A company's reputation is built on responsible actions
For the second year in a row, the forestry machinery company Ponsse has been named Finland’s most reputable company, according to T-Media’s annual Reputation&Trust. At the same time, the reputation of companies in the care sector has plummeted.
The top three companies in the ranking held their ground from the previous year: Finland’s most prestigious company in 2019 is the forest machine manufacturer Ponsse, while the elevator and escalator company Kone rose to second place in the overall rankings as the gaming company Supercell relinquished its silver medal from last year and dropped to third place.
Reputation&Trust assesses companies’ reputations by examining the general public’s perceptions of them across eight different dimensions. The reputation factors evaluated are: responsibility, governance, leadership, finances, innovation, interaction, products and services, and employer image. The companies that the public rates as the strongest overall based on these factors are Finland’s most reputable companies.
Strong ownership and relentless innovation enhance a company's reputation
In the study, four of the five most prestigious companies have a family business background. This situation differs from the general structure of the Finnish business sector.
“Although family-owned businesses are a significant part of the business community, the results show a considerable overrepresentation,” says Riku Ruokolahti, Director of Development at T-Media.
“For many family businesses, reputation management is an integral part of the company’s historical corporate culture, and this is clearly evident in our research findings as well.”
Family-owned companies often use the term "family business quarter." This term refers to a period of twenty-five years, whereas in the reporting of publicly traded companies, "quarter" most commonly refers to a three-month period.
“In my view, the quarterly results of family-owned companies provide a good illustration of these companies’ approach to management. This kind of long-term thinking requires making sustainable and responsible choices and living by them together with the company’s stakeholders,” Ruokolahti notes.
“When done right, responsible leadership pays off for the company in the form of stakeholder trust and reputational capital,” Riku Ruokolahti sums up.
The crisis in the care sector is reflected in the ratings
Esperi Care, which was embroiled in a care scandal this spring, ended up on the list of companies with a poor reputation for the first time and received the lowest reputation score of the year.
The reputation crisis in the care sector is evident in the results Reputation&Trust: Attendo, a care service provider that made the list of companies with a poor reputation last year, has experienced the sharpest drop in its history as measured by Reputation&Trust. Attendo, which was a newcomer to the list of companies with a poor reputation last year, has seen its reputation score plummet within a year.
“The scandals in the private care sector, as well as the political and ethical debate raging in the background, are reflected in the results of our study. Care sector companies are close to people and our everyday lives,” says Harri Leinikka, CEO of T-Media.
Top 10 Most Reputable Companies, Reputation&Trust |
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| Investment | Company | Grade | Change from the previous from 2018 |
| 1. | Ponsse | 4.10 | -0.16 |
| 2. | KONE | 3.98 | -0.03 |
| 3. | Supercell | 3.97 | -0.08 |
| 4. | Pekkaniska | 3.89 | New! |
| 5. | Fazer | 3.79 | -0.05 |
| 6. | Fiskars Group | 3.75 | New! |
| 7. | OP Group | 3.65 | -0.03 |
| 8. | Valio | 3.65 | 0.03 |
| 9. | Lidl | 3.64 | New! |
| 10. | Marimekko | 3.63 | -0.02 |
Top 10 Worst Reputations, Reputation&Trust |
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| Investment | Company | Grade | Change from the previous year (2018) |
| 10. | Nordea | 2.93 | 0.11 |
| 9. | Information | 2.91 | 0.08 |
| 8. | Danske Bank | 2.88 | New! |
| 7. | 2.87 | New! | |
| 6. | Nestlé | 2.84 | -0.17 |
| 5. | Post | 2.33 | -0.12 |
| 4. | Caruna | 2.31 | 0.07 |
| 3. | Terrafame | 2.19 | 0.29 |
| 2. | Attendo | 2.12 | -0.57 |
| 1. | Esperi Care | 1.89 | New! |
Additional information
Riku Ruokolahti, Director of Development
riku.ruokolahti@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, 0400 512 200
Harri Leinikka, CEO
harri.leinikka@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com, 040 505 5001
Here's how the study was conducted
The results are based on Reputation&Trust conducted in June and July 2019, which aimed to assess the reputation of companies operating in Finland among the general public. A total of 9,577 Finns responded to the survey, providing a total of 20,034 company ratings.
The companies with the best and worst reputations were selected for the study based on a preliminary survey conducted in April 2019. In the preliminary study, 1,072 Finns spontaneously named two companies they considered to have a particularly good reputation and two companies they considered to have a particularly poor reputation. T-Media does not influence the selection of the companies to be included.
The thirty companies with the most mentions were examined in greater detail Reputation&Trust, in which a company’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories: corporate governance, finance, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and corporate responsibility.
The study’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample was weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence. The margin of error for the entire data set is at most approximately 1.0 percentage points in either direction.
