Dive Brief:
- New York Times expose aside, Amazon has reclaimed the top spot in the The Harris Poll's annual Reputation Quotient (RQ) Summary Report.
- The report, which is in its 17th year, reveals corporate reputation ratings for the 100 most visible companies in the U.S., as perceived by the general public (including potential employees). Amazon has ranked in the top 10 for eight consecutive years.
- Following Amazon, the next nine ranked companies are (in order): Apple, Google, USAA, The Walt Disney Company, Publix Super Markets, Samsung, Berkshire Hathaway, Johnson & Johnson, and Kellogg Company.
Dive Insight:
The RQ measures companies' reputation based on the perceptions of more than 23,000 Americans on six corporate reputation dimensions: Social Responsibility, Emotional Appeal, Products and Services, Vision and Leadership, Financial Performance, and Workplace Environment.
In light of its recent emissions scandal, Volkswagen Group declined steeply, dropping 20.5 points overall from a "very good" score in 2015 to a "very poor" rating in 2016. The embattled car maker is the only company to be ranked "very poor" this year.
Sarah Simmons, senior reputation consultant at Nielsen, which owns The Harris Poll, said best-in-class companies "demonstrate that corporate reputation matters – to customers, employees, potential hires, business partners and investors."
