Conducted by Harris Interactive for global PR consultancy Edelman, the Asia- Pacific Stakeholder Study found that governments rated the highest, with 31 per cent of respondents giving governments at least eight out of 10 in response to the question: 'How much do you trust each of the following institutions to do what is right'. NGOs scored the next highest with 28 per cent, with business and media well behind, scoring 18 and 17 per cent respectively.
The 10-market survey involved face-to-face interviews with more than 900 stakeholders across seven key areas: government, media, NGOs and trade organisations, institutional investors, senior business executives, employees and upscale consumers.
"Business is significantly less trusted than governments and NGOs, which I think is alarming -- but not necessarily surprising," said Alan Vander- Molen, president, Edelman Asia-Pacific. "It reflects a real erosion of trust in business as a result of corporate scandals and a lack of corporate governance in a number of markets."
He said the results showed PR professionals were not doing enough to manage corporate reputations, noting that while some were hamstrung by clients which viewed PR as simply managing media relations, there was also a general lack of understanding in how wide a consultancy's remit could be.
"The industry has to become more business savvy, and it needs to have a really firm understanding of what an organisation's business objectives are," said VanderMolen. "Not enough PR people out there operate on that level today."
Media as an institution also rated poorly, according to the study, with results reflecting an increasing desire among opinion leaders to be involved in the news process, a key attribute of the internet.
"There is a general decrease in trust, particularly in broadcast media like television, because of the melding of news and entertainment," said VanderMolen. "For that reason, television, compared to other forms like print and the internet, comes across as being a lot less credible."
The survey also found that as corporate spokespersons, CEOs were the most trusted and believable in providing information about the company at 54 per cent, while chairmen and CFOs scored 44 and 42 per cent respectively.
Governments scoring highly on trust: study
Government institutions have emerged as the clear leaders in issues of trust, according to a regional survey which canvassed the opinions of leading stakeholders across Asia-Pacific.
