massachusetts corporate reputation survey (mcrs) - 2004

8/8/2019 Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey (MCRS) - 2004

1/18

The 2004 Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey

IntroductionReputation is the enduring character of an enterprise its the feeling people get when theythink of a company or organization. Smart organizations understand that a reputation,however intangible, is a valuable asset in the marketplace.

Research has consistently shown that organizations with strong, positive reputations enjoymore successful sales initiatives and more consistent financial performance, greater trust withinvestors and partners, stronger customer satisfaction and loyalty, higher quality employees,better publicity and deeper community relations. Organizations with well-definedreputations are better positioned to communicate with any audience, from regulators toshareholders, in good times and during a crisis.

During the summer of 2003, Morrissey & Company, a national reputation management andpublic relations firm based in Boston, decided to measure the reputations of Massachusetts-based institutions. The 2003Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey was the first-everattempt to rate the perceptions held toward the select private and public organizations thatdrive the states economy, based on the attributes that experts agree form the core ofreputation.

In August 2004, Morrissey & Company commissioned the second annualMassachusettsCorporate Reputation Survey. The results of the 2004 survey are detailed in this report. Theresults also can be viewed online atwww.reputationsurvey.com.

MethodologyOpinion Dynamics Corporation, a national leader in market research, polling and consultingbased in Cambridge, Mass., conducted the 2004Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Surveybytelephone on behalf of Morrissey & Company during September 2004. C-level businessexecutives were asked to rate 69 Massachusetts businesses, universities and hospitals on avariety of criteria. Ratings were gathered from 200 top-level executives at Massachusettscompanies.

The reputations ratings were collected and calculated using the same methods employed in2003. Respondents used a 10-point scale to rate each institution on:

Overall reputation Products and services Place to work Social responsibility Ethics and corporate governance And, financial stability

2004 Massachusetts Corporate Reputation SurveyMorrissey & Company

1
http://www.reputationsurvey.com/http://www.reputationsurvey.com/


2/18

Of the 69 enterprises rated in the 2004Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey, 40 werechosen from the top 40 organizations as ranked in the 2003Massachusetts Corporate ReputationSurvey. The remaining companies were public companies that finished in top 29 of the 2004Boston Globe100. In instances where a 2004 Globe 100 company also was rated in the 2003Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey, the company was eliminated from the survey and the

next ranked company was selected.

The institution names were rotated, ensuring that each business leader rated a uniqueselection of institutions. This method produced at total of 2,902 ratings. The scores ofoverall reputation were given a weight of five, while the other five scores were given a weightof one, producing a possible high rating of 100. Respondents who had not heard of specificinstitutions were not asked to give a rating. If a respondent had heard of an institution, butcould not offer a rating on a particular attribute, a score of zero was assigned for theattribute in question.

Based on responses to these six questions, overall reputation scores were calculated for eachinstitution included in the study. For analytical purposes, a score of 60 or higher should be

considered a superior reputation, a score between 50 and 60 should be considered verygood, scores between 40 and 50 should be considered good, and a score below 40 can beinterpreted to mean the institution has not established a significant reputation for itself.

While a high reputation score means an institution has an excellent reputation, a low scoredoes not automatically mean an institution has a poor reputation. In most cases, a low scoreis caused by a lack of familiarity with an institution.

As part of the 2004Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Survey, business executives also wereasked a series of questions regarding business conditions in Massachusetts.


2


3/18

Executive Summary

According to the states business executives, conditions in Massachusetts in the fall of 2004are much more promising than they were at the same time in 2003. Biotechnology and

pharmaceutical companies are considered to be the leaders of economic growth in the stateby many industry leaders.

While most executives are not sure who their colleagues will vote for in the presidentialelection, about one-third think others will vote for President George W. Bush, compared tothe one-quarter who believe their peers will vote for U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry. Many businessleaders believe Kerrys election would have a positive impact on the economy inMassachusetts. The war in Iraq is perceived by well more than half (62%) to be hurtingAmericas ability to compete in the global economy. The direction of the economy is amongthe top concerns of area executives, along with an increase in business costs.

Non-profit institutions still enjoy the most superior reputations in the eyes of executives in

Massachusetts. In this years reputation rankings, five universities and three hospitalsfinished in the top 10. Harvard University topped the list for the second consecutive year.The other highly rated educational institutions include Boston University, Tufts University,Boston College, and Northeastern University. The top-ranked medical institution isChildrens Hospital, followed by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & WomensHospital.

