The Reputation Institute recently released its annual ranking of corporate reputations, with the following companies rounding out the top 10:
1. Lego
2. IKEA
3. Barilla
4. Mercadona, S.A.
5. A.P. Moller-Maersk
6. Toyota Motor Corporation
7. Terrero
8. Petrobras
9. Sberbank of Russia
10. Rockwool
According to Charles Fombrun, the executive director of the Reputation Institute, Lego's jump to first place is likely a result of "pruning their lines of business." Other practices employed by the most reputable companies, most of which were not U.S.-based, were "ongoing dialogue with customers," "a global media strategy" and "changes in leadership."
"For any company, success is about trust and relationships," Mike Lawrence, EVP of Cone, commented to Forbes. "The biggest reason is technology, which has empowered every consumer to be extremely powerful. Someone who isn't happy with a company can go online and inundate a CEO's e-mail inbox and have people 20,000 miles away ready to boycott."
The Institute surveyed more than 60,000 people in 29 countries on seven factors that contribute to a company's reputation: products and services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, leadership and performance. According to the report, this is the first year that voters counted citizenship as having the strongest affect on reputation.