world's most reputable companies. They are
among a very select set of global companies that have succeeded in building
strong positive relationships with a wide range of consumers around the
world.
For more detail about the Global Reputation Pulse 2010 study, interested
readers can download a top line report by going to
www.reputationinstitute.com.
About Reputation Institute
Reputation Institute is the world's leading reputation consulting firm.
As a pioneer in the field of brand and reputation management, Reputation
Institute helps companies build better relations with stakeholders. With a
presence in 30 countries, Reputation Institute is dedicated to advancing
knowledge about reputation and shares best practices and current research
through client engagement, memberships, seminars, conferences, and
publications such as Corporate Reputation Review and Reputation Intelligence.
Reputation Institute's 2010 Reputation Pulse is the largest study of
corporate reputations in the world, identifying what drives reputation and
covering more than 1,500 companies from 34 countries annually. Reputation
Institute provides specific reputation insight from more than 15 different
stakeholder groups and 24 industries, allowing clients to create tangible
value from their intangible assets. Visit www.reputationinstitute.com
to learn how you can unlock the power of your reputation.
About Survey Sampling International
Survey Sampling International (SSI) is the premier global provider of
sampling solutions for survey research. With offices in 15 countries, SSI
provides data collection services to more than 1,800 clients, including 48 of
the top 50 research organizations.
Contact:
Adam Shoer, Reputation Institute
1-212-495-3855 x307, ashoer@reputationinstitute.com
Adam Shoer, Reputation Institute, +1-212-495-3855 x307, ashoer at reputationinstitute.com
Tags: May 24, New York, Reputation Institute, United Kingdom