As was the case in 2003, Fidelity Investments has the highest reputation ranking of all for-profit institutions in Massachusetts. This year, Fidelity is joined in the top 10 by Staples.Other for-profits in the top 20 are Citizens Bank, Yankee Candle Company, Gillette, andBJs Wholesale Club. Financial services institutions, such as FleetBoston, John Hancock

Financial Services and State Street, all earned very good reputations, although it will beinteresting to see how ongoing mergers and acquisitions in this industry impact the 2005ratings.

In the states highly competitive health insurance market, Blue Cross and Blue Shield ofMassachusetts ranked as the health maintenance organization with the best reputation.

Raytheon is the most highly rated of all the states high-tech companies, while BostonScientific is the highest rated biotechnology company in the state. As was the case in 2003,very few businesses in the technology or biotechnology sectors have notable reputations.This is mainly due to a lack of familiarity with most companies within these industries.


3


4/18


5/18

Respondents were asked to choose, from a list of prominent Massachusetts industries, whichindustry would lead economic growth during the next five years. Forty-two percent singledout the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as the leaders of future growth. Thehigh-tech industry was chosen by 16 percent, followed by financial services and real estate(both 10 percent). Professional services (8 percent), hospitality and tourism (2 percent) and

manufacturing (1 percent) were least likely to be considered leaders of future growth in thestate.

11%

1%

2%

8%

10%

10%

16%

42%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Bio-tech/Pharmaceuticals

High Technology

Financial services

Real estate

Professional services

Hospitality and Tourism

Manufacturing

Not sure/Refused

Which one of the following industries will lead

economic growth in MA during the next 5 years?


5


6/18

Politics and BusinessThe outcome of the presidential race is not foreseen to have a large impact on businessdecisions. A majority of respondents (85 percent) are not postponing significant decisions,such as investments, product launches or new hiring, until after the presidential election.Only 8 percent say they will hold off on those types of decisions until the race is decided.

Six percent are not sure if the election will have any impact on their business plans.

Is your organization postponing significant

business decisions until after the presidential race

is decided?

Not sure

6%

No

86%

Yes

8%

When asked which candidate they think their business colleagues plan to vote for, aboutone-third (34 percent) say President George W. Bush, and 24 percent say U.S. Sen. John F.Kerry. Forty-one percent are not sure which candidate their peers will vote for.

Which of the two major presidential candidates

do you think most of your business colleagues

plan to vote for?

Kerry

24%

Not sure

41%

Bush

34%


6


7/18

Forty-six percent of the business executives surveyed believe the states business climate willbe positively affected if John Kerry is elected president. Thirty-two percent do not thinkKerrys election would help, while 22 percent are not sure.

he effect of the war in Iraq on Americas ability compete in the world economy also was

rcent

If John Kerry is elected president, do you think it

will help Massachusetts businesses and thestates business climate?

No

32%

Not sure

22%

Yes

46%

Tmeasured. Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of business leaders say the war is hurtingAmericas role in the global economy, while only 9 percent say it is helping. Thirty peof respondents are unsure of the effect.

Is the war in Iraq helping or hurting Americas

ability to compete in the world economy?

Not sure

30%

Hurting

62%

Helping

9%


7


8/18

ts Corporate Reputation SurveyCompany

8Morrissey &

ifty percent of Massachusetts business leaders believe the money allocated to Educationnt

espondents are divided on which issues worry them the most. Twenty-two percent saidey lose sleep over the direction of the U.S. economy, while the same percentage say they

FReform has been well spent. Of those, 22 percent say it was very well spent, while 28 percesay it was pretty well spent. About one-third say it was wasted. Of those, 22 percent say itwas somewhat wasted, while 11 percent say it was totally wasted. Sixteen percent are notsure whether the money spent on Education Reform was well spent.

Do you think the money the state has spent on

Education Reform was well-spent, or wasted?

Somewhat

wasted22%

Not sure

16%

Totally

wasted

11%

Very well-

spent

22%

Pretty well-

spent

28%

Rthagonize over an increase in business costs. Fifteen percent are anxious about a possibleterrorist attack, and 12 percent cited geopolitical events in general. Over one-fifth (22percent) are not sure which issue concerns them the most.

22%

2%

2%

2%

2%

12%

15%

22%

22%

0% 20% 40%

Direction of US economy

Increase in business costs

Possible terrorist attack in US

Geopolitical events

My competition

Meeting revenue/profit

expectations

Prospect of higher interest

rates

None/Not sure

What political, business or other issues is most likely to

keep you awake at night?

