Amazon Crowned ‘Most Reputable Company’ — Again

Amazon, Amazon, Amazon — no matter the mixed press that has come its way, the eCommerce giant still reigns supreme in the eyes of consumers.

For the third year in a row, Amazon nabbed the number one spot on the Reputation Institute’s annual report of America’s most reputable companies, beating out other household names like Kellogg’s, Hallmark and even Disney.

“Amazon had some challenges around workplace following that somewhat derogatory New York Times article, and really Amazon still benefits from the strong emotional halo around its corporate brand,” Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, VP of U.S. strategy consulting at the Reputation Institute, told GeekWire. “That, coupled with its phenomenal customer service experience, has really held its form, even in the line of that reputation risk.”

The annual report identifies the most reputable global companies using more than 83,000 ratings collected earlier this year from U.S. consumers and the general public’s perception of leading firms based upon seven key dimensions of reputation: products and services, innovation, workplace culture, governance, corporate citizenship, leadership and financial performance.

While Amazon is no stranger to the top spot, receiving increased ratings in areas such as products and innovation compared to 2015, GeekWire reported that the company took a few dings in other areas. Consumers who were unsure about Amazon’s workplace saw a significant jump from just 20 percent to 47 percent in this year’s report.

“I think it’s fair to say that there are some underlying vulnerabilities for Amazon, as much as the reputation is still very strong,” Hahn-Griffiths explained. “We have seen declines in the areas of perception around corporate social responsibility. So, in things like workplace, citizenship and good government, we actually see a slight decline and an underpinning to Amazon’s reputation.”

Nearly 23 percent of the study’s participants were also skeptical about the company’s transparency in its activities, showing an increase from 15 percent since 2015.

But the solid loyalty Amazon has been able to establish among its customers still sets it apart from many of the other reputable contenders on the Reputation Institute’s list, including Google, Toshiba and Adobe Systems, which all landed in the top 100.