US Corporate Image on the Slide

The majority of citizens (74%) continue to characterize corporate America's reputation as either 'not good' or 'terrible' according to the fifth annual RQ study, conducted by Harris Interactive(r) and the Reputation Institute. The study calculates and then evaluates the 60 most visible companies in the US.

The study also looks at familiarity and trust in NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and provided updates on the public's perceptions of corporate sincerity, corporate citizenship, and ethical standards.

Joy Marie Sever, Ph.D., senior vice president at Harris Interactive and director of the company's Reputation Practice, says that 'many signs point to a growing skepticism on the part of the American public when it comes to their perceptions of the largest, most visible corporations. Collectively and individually, corporate reputations are declining'.

Dr. Charles Fombrun, executive director of The Reputation Institute and the annual study's co-founder, comments: 'Not since the excesses of the gilded age that produced the stock market collapse of 1929 and the 'Great Depression' have we witnessed so much reputation fallout in the corporate sector. It's proving very costly to shareholders as they've watched portfolio values tumble dramatically in the last few years'.

In the 2003 ranking, Johnson & Johnson maintains its first-place ranking for a fifth consecutive year with an RQ of 79.47. However this is 2.7 points down on 2002, and this is the first year that no company measured has achieved an RQ of over 80.

UPS moves up from 4th to 2nd place with an RQ of 78.49, with four other companies retaining places in the top ten - Coca-Cola, General Mills, 3M Company and Dell. Returners to the Top 10 this year include are Walt Disney, Microsoft, FedEx and Procter & Gamble, while 2 companies fell out of the Top 10 (Eastman Kodak and Home Depot) and two of last year's Top 10 (Harley-Davidson and Maytag) were not among the 60 most visible companies this year so were not ranked.

Enron remains at the bottom of the list of 60 with an RQ of 26.66.

Of the 50 companies measured in both 2002 and 2003, 21 experienced significant movement in their reputations - 6 improved, and 15 declined. The most significant declines (each at 4 points) were ExxonMobil and Gateway.

The most notable improvement in reputation rank was Honda with an RQ of 75.84 in 2003 compared to 73.06 in 2002. This is the highest ranking for an automotive company in the five years of the Annual RQ.

Johnson & Johnson and Microsoft each continue to lead in three of the six RQ categories or 'dimensions': J&J leads on Emotional Appeal, Products & Services, and Social Responsibility, while Microsoft leads on Financial Performance, Vision & Leadership, and Workplace Environment.

The first phase in each Annual RQ study is a nomination phase in which the general public is asked to nominate companies with the 'best' and 'worst' reputations; the 60 companies with the most nominations are then measured to determine the rankings. Three of the top-10 companies nominated in the 'best' category also appeared on the top-10 list in the 'worst' category: Wal-Mart, Microsoft, and Ford.

The 2003 nominations phase involved 3,299 online interviews and 3,032 telephone interviews and lasted from April 10 to August 19. Companies identified as 'regional' and government agencies were removed and the list of 60 companies created by adding 'best' and 'worst' nominations.

The second phase involved ratings by 21,942 randomly selected online respondents between October 15 and November 4, of companies with which they were 'very' or 'somewhat' familiar, on 20 attributes in six key dimensions. Each of the 60 companies was rated by approximately 600 respondents. 'Reputation quotient' (RQ) figures were calculated for each company, based on the 20 attributes, which are grouped into six theoretical dimensions.

Further details can be found at www.harrisinteractive.com/RQ . The Reputation Institute is a private research organization founded in 1997, which publishes a peer-reviewed quarterly journal The Corporate Reputation Review. Its web site is at www.reputationinstitute.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

• Harris Interactive Inc.
• All news
• MrWeb info