Photo credit: Jonathan Potter
Americans hold a dim view of corporations, do not trust them and believe they are “going in the wrong direction,” reveals research involving 40,000 participants.
Although most initial media coverage of the research by Just Capital, an independent nonprofit, focused on the public’s unfavorable view of corporate American, the study contains some good news for corporations.
Most respondents said they would change their behavior in seeking employment, buying products, and investing in companies based on their understanding of how just a corporation is, according to the research. Most Americans are willing to give companies credit for working to improve how it affects people and the environment. In addition, most believe that what is good for business is also good for the country.
The findings highlight the importance of public relations in improving the public’s perception of corporations.
Most Important Attributes for Corporations
Americans believe employee pay, benefits, satisfaction and fair hiring practices are the most important characteristics that define corporations.
After those factors, the respondents identified product benefit or harm, protecting human rights, governance and financial integrity, environmental impact, customer service and value, community relations and charitable giving, corporate ethics and honesty, and US employment.
Other key findings include:
- Performing poorly on consumer safety matters and human rights issues has by far the greatest potential to negatively affect the public’s perception of corporations.
- The vast majority of respondents (91%) across all political ideologies and income levels believe it is important to measure how just corporate behavior is.
- Most believe corporations can never justify paying very low wages even if it allows them to provide products or services at very low prices.
- Regardless of political ideology, Americans feel corporations have greater obligations to employees, the environment, customers and communities than the corporations themselves are currently meeting.
- Those with annual incomes over $200,000 are more likely to say corporate behavior is going in the right direction. Those with incomes below that level feel corporate behavior is going in the wrong direction.
- Millennials aged 18-32 and Gen Xers aged 33-49 are divided on whether corporations have become more or less just, while older Americans are much more likely to say corporations have become less just.
There seems to be a perception that many businesses act as if their responsibility is only to shareholders and not to consumers or the public. If that view is true, then companies need to change behavior and priorities – or lose public trust. If it’s not true, then companies need to better inform the public of their priorities and their efforts to be socially responsible and just.
Huge Disconnect
“People have been saying for years that there’s a huge disconnect between the corporate leadership and Main Street, but solutions have been hard to find,” said Paul Tudor Jones II, who chairs Just Capital’s board. “If we can shift just 1% of capital flows onto a more just pathway, that equates to well over half a trillion dollars of impact.”
Jones, a well-known investor, founded Just Capital, with Arianna Huffington and Deepak Chopra, the holistic medicine advocate and bestselling author, in order to promote socially responsible investing.
Bottom Line: Research reveals the importance of public perception of corporations and uncovers a degree of goodwill toward corporate America. Americans believe corporations are heading in the wrong direction and say they may change their purchasing patterns and other behaviors based on how justly a company acts. Those revelations can prompt corporations to re-examine their behavior and strengthen their public relations efforts.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
