The Reputation Quotient | Corporate Reputation Measurement
Joy Marie Sever, Ph.D.
developing a standardized corporate reputation measurement
Imagine the responsibility of designing a comprehensive corporate reputation measurement system, using it to measure the reputations of the most visible companies, and having the results published prominently in The Wall Street Journal. Those of us in the Reputation Practice at Harris Interactive can imagine it – we were responsible for making it happen.
It was 1998. I was part of Harris’ corporate division. We had recently completed a project measuring perceptions of Salomon Smith Barney, and were in the 2nd year of a multi-phase, multi-year, multi-stakeholder reputation project for Johnson & Johnson. Each survey was customized for the specific company – but the underlying metrics were very similar. I started to wonder if there might be a need for a standardized reputation instrument that could be used across multiple companies and industries. This question was on my mind when I attended the Conference Board's Corporate Image Conference in Manhattan in January 1998.
In the 1990s the word "reputation" was not used in business the way it is today. But that was starting to change. "Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image" by Dr. Charles Fombrun was published in 1996. Charles was Professor of Management at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Executive Director of the Reputation Institute. He was also the keynote speaker at the Corporate Image Conference. We talked. After that I made three recommendations to Harris' Operating Committee: 1. Establish a corporate reputation practice at Harris Interactive, 2. Develop a standardized reputation measurement instrument, and 3. Partner with Charles Fombrun. The Committee agreed to all three recommendations, and in 1998 I became Director of Harris’ Reputation Practice.
With Harris’ researchers and statisticians, and Charles’ then doctoral student, Naomi Gardberg, Ph.D., we set out to develop a rigorous measure of corporate reputation that was comparable within and across industries, suitable for multiple stakeholder groups, and with sufficient depth to inform strategic decisions toward achieving business goals. We also wanted a reputable media organization to publish the results of our research. The timing was right for a project of this magnitude; Harris had recently decided to invest in online survey research and panel development.
It took 18 months to achieve our goal. We reviewed existing corporate reputation surveys, conducted focus groups with multiple stakeholder groups, ran pilot tests to refine the instrument, and met with Harris' sampling, weighting, and online panel experts.
The Reputation Quotient ® (RQ) Model and Methodology
In September 1999, The Wall Street Journal published the results of our first Annual Reputation Quotient (RQ). It was the first of many to follow. With some adjustments, the following model/methodology – designed 20 years ago – still exists today.
The RQ Model A total of 20 attributes across six reputational dimensions: Emotional Appeal, Products & Services, Workplace Environment, Vision & Leadership, Financial Performance, and Social Responsibility
2-Phase Data Collection 1. Nominations | Two open-ended questions: "Of all the companies you know or are familiar with, which two would you say have the best / worst reputations?" Responses (the nominations) are carefully tallied, subsidiaries are placed within parent companies, and a list of the "most visible" companies is created. 2. Ratings | A separate sample of respondents provides detailed ratings of up to two companies with which they are "very" or "somewhat" familiar. Ratings on the 20 attributes determine the company’s RQ. Results are carefully weighted to ensure generalizability to the national population.
The RQ instrument also included stated importance of the six repetition dimensions, as well as other company-specific metrics: supportive behaviors (purchase, investment, verbal support, boycotting), likelihood of being trusted to do the right thing in the event of a problem/crisis/product recall, and an open-ended question on reputation advice.
Reputation Quotient® Model
6 Dimensions | 20 Attributes
Annual RQ 1999 | The best corporate reputations in america: Johnson & Johnson turns up tops
By Ronald J. Alsop, September 1999
Johnson & Johnson. Benefiting from its heritage as the premier maker of baby powder and shampoo, the health-care company is the surprising champion of a new public-opinion study of corporate image and how it evolves over time.
The nationwide survey of 10,830 people, conducted online last month marks the first effort to systematically sound out a cross-section of Americans to determine the relative standing of businesses in the national psyche. The research, made available exclusively to The Wall Street Journal, was conducted by Harris Interactive Inc. and the Reputation Institute.
annual RQ 2001 | Perils of corporate philanthropy
By the third wave of our annual survey, we were measuring the reputations of the 60 most visible companies in the U.S. A total of 10,038 survey respondents were interviewed for the nomination phase (4,063 by telephone and 5,975 online), and 21,630 randomly selected online respondents provided detailed ratings of up to two companies with which they were “very” or “somewhat” familiar. Companies were evaluated by an average of 600 U.S. adults (18+ years).
Results from the RQ 2001 were publicly released and first appeared in The Wall Street Journal on January 16, 2002. In addition to the main article, “Companies’ Reputations Depend on Service They Give Customers,” the WSJ published “Perils of Corporate Philanthropy,” and “Companies with Leading Reputations Show Consistency in Their Rankings” – all written by WSJ reporter, Ronald J. Alsop.
Using the ANNUAL RQ 2002 to Learn about perceptions of corporate social responsibility.
Results published in The Wall Street Journal February 12, 2003
Corporate Sincerity Scores
Reputation and Perceived Sincerity
What Doesn’t the Public Know?
Annual RQ 2003 | Corporate Scandals Hit Home, Reputations of Big Companies Tumble in Consumer Survey; ‘Money Can Rob the Goodness’
By Ronald J. Alsop, February 29, 2004, The Wall Street Journal published "Corporate Scandals Hit Home, By Ronald J. Alsop. It was the fifth wave of our Annual RQ.
