Tatas reputed than Google, MS: survey

They may not be as big as their global peers in terms of revenue and profits, but Indian companies are top of the lot in terms of their reputation, as per a study that has ranked Tatas as more reputed than the likes of Google, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, GE and Walt Disney.

Noting that the world looks to “corporate India to find trust, admiration and good feeling,” the US-based brand and reputation management consulting firm Reputation Institute has named five Indian firms among the top-50 in its annual list of the world’s most reputed companies.

While the global list has been topped by Italy’s chocolate maker Ferrero, Sweden’s retailer IKEA, and Johnson &Johnson in the US, the Tata group has been ranked 11th.

Among Indian companies, Tatas are followed by SBI (29), Infosys (39), Larsen & Toubro (47) and Maruti Suzuki (49th).

There are 22 other Indian companies on the list of 600 largest companies, ranked in terms of their reputation.

“Corporate India has the best reputed companies. Of the 27 Indian companies ranked among the 600 largest in the world, almost 90% received scores above the global mean, withfive ranking among the Top 50,” the Reputation Institute saidin its annual study for 2009.

Only the US had more number of companies in the top-50 (17 companies), the report noted. In terms of overall presence also, the US had five times the number of companies in the list than India.

The list is made on the basis of admiration, trust and good feeling that consumers have towards a company.

Other Indian companies on the list include—Hindustan Unilever (70th rank), ITC (96), Canara Bank (103), HPCL (112), Indian Oil (113), Wipro (117), Reliance Group (133), Mahindra & Mahindra (138), Bharti Airtel (164), Bank of Baroda (175), BPCL (176) and Punjab National Bank (178).

The report did not clarify whether the Reliance group means the Mukesh Ambani Group or Anil Ambani group of companies. The report revealed that corporate trust is higher in the emerging markets, while companies in industrialised markets are trusted less.

“Proportionally, the largest companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China (Bric) enjoy a stronger emotional connection with consumers than the largest companies in the industrialised world,” it added.

Out of the 289 companies from the US, Japan, the UK, France and Germany, 45% have reputations below the global average, while only 34% of the 142 companies from Bric nations have below-average reputations, with Chinese companies dragging down the...

source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Tatas-reputed-than-Google-MS-survey/457115/