Negative Perceptions Of Company's Reputation Jump 500 Percent In April

Negative perceptions of United Airlines' corporate reputation increased 500 percent following the April 9 passenger incident, according to new research from The Harris Poll. Forty-two percent of U.S. consumers said United has a "bad" or "very bad" reputation when surveyed in April, compared to seven percent in late 2016.

"United's six-fold increase in negative corporate reputation sentiment shows us once again how quickly and severely a company's corporate reputation can be damaged," said Carol Gstalder, senior vice president at The Harris Poll. "Corporate reputation is your most valuable asset and with the majority of Americans talking about, advocating or using reputation as a lens through which to make purchase decisions, the business value of a company's reputation has never been higher."

The Harris Poll, which surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. consumers April 17-18, 2017, found that 19 percent of consumers believe United Airlines has a "good" or "very good" reputation, compared to 31 percent in late 2016. United's reputation decline comes on the heels of a January 2017 Harris Poll survey, which found that only 16 percent of Americans perceive the airline industry to be honest and trustworthy.

The Harris Poll's April corporate reputation results are based on a sample of 2,210 U.S. adults ages 18 and over, surveyed online, in English, between April 17 and April 18, 2017. Each respondent was asked how familiar they were with the companies measured; in order to rate the reputations, only those "very familiar" or "somewhat familiar" with the company were included. Each company received more than 1,300 ratings.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

(Source: Harris Poll news release)

FMI: www.harrisinteractive.com