Trust and Purpose Study Switzerland 2011

Trust and Purpose
21 June 2011

Methodology
PSB completed 2,843 online interviews among the general population in the following countries from 5 May to 16 May, 2011. Data has been weighted to age and gender demographics for each country.*
In Switzerland, PSB completed 200 interviews
*Estonia is not weighted due to low base size
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Where is the trust?
While trust in business is not high, it is higher than among media, central government and religious leaders; central government is the least trusted of all
Trust in business varies enormously and depends on a combination of factors:
Provenance: people trust local companies the most, national a little less and international least of all. Europeans favour doing businesses with companies from America, Japan and Australia over BRICs
Core values: honesty and trustworthiness, good value and treatment of employees remain more important reputation builders than community and environmental credentials
Sector: industries that have experienced recent crises (finance and energy), perhaps unsurprisingly, are less trusted that computer and food and beverage companies
In general, Europeans are cynical about the motivations of business and CEOs believing them to be more motivated by personal gain and profits than a desire to help society
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Where is the trust?
People prefer to seek out information about companies when they want it – through Google searches or traditional media – rather than receive incoming updates through Facebook or Twitter. Many feel companies only communicate to sell them things.
The priorities of consumers and employees have more in common than might be expected: although employees do prioritise paying employees a fair wage over quality products and services
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Top of mind in 2011
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Protests in 2011
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The economic crisis needs no translation
In the last two years, has there been a single event which has caused you to lose trust in companies? (Open-end response)
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Bonuses, the crisis and golden parachutes have undercut trust in CEOs
In the last two years, has there been an single event which has caused you to lose trust in CEOs? (Open-end response)
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Large corporations are seen to be motivated by money, profit and greed
When you think of large corporations, what is the first word that comes to mind? (Open-end response)
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Trust in Companies and Organisations
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Provenance is a key factor in trust in business
Local companies and businesses are the most trusted across Europe, and more so in Switzerland
In Switzerland, trust is strongest at the local and national level
Compared to two years ago, are you more or less trusting of..?(Ranked by Switzerland, Showing Net Trust [(Much more + Somewhat more trusting) – (Somewhat less + Much less trusting)] )
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Overall, trust is very low towards businesses and central gov’t
In Switzerland, men and those over 35 tend to be more trusting of national companies & businesses
Compared to two years ago, are you more or less trusting of..? (Ranked by Switzerland, Showing Net Trust [(Much more + Somewhat more trusting) – (Somewhat less + Much less trusting)] )
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Trust is strongest on the home front
Trust is far stronger for national companies over foreign-owned ones
Which of the following is closer to your opinion?
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Australia, Japan and the US are the most trusted countries
Australian companies rank the highest
Trust for the BRIC countries is very low
Thinking about foreign-owned companies, how much do you trust companies from each of the following countries? (Showing among Switzerland, European average shown in parenthesis)
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And the US, Japan and Australia have the most trustworthy foreign-owned companies
China, South Korea, Brazil, India and Russia fall well behind
Thinking about foreign-owned companies, which country do you think has companies which are the most trustworthy? (Showing Switzerland, European average in parenthesis)
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Many industrial groups are more trusted than traditional thought leaders
In Switzerland, computer hardware & software manufacturers, supermarkets and NGOs are most trusted
In Switzerland, NGOs are far more trusted than in the rest of Europe
Eur. Avg
Switzerland
For each of the following, please indicate how trustworthy you consider each group or industry to be...? (Showing Very/Somewhat Trustworthy on a four-point scale, ranked by Switzerland combined)
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Having products and services that are good value is important across Europe
In Switzerland, treating employees fairly is most important, more so than in the rest of Europe
Thinking about what is important to you about companies, which of the following would you say important when considering which companies to purchase products or services from? (Respondents allowed to pick up to three, ranked by Switzerland)
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Having products and services that are good value is important across Europe
Thinking about what is important to you about companies, which of the following would you say important when considering which companies to purchase products or services from? (Respondents allowed to pick up to three, ranked by Switzerland)
