Goya nabs Gaither Institute’s ‘best reputation’ honors
Rodrigo Ruiz-Jiménez, director of business development in Latin America for Gaither
Goya Puerto Rico is the company with the best reputation on the island, according to the results of the most recent RepTrak Pulse Puerto 2012 study unveiled Wednesday by Reputation Institute, Gaither International and Inmark Strategic Studies.
The study, which analyzes the reputation of the major companies operating on the island, Goya scored 87.9 out of a possible 100, nabbing the first place in the ranking and earning the research firms’ “Kyros Award of Reputation.” Last year, Goya ranked second in terms of its corporate reputation.
This year, the second place went to Wal-Mart (87 points), followed by Johnson & Johnson (86.1), Kellogg’s (86.06), Mars (86.04), Honda (84.9), Econo (84.2), Holsum (84.17), Coca-Cola (84.12) and Kraft (83.97).
The RepTrak Pulse Puerto Rico 2012 report analyzes the reputation of the 76 largest companies operating in Puerto Rico, categorized into 12 sectors. Gaither International bases its study on the RepTrak methodology developed by Reputation Institute and turned into an international standard for evaluating and strategically managing corporate reputations.
“The trust and credibility companies generate is one of the main tools they have to continue to create value, minimize new risk and stand out in an increasingly demanding market,” said Beatriz Castro, vice president of Gaither International during a presentation of the findings Wednesday. “This is why managing corporate reputation is a great opportunity to adequately respond to the current business environment’s expectations and challenges.”
RepTrack’s methodology quantifies the emotional drive that leads an interest group to express their appreciation, admiration, respect or trust for a company. It also explains this emotional impulse rationally based on the following seven dimensions of reputation: Products and services offer, innovation, framework, integrity, citizenship, leadership, and financial results.
According to report’s findings, the three aspects of a company’s reputation that the Puerto Rican general public values most of Puerto Rico are products and services (21.5 percent), innovation (15.8 percent), and integrity (14.0 percent.) Both Puerto Ricans and North Americans publics place the highest value on products and services aspect, while stateside residents value integrity and citizenship as well.
At the sector level, the three most valued in this year’s report are food (82.8 out of 100 points), general retail (82.5 points), and consumer products (80.2 points). Last year, food, consumer products and general retail topped the list in that order.
Participants get details on this year’s report, which highlights the significant economic impact that reputation has on corporate bottom lines.
Sectors with bad ‘rep’
At the other extreme, sectors with the worse reputation are finance-insurance (68.8 points), finance-banks (61.8 points) and telecommunications (56.6 points). The first two showed a moderate reputation, while the latter presented a weak standing. The report showed that the average reputation of all sectors in Puerto Rico is 72.2 points.
Ultimately, this year’s report highlights the significant economic impact that reputation has on corporate bottom lines.
“The reputation economy in which we live is defining a new business management paradigm in which favorable behavior by stakeholders toward a company, either to buy their products, invest or work for it, not as dependent on what it does, but on what it is,” said Rodrigo Ruiz-Jiménez, director of business development in Latin America for Gaither.
“What’s important for stakeholders in this reputation economy is not just the quality of a company’s products and services, but also, and above all, the company’s ability to meet the expectations of these stakeholders and create value for each one of them,” he said.
According to other Reputation Institute findings, only 40 percent of the factors that motivate buying a product or service are directly related to the opinion the consumer may have about its qualities.
“The remaining 60 percent of the buying decision comes from the perception the buyer has of the company that develops it. This means that in the reputation economy, to retain customers and gain their loyalty over time, what matters is who we are and not just what we do,” Ruiz-Jiménez said.
“However, to build a good reputation a company must excel in the seven key dimensions that create it, because highlighting one or two aspects is not enough if the company is looking to get the recommendation of its stakeholders and the support of its customers,” he said.
