What's more important to a CEO than the company's stock price?
Try the reputation of the firm, says a new survey released last
week by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Fleishman Hillard
International Communications. The Forum sent a written survey to
all 1,500 delegates gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the WEF's
34th annual forum, to gauge their opinions about corporate
reputation -- the first time the forum has queried its members on
the subject. About 10% of the delegates responded to the
questionnaire. The bulk of the WEF's membership is drawn from the
world's 1,000 top global companies. Here are a few of the results
from the survey:
- Corporate reputation is a more important measure of success
than stock performance, profitability and return on investment - Only the quality of products and services edged out reputation
as the primary measure of corporate success - Among corporate members, almost two-fifths (38%) rates
economics/markets as the leading threat to security and integrity
of the corporate brand, suggesting that short- term views may be
distorting accurate and efficient valuation of companies - While most members (90%) associate either high or moderate risk
with the current geopolitical situation, most (82%) are more
optimistic now than they were a year ago regarding the global
economy.
Source: World Economic Forum/Fleishman Hillard International
Communications