"Big corporations are stuck in the doghouse. More than two years after a wave of accounting scandals shook the public's trust, the reputation of many of the best-known companies continues to decline. In their latest corporate-reputation study, Harris Interactive and the Reputation Institute found that the public still mad at many of the 60 companies in this year's ranking: Three-quarters of the survey respondents grade the image of big corporations as either "not good" or "terrible." ... Although still No.1 in the ranking, even Johnson & Johnson is feeling the sting of corporate distrust."
“Too many companies think they can simply advertise their way out of a bad reputation,” said Joy Sever, senior vice president at Harris Interactive.
The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation
By Ronald J. Alsop
“The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation is a unique combination of expert journalistic insight and knowledge gained from quantitative research into how people perceive corporations. Ron Alsop identifies the powerful principles that characterize corporate reputation and provides revealing details based on specific corporate experiences. Alsop not only establishes the critical importance of reputation to corporate strategy, but provides the essential and much-needed guidance that companies are seeking to understand the dynamics of their own corporate reputation.”
Joy Marie Sever, Ph.D., SVP, The Reputation Practice at Harris Interactive
World Business Forum
2004
On Tuesday May 11, 2004, I was a panel member at The Rainbow Room (NYC) to talk about corporate reputation. Following our presentations and discussion, we walked to Radio City Music Hall to hear former President Bill Clinton talk about his soon to be released book “My Life.”
"Since the first edition of the WOBI World Business Forum held in New York City in 2004, the event has since expanded to several countries around the world, giving hundred of thousands of attendees the opportunity to experience unprecedented transformational learning." From The World Business Forum website.
Letter from Shirlee M. Clark | May 1, 2005
Director of Communications for FedEx Corporation
Joy has the unique ability to explain research in a way that is easy for all to comprehend. Her interpersonal skills make her a delight to work with. Even those who were sometimes intimidated by sophisticated data were never hesitant to contact her for clarification and counsel.
Around the World with the RQ | 24 Countries, 15 Languages
The Reputation Practice built strong partnerships and client relationships, achieved scalability of the standard RQ, and increased revenue and profitability with customized reputation programs.
The RQ also earned a very important international reputation through the networks built by Professors Charles Fombrun and Cees Van Riel (Reputation Institute), and by Humphrey Taylor and Sally Willert (at Harris). By 2003, RQs (standard and customized) had been conducted in 24 countries and in 15+ languages.
The Reputation Quotient (RQ) Today
I left Harris Interactive in 2005. In the years to follow, Harris Interactive was acquired by Nielsen (in 2014), and then by the Stagwell Group (in early 2017). Harris' Reputation Practice has continued to grow, and the Annual RQ continues to be conducted and published each year. In February 2017, "Harris Insights and Analytics" published the 18th Annual RQ, "Corporate Reputation is Politically Polarized, The Reputation of America's 100 Most Visible Companies." What follows is from The Harris Poll website:
The Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ), an established annual measure of the understanding of corporate reputation in America since 1999, identifies movement, trends and insights in a changing corporate reputation landscape. It quantifies reputation ratings for the 100 most visible companies in the U.S., as perceived by the general public. A trusted baseline for understanding and managing corporate reputation and identifying new market risks and opportunities, the RQ measures companies’ reputation strength based on the perceptions of more than 23,000 Americans across six corporate reputation dimensions: Social Responsibility, Emotional Appeal, Products and Services, Vision and Leadership, Financial Performance, and Workplace Environment. The Harris Poll 2017 Reputation Quotient Summary Report can be found at www.theharrispoll.com/reputation-quotient/.
It was the right time, the right place, the right team.
THE RQ TEAM
The Reputation Quotient was a "right time, right place, right team" experience. These photos feature many members of that "right team." Other key members of the team, not shown below, included my Harris Interactive colleagues Humphrey Taylor, David Krane, Len Bayer, George Terhanian, Frinzetta Oluyemi Shivers, Sally Willert, Julie Isbit, and Loretta Woodruff.
Dedicated lead RQ Team members: Deirdre Wanat and Oliver Freedman at Oliver's "going back to Australia" party. Oliver continued to work closely with our RQ Team long after he left New York City.
left to right/front: Rama Botlagudar, Deirdre Wanat, Dawn Hurd, Oliver Freedman, Charles Fombrun. | left to right/back: Dawn, Chris Foss, Bob Leitman.
Euro RQ Amsterdam July 2000
Charles on the left, Naomi Gardberg in white. Together we published: "The Reputation Quotient: A multi-stakeholder measure of corporate reputation." Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 7 No. 4, 2000, pp.241-255. In 2017, Naomi and her colleagues published "The Impact of Corporate Philanthropy on Reputation for Corporate Social Performance" using RQ data (Business & Society).
Euro RQ London August 2000
On a break from the EURO RQ with Reputation Institute's Kasper Ulf Nielsen (London, August 2000).
The Euro RQ summer 2000 also included meetings in London | Charles, Kasper, Joy, and Reputation Institute's Nicolas Georges Trad. International networks meant international conferences. I was fortunate to be among a growing group of corporate reputation researchers and communicators gathering yearly to present our latest corporate reputation research, and to learn from reputation experts from around the world.
Reputation Conference Paris 2001
At an outdoor party while in Paris for the Annual Reputation Conference (2001).
Ron Alsop, WSJ reporter and author of WSJ's RQ articles, corporate reputation books, and business school recruiting books. Deirdre Wanat, a key member of the RQ Team, in the middle.