just capital: perceptions of corporate america 2015

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JUST Capital 2015 Survey

American Perceptions of Corporate Behavior


In 2015, JUST Capital conducted surveys of over 43,000 Americans to understand perceptions of JUSTness in corporate America. Among the series of surveys was a deep dive into how 20,000 Americans viewed corporate behavior overall and whether issues of corporate JUSTness would affect their life choices.

Across sub-groups, Americans tend to distrust corporations and are looking for a more JUST, balanced business culture to evolve. Based on this and other data, JUST Capital is building a research engine that measures how JUST the largest publicly-traded corporations are, based on the views of the American public.

In addition to creating a ranking of companies that is updated every year, we will provide an online business intelligence platform with private data and tools to help companies make progress against measures of justness, such as fair pay, environmental sustainability, and more. Set for release in Fall 2016, our tools and data are the first step in creating a culture of JUSTness within companies while arming the public with rapidly evolving data that allows them to shift their purchasing choices towards more JUST companies over time.


51% SAID BEHAVIOR IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

28%

51%

21%

IN GENERAL, DO YOU THINK THE BEHAVIOR OF LARGE CORPORATIONS IS GOING IN THE RIGHT

DIRECTION OR THE WRONG DIRECTION?

Right direction Wrong direction Don’t know

The majority of Americans believe that Corporate America is going in the wrong direction. Yet nearly a quarter of respondents weren’t certain about state of Corporate America (21%).


54% OF RESPONDENTS DO NOT TRUST CORPORATIONS

41%

54%

5%

Top 2 Box Bottom 2 Box Don’t know

HOW MUCH DO YOU TRUST CORPORATIONS?

TRUST SOMEWHAT OR A GREAT DEAL

DISTRUST SOMEWHAT OR A GREAT DEAL

Among the 54% of respondents that stated they did not trust corporations, 20% said they distrusted corporations a great deal. A very small portion of respondents said they trusted corporations a great deal (8%).


62%

33%

5%

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT? WHAT IS

GOOD FOR BUSINESS IS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY.

Top 2 Box Bottom 2 Box Don’t know

THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS BELIEVE IN BUSINESS

STRONGLY/SOMEWHAT AGREE

STRONGLY/SOMEWHAT DISAGREE

62% of respondents said that supporting business is good for the country. However, 18% strongly agreed, while 44% somewhat agreed. This may suggest that, while Americans believe in business, they are cautious about the role in plays in society.


28%

24%

42%

5%

Has the justness of corpo-rations changed in the last

decade?

More Just Neither more nor less Less JustDon't Know

MANY BELIEVE AMERICA HAS BECOME LESS JUSTA significant 42% of Americans said that corporations have become less just over time. Perceptions of JUSTness varied slightly depending on age and ideological affiliation (i.e., liberal, conservative).

DO YOU THINK CORPORATIONS HAVE BECOME MORE "JUST" OR LESS "JUST" OVER THE PAST

DECADE?

MUCH MORE/ SOMEWHAT MOREMUCH LESS/ SOMEWHAT LESS


JUSTNESS WOULD AFFECT PURCHASING CHOICES

32%

46%

14%3%

5%

IF INFORMATION WERE AVAILABLE THAT HELPED YOU ASSESS HOW "JUST" A CORPORATION IS, HOW MUCH INFLUENCE WOULD IT HAVE ON YOUR LIKE-

LIHOOD TO PURCHASE THEIR PRODUCTS/SER-VICES?

A lot of influence Some influence Not very much influence No influence at allDon’t know

The vast majority of respondents said they would buy differently if they knew whether products were made by JUST companies. Across the field, more research is being done to understand if people’s intentions match their behavior.


JUSTNESS WOULD AFFECT EMPLOYMENT CHOICES

34%

40%

14%

5% 7%

IF INFORMATION WERE AVAILABLE THAT HELPED YOU ASSESS HOW "JUST" A CORPORATION IS, HOW MUCH INFLUENCE WOULD IT HAVE ON YOUR LIKE-LIHOOD TO SEEK EMPLOYMENT AT THAT CORPO-

RATION?

A lot of influence Some influence Not very much influenceNo influence at all Don’t know

Americans want to work for JUST companies. If information on JUSTness were available, 74% said it would influence their decision to work there. More research must be done to understand what influences people choices. For example, do some individuals face limited employment options, making it difficult to factor JUSTness into decision-making?


JUSTNESS WOULD AFFECT INVESTMENT CHOICES

38%

42%

12%4% 3%

IF INFORMATION WERE AVAILABLE THAT HELPED YOU ASSESS HOW "JUST" A CORPORATION IS, HOW MUCH INFLUENCE WOULD IT HAVE ON

YOUR LIKELIHOOD TO INVEST IN THAT CORPO-RATION?

A lot of influence Some influenceNot very much influence No influence at allDon’t know

Americans want to invest with impact. A full 80% of respondents said that JUSTness would factor into their investment choices. 48% of respondents aged 18-24 years old said that JUSTness would have ‘a lot of influence’ over their investing choices.


American Perceptions2015 Survey

just capital: perceptions of corporate america 2015

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