Reputation Institute Releases In-depth Findings on the State of Corporate Reputations in the Pharmaceutical Industry

New York, NY (PRWEB) July 14, 2008 -- Industry leader, Genentech, notched the highest corporate reputation among the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies surveyed in Reputation Institute's (RI) in-depth study on consumer perceptions of the industry. Based in part on results from Global Pulse 2008 study, the report sheds lights on how consumers feel about the largest players in the industry and what drives those emotions.

As a whole, pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. have a moderate reputation with the general public. Only four pharmaceutical companies in the industry grouping (Genentech, Sanofi-Aventis, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly) have scores above the study's average of 64.20 in the U.S. Healthcare giant, Johnson & Johnson, has the 2nd best reputation in the U.S., far above the pharmaceutical industry average, but was omitted from the study as a large percentage of their business is focused on consumer products.

What Drives Reputation

Using Reputation Institute's model the emotional appeal a company commands in the public's eye, its reputation, is driven by perceptions of the company's strength around seven rational dimensions: product/services, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership, and financial performance. Governance, a measure of how responsibly-run companies are perceived to be, was the most influential dimension of reputation for pharmaceutical companies accounting for 18.4% of reputation in the industry. Perceptions of products and services, generally the biggest driver of reputation, explained 17.1% of reputation while perceptions of a company's citizenship efforts accounted for 15.4%.

"The continually controversial issue of health care management combined with the rising costs of pharmaceuticals in the U.S. has clearly impacted the reputation of the industry" said Kasper Nielsen, Managing Partner at Reputation Institute. "Pharmaceutical companies have an opportunity to move into a more favored status with targeted reputation management efforts that focus on the drivers of reputation for the industry," he added.

The top rankings for the pharmaceutical companies are:

    Company    Score

1    Genentech    67.70

2    Sanofi-Aventis    66.51

3    Novo Nordisk    65.46

4    Eli Lilly & Co.    65.41

5    Novartis    63.99

6    Schering Plough    63.38

Survey Methodology

This study was conducted online in the U.S. between February and March of 2008 in conjunction with Reputation Institute's Global Pulse 2008. A Pulse score is a measure of corporate reputation calculated by averaging perceptions of 4 indicators of trust, esteem, admiration, and good feeling obtained from a representative sample of at least 100 local respondents who were familiar with the company. Scores range from a low of 0 to a high of 100, Pulse scores that differ by more than +/-0.5 are significantly different at the 95% confidence level. Scores can be categorized using the below key:

Excellent/Top Tier    above 80

Strong/Robust    70 - 79

Average/Moderate    60 - 69

Weak/Vulnerable    40 - 59

Poor/Lowest Tier    below 40

* Note: 50 additional U.S. companies were added to the Global Pulse in 2008.

About Reputation Institute

Reputation Institute is a private advisory and research firm specialized in corporate reputation management. With offices and associates in more than 20 countries, Reputation Institute provides knowledge-based consulting services to some of the most respected companies worldwide. Our consulting teams regularly help global clients assess, value and act on their reputations by providing strategic analysis and direction, as well as relevant assistance in developing and implementing reputation measurement and management systems. Reputation Institute also identifies best practices from original research, and we share our cutting-edge findings with clients and members through engagements, seminars, conferences, and publications. The Global Pulse is Reputation Institute's flagship research study conducted annually with some 60,000 consumers in 27 countries from which emerge detailed ratings of the reputations of the world's 1000 largest companies. Each year, the results of this study are featured in leading business publications around the world. Visit www.ReputationInstitute.com to learn more about us.

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