ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annual RQ 2005 study conducted by Harris Interactive(R) measures the corporate reputations of the most visible companies in the United States. According to this year’s Reputation Quotient(R) (RQ(SM)) survey, for the seventh consecutive year, Johnson & Johnson ranks No. 1 with an RQ score of 80.56. Coca Cola ranks second (79.69), and new to the 60 companies measured in this latest study, Google ranks third, with an RQ score of 79.52.
The Wall Street Journal published these results in its feature article “Ranking Corporate Reputations” on December 6th including the list of the “60 Most Visible Companies” in the United States. The study, conducted by the Harris-Wirthlin Brand and Strategy Consulting Group, evaluates companies along six key dimensions that comprise a company’s corporate reputation: vision and leadership, social responsibility, emotional appeal, products and services, workplace environment and financial performance.
Overall, the study shows that Corporate America’s reputation has declined slightly since 2004. This year, the majority of U.S. adults (71%) say its reputation is “not good/terrible” compared to 68% who gave it that rating a year ago.
Thirteen percent of the adults (v.16% in 2004) say the reputation of corporate America has “improved a little,” and two percent say it has “improved a lot,” which remained the same from 2004. Within the list of 60 most visible companies below, results show that nine companies made notable improvements in reputation since 2004, including Allstate (3.36 points increase in its RQ score) and MCI (formerly Worldcom) (3.27 points increase in its RQ score). Six companies showed notable declines in reputation.
According to Robert Fronk, senior vice president for the Harris-Wirthlin Brand and Strategy Consulting Group at Harris Interactive, “When you look at the seventeen companies with RQ scores of 75 and higher, which is our benchmark for a strong, positive reputation, you see companies representing consumer products, manufacturing, entertainment, retail, technology and services. This elite list is not dominated by companies with everyday product brands, and this reinforces our belief that a strong, well managed reputation can and should be an asset for any organization.”
Annual RQ 2005 Corporate Reputation Scores for the 60 Most Visible Companies
Base: All Adults 2005 Company 2005 2004 Rank Score Score 1. Johnson & Johnson 80.56 79.1 2. The Coca-Cola Company 79.69 78.9 3. Google 79.52 NA 4. United Parcel Service (UPS) 79.37 78.24 5. 3M Company 78.78 79.07 6. Sony Corporation 78.75 77.95 7. Microsoft Corporation 78.11 78.00 8. General Mills 78.03 77.42 9. FedEx Corporation 77.79 77.49 10. Intel Corporation 77.27 76.10 11. Toyota Motor Corporation 77.27 75.59 12. Home Depot 76.50 74.77 13. The Procter & Gamble Company 75.91 78.26 14. The Walt Disney Company 75.88 74.03 15. Dell Computer Corporation 75.73 76.00 16. Honda Motor Co. 75.60 76.15 17. Pepsico 75.26 72.54 18. Costco 74.03 NA 19. IBM Corporation 73.42 71.77 20. General Electric Company 73.39 72.66 21. Southwest Airlines 73.20 73.08 22. The Boeing Company 73.10 70.40 23. Starbucks Corporation 72.93 73.68 24. Nike 72.11 70.57 25. Target Corporation 71.83 73.25 26. E.I. DuPont De Nemours (DuPont) 71.56 27. Apple Computer 70.59 68.26 28. Unilever 70.28 72.55 29. Wal-Mart Stores 69.99 70.56 30. Best Buy Co. 69.74 69.15 31. Hewlett-Packard/Compaq 69.44 73.16 32. Pfizer 69.10 70.97 33. J.C. Penney Company 68.81 67.56 34. Verizon Communications 67.01 67.71 35. McDonald’s 66.83 68.56 36. SBC Communications 66.67 65.05 37. Ford Motor Company 66.14 65.64 38. General Motors Corporation 66.07 68.18 39. Bank of America Corporation 66.00 63.56 40. Allstate Corporation 65.82 62.46 41. Sears Holdings Corporation (Parent of Kmart/Sears, Roebuck, and Co.) 65.26 70.06 42. Gateway 65.17 62.27 43. Citigroup Incorporated 65.00 64.10 44. DaimlerChrysler 64.47 65.21 45. Merck & Co., Inc 64.07 NA 46. Time Warner Inc. 63.85 63.89 47. ChevronTexaco Corporation 62.46 62.22 48. AT&T Corporation 62.37 60.23 49. Comcast Corporation 62.08 NA 50. Altria Group 61.62 60.58 51. Sprint Corporation 61.01 59.63 52. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia 60.99 58.36 53. Exxon Mobil Corporation 59.57 63.09 54. Royal Dutch/Shell 59.45 NA 55. Tyco International, Ltd. 58.39 59.35 56. United Airlines/ UAL Corporation 53.09 NA 57. Halliburton Company 49.75 50.25 59. MCI (formerly Worldcom) 46.80 45.53 60. Enron 30.05 29.03
For complete results to this study and previous RQ studies, go to http://www.harrisinteractive.com/rq.
Methodology
The Harris Interactive(R) corporate reputation study was carried out in two phases: a nominations phase, which occurred from March to June, 2005 and a ratings phase, which occurred from August 30 to September 26, 2005.
In the nominations phase, Harris Interactive conducted 6,977 interviews throughout the U.S. using a combined online and telephone methodology. The online respondents were randomly selected from the Harris Interactive online panel of multimillion members. All respondents were asked to nominate two companies that they feel have the best reputations overall and two companies that they feel have the worst reputations overall. Nominations were open-ended and all responses were tallied, placing subsidiaries and brand names within the parent company.
By totaling the mentions for best and worst companies provided during the nominations phase, Harris Interactive identified the list of 60 most visible companies in the U.S. to be measured in the ratings phase.
In the ratings phase, 19,564 respondents were randomly selected to complete a detailed rating of one or two companies with which they were “very or somewhat familiar.” All interviews were conducted online. Respondents rated companies on 20 attributes in six key dimensions which comprise the Harris- Fombrun Reputation Quotient(SM) (RQ) including, products and services, financial performance, workplace environment, social responsibility, vision and leadership, and emotional appeal. After the first company rating was completed, the respondent was given the option to rate a second company.
Each of the 60 companies was rated by at least 253 people; the average number of respondents per company was 650. All data were weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult (aged 18 and over) population. Weighting variables for this study included demographic variables (i.e., age, sex, education, race, ethnicity, household income and region), and some nondemographic variables to project findings to the U.S. adult population.
Finally, reputation quotient (RQ) figures were calculated for each company to determine the rankings. Each company’s RQ is based on the respondents’ ratings of each company on the 20 attributes. RQs are calculated by summing the ratings on the individual RQ attributes, dividing by the total possible score (i.e., 7 x the total number of attributes answered) and multiplying by 100. The highest possible score is 100. In comparing any two RQ scores, a T-test was used to determine statistically significant differences at a confidence level of 95%.
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value.
Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe (www.harrisinteractive.com/europe) and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France (www.novatris.com), and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V
To become a member of the Harris Poll Online(SM) and be invited to participate in future online surveys, go to www.harrispollonline.com.
Press Contact: Nancy Wong Harris Interactive 585-214-7316
Harris Interactive
CONTACT: Nancy Wong, of Harris Interactive, +1-585-214-7316