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CEOs
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CEOs are seen to be motivated by personal profit and are also seen as less trustworthy than employees
Nearly half felt that CEOs were motivated by personal profit
What do you think most top executives are motivated by? (Ranked by Switzerland)Do you think the average CEO is more or less trustworthy than the average employee? (Showing Switzerland, European average in parenthesis)
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Employee and consumer viewpoint
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The desires of consumers and employees are not as disparate as might be expected
Employee issues (pay, treatment) were most important for both consumers and employees in Switzerland
Unsurprisingly, being more open about mistakes and customer service were more important for consumers than employees
Eur. Avg.
Switzerland
Thinking as a consumer, how important are each of the following actions that companies could take to help increase your trust in them? / Thinking as an employee of a company, how important are each of the following in helping companies to increase your trust in them? (Showing ‘Very important’ on a four-point scale, Showing top ten ranked by Switzerland Consumer)
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Thinking as a consumer, how important are each of the following actions that companies could take to help increase your trust in them? / Thinking as an employee of a company, how important are each of the following in helping companies to increase your trust in them? (Showing ‘Very important’ on a four-point scale) (Showing top ten ranked by Switzerland Consumer)
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Thinking as a consumer, how important are each of the following actions that companies could take to help increase your trust in them? / Thinking as an employee of a company, how important are each of the following in helping companies to increase your trust in them? (Showing ‘Very important’ on a four-point scale) (Showing top ten ranked by Switzerland Consumer)
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Balancing making money with acting responsibly is most commonly associated with ‘Corporate Purpose’
In Switzerland, over three-fifths said that balancing making money with acting responsibly was what most closely defined ‘Corporate Purpose’
Which of the following do you think most closely defines ‘Corporate Purpose’? (Ranked by Switzerland)
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Responsibility and fairness are important
A strong corporate purpose is important, much more so in Switzerland
Consumers say they would rather pay more for products and services that are produced responsibly and fairly
Which of the following is closer to your view?
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While a company’s highest priority should be its consumers, many feel profit comes first
The majority feel customers and employees should come first, but that corporations are more focused on their bottom-line
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Overall, companies are seen as dishonest
Many feel that companies have become more dishonest over time and that they cannot be trusted with personal information
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Information
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Many search for information on companies, but traditional sources are still important
Newspapers and journals are the most common source of information on companies in Switzerland, more so than in the rest of Europe
Where do you tend to find out information about different companies? (Respondents allowed to select one, ranked by Switzerland)
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Newspapers, journals and investigative television journalism are most trusted in Switzerland
Newspapers/journals are more trusted in Switzerland than the rest of Europe
How trusting would you be if a company was to use the following channels to engage with you?(Showing % ‘Very trusting’ on four-point scale of ‘Very trusting’ to ‘Not at all trusting’)
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And being informed is important…
The majority of respondents feel they receive the right amount of information
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But feel that companies only contact people to sell them something…
In Switzerland, there is a strong perception that too much is heard from CEOs and not enough from staff on the front-lines
Eur. Avg
Switzerland
Thinking about how companies communicate with you. How much would you say the following applies? (Showing ‘Applies a lot / Applies somewhat’ on a four-point scale, ranked by Switzerland combined score)
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Consumers want to hear about a company’s values and identity
Four-fifths of respondents were favourable to hearing about companies’ values and identities and in Switzerland.
They were most favourable to hearing about it through personalised letters and emails and from the front-line staff
Eur. Avg
Switzerland
Thinking about the future, how favourable would you be to the following ways in which companies could communicate with you?(Showing ‘Very favourable / Somewhat favourable’ on a four-point scale ranked by Switzerland combined score)
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THANK YOU!
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Trust and Purpose Study Switzerland 2011

by Burson-Marsteller Schweiz on Jun 21, 2011

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Trust and Purpose Study Switzerland 2011 — Presentation Transcript