COMBIEN VAUT UNE RÉPUTATION ?

Abstract

Created in 1994 by the Observatory of Reputation, CAC 40 companies’ rating, carried out by Datops*, praises L’Oréal as the only company to get RRRR in 2005, thus showing evidence of its outstanding reputation. Ten companies have got the RRRR rate, and for the first time, car industry is taking the lion’s share with Peugeot, Renault and Michelin. In spite of its low visibility, Air Liquide is also in an excellent position. The reputation of some companies has been deteriorated, like Total’s (RR) and especially Vivendi Universal’s (R). In 1994, the Observatory of Reputation created the “Reputation Index” that gathers the ten best rated companies. The behaviour of theses companies on the Stock Exchange is remarkable over a long period of time. Over the five past years, despite a difficult time, their shares have been increasing by 30 % more than the CAC 40 index. That confirms that reputation is capital assets in the medium term,… and not speculative ones. According to Jean-Pierre Piotet, Chairman of the Observatory of Reputation, “the company’s age has a considerable influence on its reputation”. The companies which have at least a RRRR rate, are on average, more than a hundred years old. For a RRR rate, the average age is about 80 years old. For a RR rate, the average age drops to 63 years old. The exceptional reputation of L’Oréal can be especially explained by its “attractivity” and its “good health”. Michelin is particularly famous for the “quality of its products”. Air Liquide is the company we “can trust in”. Danone is considered as being “responsible” and EADS is seen as “the company with a future”. Lindsay Owen Jones is the head who has the best reputation and “news heads” like Edouard Michelin, Carlos Ghosn. * Research carried out by Datops with 300 managers on the first quarter 2004. Information on the websites: datops.com and obs-reputation.org