Shareholder/investor mistrust

2004 Massachuset


9/18

Summary of 2004 Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Ratings

For analytical purposes, a score of 60 or higher should be considered a superiorreputation, a score between 50 and 60 should be considered very good, scores between 40and 50 should be considered good, and a score below 40 can be interpreted to mean the

institution has not established a significant reputation for itself.

Top Ten Rated Institutions OverallAs seen in 2003, educational institutions are viewed as the most reputable institutions in thearea. Harvard, Boston University, Tufts University, Boston College and NortheasternUniversity are all viewed as having superior reputations. Medical institutions are alsoconsidered to be highly reputable; Childrens Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital andBrigham & Womens Hospital are all viewed as having a superior reputation. FidelityInvestments and Staples are the only for-profit companies in the top 10.

righam & Womens reputation score saw the most significant increase of the top 10ns

54.8

60.245

60.7

63.363.2

59.263.4

65.164.5

56.964.5

60.965.1

57.265.8

53.466.5

68.2

70.6

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

Harvard University

Childrens Hospital

Boston University

Mass General Hospital

Tufts University

Boston College

Northeastern University

Fidelity Investments

Brigham and Womens

Staples

Top Ten Overall

Binstitutions (45 in 2003 to 60.8 in 2004). Other notable improvements include ChildreHospital (53.4 in 2003 to 66.4 in 2004), Boston University (57.2 in 2003 to 65.8), and TuftsUniversity (56.9 in 2003 to 64.5).


9


10/18

2003-2004 Top Thirty-Five Comparison

the top 35 organizations in 2004 compared to

Company

Mean

Score 2004

2004

Ranking

Mean

Score 2003

2003

Rankingiversity

1

eral Hospital

1

iversity

's Hospital 2

usetts Institute of Technology

2

mherst

Co.

ss Medical Center

lue Shield of MA

2

th Care

k Financial Services

d Medical Center 1

rnational Ltd.

3

assachusetts, Lowell

Not

l Center 22

e

Not

Community Health Plan 29

The chart below shows the ratings and rank of2003.

Harvard Un 70.609 1 68.17 1

Children's Hospital 66.486 2 53.38 6

Boston University 65.824 3 57.23 10

Massachusetts Gen 65.102 4 60.90 5

Tufts University 64.523 5 56.93 2

Boston College 64.489 6 65.11 2

Northeastern Un 63.434 7 59.16 8

Fidelity Investments 63.170 8 63.26 3

Brigham and Women 60.784 9 45.04 6

Staples 60.245 10 54.79 13

Massach 59.387 11 61.09 4

Lahey Clinic Medical Center 58.634 12 46.50 4

University of Massachusetts, A 57.650 13 57.19 11

Citizens Bank 56.344 14 46.51 23

Yankee Candle 55.041 15 45.81 25

Beth Israel Deacone 54.651 16 41.50 28

Gillette Co. 54.389 17 54.12 14

Blue Cross B 54.050 18 59.60 7

BJ's Wholesale Club 53.347 19 48.63 0

Harvard Pilgrim Heal 52.757 20 53.46 15

FleetBoston 52.485 21 43.97 27

John Hancoc 52.333 22 48.06 21

Tufts Health Plan 52.182 23 59.72 6

Tufts/New Englan 52.020 24 52.88 7

State Street 50.489 25 40.25 30

Reebok Inte 48.750 26 58.96 9

Raytheon Co. 48.342 27 33.36 7

University of M 47.333 28 48.65 19

University of Massachusetts, Boston 44.696 29 51.00 18LoJack Corp. 44.618 30 rated

Boston Medica 42.119 31 47.29

Bridgewater State Colleg 40.737 32 34.86 34

Boston Scientific Corp. 40.389 33 26.78 39

NStar 38.846 34 rated

Fallon 35.581 35 41.15


10


11/18

Top Ten Non-Profit/For-Profit

non-profit and for-profit institutions,than for-

he Lahey Clinic Medical Centers reputation score has experienced a dramatic increasence 2003 (46.5 in 2003 compared to 58.6 in 2004).

The two charts below group institutions byrespectively. As the charts illustrate, non-profits generally enjoy better reputationsprofit organizations.

