The World's Most Reputable Companies In 2015

By Sasan Adams

When the news broke last week that the European Union was officially charging Google GOOGL +1.16% with cheating consumers and competitors by distorting Web search results to lure visitors to its own shopping service, what did that do to Google’s reputation in Europe? Likely nothing, says Kasper Ulf Nielsen, executive partner and cofounder of Reputation Institute [RI], the 18-year-old reputation management consulting firm based in New York and Copenhagen, which just released a list of what it deems the 100 most reputable companies in the world. Google scores No. 2 on the list, just behind BMW and above Daimler . “Consumers really love Google,” says Nielsen. “They trust it and admire it. You have to ask, who has the stronger reputation, Google or the European Union commissioner?” At least for now, Google wins, he says.

For the last 10 years, Nielsen’s firm has been putting out its list, called the Global RepTrak 100. It comes from a three-month-long survey it conducted from January through March, of 61,000 people in 15 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain the U.K. and the U.S. It started with a list of the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue, then culled that to 150 using reputation lists it’s put together over time. To be considered, a company had to be well known in the countries surveyed and have revenues of more than $6 billion in the U.S. or $1 billion globally.

RI showed each respondent a list of 20 companies and asked if the person was familiar or very familiar with them. If the person was familiar with a firm, then it offered four basic statements: “I trust this company,” “I admire and respect this company,” “I have a good feeling about this company,” and “This company has an overall good reputation.” Next it asked respondents to rate a series of statements like, “This company makes or sells innovative products or innovates in the way it does business.” The survey measured how consumers felt on seven of what it calls “dimensions:” performance, products/services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship and leadership, all of which fall under the four broad categories of esteem, admire, trust and feeling.

The Global RepTrak list stands out from other corporate lists we cover, like the most ethical and most trustworthy companies, because it aims to quantify the way companies are perceived by consumers, or “stakeholders” as Nielsen calls them, rather than looking at how companies manage their internal affairs. The list measures public perceptions rather than actual corporate practices. According to RI’s data, 83% of consumers say they would definitely buy products sold by companies with top reputations while only 9% want to buy from companies with poor reputations.

How has Google hammered down such a strong reputation? Its search engine is incredibly powerful and high-functioning, a tool that few people feel they can live without, and it has a well-known 10-part corporate credo displayed prominently on its corporate site, which includes the statement, “You can make money without doing evil.” It also has told a convincing story about itself to the word, says Nielsen, as a place that treats its employees extremely well, offering perks like cafeterias packed with healthy food, an on-campus laundry service, subsidized massages and at the Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View, CA, a sports complex that houses a roller hockey rink.

Google has said it does not engage in anti-competitive practices but Nielsen’s RI colleague Stephen Hahn-Griffiths cautions that Google needs to tread carefully on anti-trust issues. It should cooperate with European regulators and be transparent about its practices.

It’s intriguing that two car companies are also at the top of the reputation list, given that their products are gas-guzzling pollution-producers. But BMW makes an effort to portray itself not just as an auto maker but as a local business wherever it has dealers and production facilities, says Nielsen, providing jobs and forming strong relationships with consumers. Its reputation as a distinctive brand with a premium on reliable engineering and safety helps it rise to the top in consumers’ minds. As early as 1980 the company was producing cars that got 26 miles per gallon and nowadays environmentalists are surely pleased about its new electric i3. “Over the last five to ten years they have really put a lot into stakeholder perception and input,” says Nielsen. (BMW is a RI client.)

The World's Best 100