Apple takes top spot in Harris corporate reputation score
Apple has taken the top spot in a ranking of consumers' opinions of corporate reputation in the US, scoring higher than any other company has in the last 13 years.
The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study noted that overall, consumers have indicated a negative trend in public perception, stating that the image of corporate America is "more tarnished today than a year ago."
Last year, 16 companies received a score denoting an "excellent reputation," while this year only 8 reached that measure. The study indicates that consumers are beginning to pay more attention to corporate leadership, and are increasingly researching companies themselves, not just their products, when making buying decisions.
Financial services and banking faired the worst, with AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMogan Chase competing with BP to fill out to fifth worst high profile companies in the US
Technology companies were ranked highest in general, with Apple moving from its fifth place score last year to first place, achieving a 85.62 score that is the highest a company has ever scored in the 13 years of the study. The top five companies were rounded out by Google, CocaCola, Amazon and Kraft Foods.
Apple also scored highest among four of six dimensions used to determine scores, including Financial Performance, Products & Services, Vision & Leadership and Workplace Environment. Amazon placed first in Emotional Appeal, while Whole Foods ranked highest in Social Responsibility.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
I guess all the "Apple is evil for hiring Chinese children" nonsense isn't catching on.
I have to wonder, though, how in the world Amazon won for emotional appeal. That just doesn't make any sense.
I have to wonder, though, how in the world Amazon won for emotional appeal. That just doesn't make any sense.
Everyone feels sorry for them for thinking they can sell hardware at a loss.
But what about the suicide nets?
I see zero instances of the words 'China', 'Foxconn', 'suicide', or 'workers' in both the AppleInsider article and the Harris video itself.
I'm getting a little ticked off at these thread derailing attempts.
I see zero instances of the words 'China', 'Foxconn', 'suicide', or 'workers' in both the AppleInsider article and the Harris video itself.
I'm getting a little ticked off at these thread derailing attempts.
"Social responsibility" is one of the measured vectors. It is not derailing to wonder how the bad press (justified or not) that Apple has been getting has or will effect its image. As Macky pointed out, Apple is high right now due to the "Buzz" factor. It will be interesting to see if this continues and Apple maintains it image like CocaCola has for decades, or if Apple is at a high point right now, but will lost attention. The technology sector can be fickle. Unless Apple messes up on the product side, the worker's conditions controversy seems to be the biggest threat to their image.
Once the media reports these stories factually, the other companies will start to look VERY bad, and by comparison Apple (who has been taking steps long before there was any ?buzz? about it) will look better than the ones who purely ?let it go until someone notices."
I have to wonder, though, how in the world Amazon won for emotional appeal. That just doesn't make any sense.
Its not clear from the summary, but they do mention one component of "emotional appeal" is "Trust". Amazon does do a good job of being a trusted retailer, in that they have a good return policy, tend to ship things on time, have pretty good communication with customers, and do a good job as an arbiter between the consumer and other retailers through the "Amazon Marketplace". It might also be that Amazon does a decent job of suggesting products for customers, so people trust its suggestions.
Some of it might be a holdover from the very early days of on-line shopping, when people didn't quite trust the idea of entering a credit card into a computer and getting a product. Amazon was one of the first companies which made the idea of online shopping more mainstream and trustworthy.
Unless Apple messes up on the product side, the worker's conditions controversy seems to be the biggest threat to their image.
Until you take the time to learn that conditions are worse at everyone else's factories.
Until you take the time to learn that conditions are worse at everyone else's factories.
:-)
That's true for rational argument, but for some reason doesn't seem to hold for many people's perception. Many people expect more of Apple, so when something bad comes to light they are shocked and outraged. If the same conditions are associated with another company people shrug and ignore it.
:-)
That's true for rational argument, but for some reason doesn't seem to hold for many people's perception. Many people expect more of Apple, so when something bad comes to light they are shocked and outraged. If the same conditions are associated with another company people shrug and ignore it.
Mock shock and outrage from a vocal minority, here in Australia we call it tall poppy syndrome.