Avanza has overtaken IKEA as Sweden's most reputable company

Avanza, a Swedish company specializing in online brokerage, has overtaken IKEA—which had held the title of Sweden’s most reputable company for several years—according to Reputation&Trust latest Reputation&Trust. Attendo, PostNord, Ryanair, and chicken meat producer Kronfågel were rated as the companies with the poorest reputations.

The study examined Swedes' views on the country's most and least reputable companies. IKEA and Spotify, which were named the most reputable companies in the previous round of the survey, managed to significantly boost their reputations.

IKEA saw its already strong reputation score rise from 4.05 to 4.18, while Spotify improved its score from 3.93 to 4.05. Although Swedes rated the reputations of both companies as excellent, the top spot went to the financial services provider Avanza, which was now rated as Sweden’s most reputable company with a remarkably high score of 4.19 (on a scale of 1–5).

“Sweden’s strong economic growth and stock market enthusiasm in recent years have contributed to Avanza’s growth and the building of its reputation. Overall, interest in companies’ financial success has grown, which has had a positive impact on both economic perceptions and reputation scores,” says Ingrid Landahl, founder of the Swedish communications agency Comman.

Systembolaget, Sweden’s alcohol monopoly, ranked fourth with an average score of 3.99, just behind the top three. Alongside Avanza, Tesla managed to break into the top ten as a newcomer.

Managing a company with a bad reputation is more difficult and more expensive

Among the ten companies with the worst reputations are five newcomers: Telia, Amazon, Shell, Kronfågel, and the nursing home operator Attendo.

“The preliminary phase of the study was conducted in the summer, when both Attendo and Kronfågel were portrayed negatively in the news. The results Reputation&Trust actual Reputation&Trust conducted in the fall show that the effects of the media coverage of Attendo and Kronfågel were not merely fleeting phenomena, but rather dealt a significant blow to their reputations,” says Harri Leinikka, CEO of T-Media.

“As a company’s reputation declines, public support for it weakens. This phenomenon has a detrimental effect on the availability of labor, the ability to serve customers, the capacity to attract investors, and the maintenance of an ethical and moral license to operate. Developing a company with a poor reputation becomes significantly more difficult and expensive as operating conditions deteriorate. Conversely, companies with a good reputation attract better employees, customer recommendations, investor interest, and public support,” Leinikka continues.

Spotify, a Swedish company and one of the world’s most popular music streaming services, has received negative publicity following the release of a study. Spotify has been the center of attention in the music world, particularly in early 2022, due to issues related to streaming royalties, podcast content, and fabricated artists.

“Spotify is still in a good position in this survey, which was conducted in the fall. A lot has happened since then. If the recent turbulence has had a lasting impact, it will be evident in the next survey,” Leinikka adds.

This is how we conducted the study

The Reputation&Trust survey in Sweden examined Swedes’ perceptions of the reputation of companies operating in the country. The survey targeted Swedes aged 15–65 nationwide.

The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase took place in June 2021, when respondents were asked to name the companies they believed had the best and worst reputations in Sweden. In October, the respondent panel evaluated more detailed questions regarding the thirty companies that received the most mentions. In this phase, a total of 2,785 Swedes evaluated the companies’ reputations across eight different areas: governance, finance, leadership, innovation, engagement, products & services, workplace, and sustainability.

The top list features the ten companies with the best and worst reputations.

The Swedish communications agency Comma is T-Media’s partner and expert in Sweden’s annual general public survey.

For more information:

Harri Leinikka, CEO, T-Media
Tel. 040 505 5001

Sari Maunula, Research Director, T-Media
Tel. 050 409 1543