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Clover, new-comer in this reputation measurement study, claims top spot on the list of South Africa’s 50 large companies measured in the 2016 Global RepTrak® Pulse South Africa. The survey, which measures corporate reputation annually, is conducted by Reputation House which represents Reputation Institute in South Africa. Clover’s reputation score is 78.1 out of a possible 100. Coming in close second and third place are Coca Cola, another newcomer and Woolworths, last year’s winner. Despite an increase in companies measured from 30 last year to 50 this year, Woolworths remains the industry leader in the retail industry and has managed to consolidate its reputation further.
The research emphasis shifted from JSE listed companies, which dominated the rankings at the launch of this annual study in 2006, to include companies most familiar to the general public. This year’s study focused on eight industries researching companies on the basis of at least 50% familiarity with the general public. True to the importance of context in measuring corporate reputation, key priority of the study has evolved towards providing credible data for corporations and other stakeholders to conduct industry analysis and benchmarking of companies amongst their peers.
The reputation scores of the top 10 companies surveyed in the 2016 Global RepTrak® Pulse South Africa are as follows:
“There are significant differences in industry reputations. It seems much easier to have a good reputation in the retail or FMCG sector while telecommunication and state owned enterprises find it difficult to build an emotional bond with people. It is therefore critical that companies assess their reputation in the context of their industry rather than focusing solely on the overall ranking” says Dr. Dominik Heil, chairman of Reputation House.
In addition to industry leaders Clover (FMCG) and Woolworths (Retail), other industry leaders are FNB (Financial – Banking), Sanlam (Financial – Diversified), Santam (Financial – Short-Term Insurance), Sasol (Oil, Gas & Lubricants), Vodacom (Telecommunications) and South African Airways (State Owned Enterprises).
An important insight from the 2016 study is a marked increase in the importance that people place on governance as a determinant of corporate reputation. This includes whether a company is fair in business, behaves ethically and is open and transparent. While governance is critical in building a good reputation it is generally not something in which South African companies have scored high.
“It is noteworthy that the South African public is putting such an emphasis on issues of governance. Apart from products and services, now fairness, ethics and transparency – in short Integrity, is emerging as a key competitive differentiator for attracting customers and getting support from stakeholders in South Africa,” says Dr. Heil.
