Samsung's Reputation In The US Tanks Alongside Volkswagen

The latest Harris Poll is in, and in it we see some pretty obvious conclusions, namely that both Samsung and Volkswagen suffered big blows to their reputations in the United States last year. According to the poll, Amazon has the top 'reputation quotient,' with other notable companies on the list including Apple at #5, Disney at #7, Google at #8, and Tesla at #9.

It's not hard to guess why Samsung's reputation suffered a blow last year, with the Galaxy Note 7 shaking some consumers' view of the company and willingness to purchase its phones. This likely wasn't helped along by other bad news, such as those exploding washing machines, and the company continues to be in the negative spotlight over its chief's arrest.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, suffered a huge blow as officials revealed that the automaker had used so-called cheating software to pass emissions tests. That itself led to a massive recall of vehicles, not to mention legal issues with the U.S. government that have taken many months to iron out.

According to the Harris Poll, companies do the most damage to their reputations when their corporate leaders commit 'illegal actions' or they are found to have committed 'intentional wrongdoing.' Also very damaging is when they are found too have misinterpreted facts or outright lied, or when they intentionally misuse financial data for some kind of financial gain. Lesser but still serious blows to corporate reputation include things like data breaches, discrimination, bad workplace culture and conditions, bad conduct from leadership, and having to recall items over 'contamination.'

All in all, the Harris Poll shows Samsung suffered a 5-percent blow to its reputation and Volkswagen suffered a 9-percent blow, neither of which comes close to Wells Fargo's 23-percent decrease.

SOURCE: The Harris Poll