IKEA is once again Sweden’s most reputable brand, while Tesla has seen the biggest drop in reputation

IKEA is once again Sweden’s undisputed leader in terms of reputation, while the Chinese clothing company Shein ranks last, according to T-Media’s Reputation&Trust conducted in Sweden. Tesla has seen the biggest drop in reputation. Spotify, which was second on the list last year and is now tied for seventh place, saw the second-biggest drop in reputation. The new entry on the list of companies with the worst reputations is the construction company SBB.

Reputation&Trust, the average score for Swedish companies has fallen this year. The results have shown a downward trend in the five previous surveys.

“The decline is likely linked to the general state of the world. The overall outlook is gloomier, partly because we expect more from companies in order to trust them. People are seeking security and transparency rather than a spirit of adventure and innovation. This is reflected in the companies that made it to the top of the list. We also see that reputation is increasingly important for companies’ long-term success,” says Helene Foxberg, an expert at T-Media Sweden.

In the midst of conflict

IKEA's reputation declined slightly in 2023, but the company remains by far the most reputable. Spotify's reputation has declined significantly, and the company ranks a tie for seventh place. Tesla suffered the biggest drop in reputation in the survey.

“When the first survey was conducted in Sweden in 2019, Tesla had a good reputation. Last year, the company ranked sixth on the list. Tesla’s reputation has plummeted due to a contract dispute and a decline in trust in Elon Musk. Tesla is now on the list of companies with the worst reputations,” says Ingrid Landahl, founder of Comman, a Swedish crisis management and corporate communications consultancy.

Companies are selected Reputation&Trust based on which companies spontaneously come to mind when respondents are asked to name companies with good and bad reputations. In the second phase of the study, respondents are asked to evaluate the companies’ reputations and whether they would consider applying for a job, investing in, or purchasing the company’s products and services. This allows for measuring the relationship between reputation, stakeholder behavior, and long-term competitiveness.

Corporate responsibility is the aspect of a company’s reputation that has the greatest impact on stakeholder behavior.

“An annual survey shows that sustainability issues are becoming increasingly important to Swedes. Companies need to do a better job of communicating their efforts and strike the right balance so they aren’t accused of greenwashing,” Landahl notes.

The list of the most reputable companies isn’t limited to consumer-facing firms. Among the top companies in Sweden, three are not consumer-facing firms: ABB, Scania, and a newcomer, SKF, which manufactures bearings and seals.

“It is clear that Swedes are proud of their industrial companies, as they are mentioned spontaneously in the study and receive such high ratings. It also shows that it is possible to build a strong relationship with a company that you don’t encounter in your everyday life as a consumer. The relationship is based on what you read and hear about the company,” says Landahl.

SBB is a new entry on the list of companies with a bad reputation

Among the companies on the list of those with a poor reputation are three newcomers: SBB, Lundin Energy, and H&M. The Nordic real estate company SBB has ended up on the list of companies with a poor reputation following financial turmoil and significant media attention. Lundin Energy has been re-rated as having a poor reputation, even though it has refocused on renewable energy and changed its name to Orrön Energy AB. Its inclusion on the list of companies with a poor reputation indicates that this information has not reached the public.

H&M has also made it onto the list of companies with a poor reputation. However, the company’s reputation is rated as moderate.

At the bottom of the list of companies with a poor reputation is the Chinese fashion company Shein, and just above them is PostNord, which has remained at roughly the same level since 2019.

“A poor reputation affects sales, the ability to recruit, and the ability to attract investors, among other things. It simply makes operations more difficult and more expensive,” Foxberg says.

This is how we conducted the study

The aim of the Reputation&Trust survey in Sweden was to assess the reputation of companies operating in Sweden among the Swedish public.

Organizations were evaluated using T-Media’s Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories. The areas are corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and responsibility. The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

The study included 3,509 Swedes. The sample has been weighted to be representative of the population in terms of gender, age, and area of residence.

The companies with the best and worst reputations were selected from the pool of companies under study based on a preliminary survey. In the preliminary survey, 1,003 Swedish respondents spontaneously named two companies they considered to have a particularly good reputation and two with a particularly poor reputation. T-Media does not influence the selection of companies.

The thirty-one companies with the most mentions were examined in more detail Reputation&Trust. The list now being published includes the ten companies with the highest ratings and the ten with the lowest.

In the second part of the study, respondents assessed the reputation of the companies that received the most mentions. Finally, respondents were asked to what extent they were willing to support a company, for example by purchasing its products and services, investing in it, or seeking employment there. This helps to identify the link between reputation and stakeholder support.

For more information:

Harri Leinikka, CEO, T-Media Oy
+358 40 505 5001, harri.leinikka@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com