46.558.6

61.159.4

4560.8

59.2

63.4

65.164.5

56.964.5

60.965.1

57.2

65.853.4

66.5

68.2

70.6

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

Harvard University

Childrens Hospital

Boston University

Mass General Hospital

Tufts University

Boston College

Northeastern University

Brigham and Womens

MIT

Lahey Clinic Medical Ctr.

Top Ten Non-Profit Organizations

it Organizations

Tsi

Top Ten For Prof

58.9

48.840.3

50.548.1

52.3

43.952.5

48.6

53.354.154.4

45.855.0

46.5

56.354.8

60.2

63.3

63.2

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003


Staples

Citizens Bank

Yankee Candle Co.

Gillette Co.

BJs Wholesale Club

FleetBoston

John Hancock Fin. Svcs

State Street Bank

Reebok International Ltd.


11


12/18

Citizens Bank, Yankee Candle Company and State Street Bank all show a significant.8 inincrease in reputation scores. Reebok Internationals score fell from 58.9 in 2003 to 48

2004.


12


13/18

Colleges and UniversitiesAs the 2004Massachusetts Corporate Reputation Surveytop 10 chart illustrated, many collegesand universities in Massachusetts possess very good or superior reputations in the eyes ofthe states business executives. Among other colleges tested and not shown in the chart, theUniversity of Massachusetts at Amherst enjoys a very good reputation (57.7). U-Mass Lowell

(47.3) and U-Mass Boston (44.7) both have good reputation scores. Bridgewater StateCollege just makes the cut-off for having a good reputation (40.1), an improvement over its2003 score of 34.9.

Harvard University

Top Three Colleges & Universities

Boston University

Tufts University56.9

64.5

57.2

65.8

68.2

70.6

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003


13


14/18

HospitalsThe Boston areas prominent hospitals are clearly differentiated in the opinions of businessleaders. Childrens Hospital, MGH and Brigham & Womens all have superior reputations,while the Lahey Clinic Medical Center, Beth Israel, and Tufts/New England Medical Centerhave very good reputations. Boston Medical Center is alone in having a good reputation

(42.1).

s noted earlier, Brigham & Womens experienced a dramatic increase in its reputation

Childrens Hospital

Top Three Hospitals

Mass General

Hospital

Brigham and

Womens 45

60.8

60.9

65.1

53.4

66.5

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

Ascore, as did Childrens Hospital.


14


15/18

Health Maintenance OrganizationsBlue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care are both viewedas having very good reputations. Of the two, Blue Cross is held in higher regard. TuftsHealth Plan also has a good reputation, while Fallon Community Health plans rating hasfallen from 41.1 in 2003 to 35.6 in 2004.

BCBS MA

Top Four HMOs

Tufts Health Plan

Fallon Community

Health Plan 41.1

35.6

59.7

52.2

53.5

52.8

59.6

54.0

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

HPHC


15


16/18

Financial InstitutionsFidelity Investments is still viewed in a category of its own in relation to other financialinstitutions in the area, scoring well above other companies in the field. Citizens Bank has avery good reputation (56.3), improving its rating of 46.5 in 2003. FleetBoston and JohnHancock Financial Services now enjoy very good reputations (52.5 and 52.3, respectively),

up from their good reputations in 2003 (43.9 and 48.0). State Streets reputation is up to50.5, compared to 40.3 in 2003.


Top Five Financial Institutions

Citizens Bank

State Street40.3

50.5

48.152.3

43.9

52.5

46.5

56.3

63.3

63.2

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

FleetBoston

John Hancock


16


17/18

Largest 25 CompaniesAmong Massachusetts largest 25 companies, Staples stands out as having a superiorreputation. Yankee Candle, Gillette and BJs Wholesale Club all have very good reputations.Reebok Internationals reputation rating has dropped from 58.9 in 2003 to 48.8 this year.

Reebok

Top Three Largest MA Companies

Staples

Gillette

58.9

48.8

54.1

54.4

54.8

60.2

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003


17


18/18

Technology and BiotechnologyAs the charts below indicate, technology and biotech firms in Massachusetts lack widespreadand well-established reputation stature. Raytheons reputation is considered to be good, as isthe reputation of the LoJack Corporation. Boston Scientific just makes it into the goodcategory with a rating of 40.4. All other entities within those industries scored below a rating

of 40. The charts below highlight the firms with the highest scores in each sector.

EMC Corporation

Top Three Technology

Raytheon

Analog Devices 20.6

19.3

35.1

31.1

33.4

48.3

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003

Boston Scientific

Corp.

Top Three Biotech

Charles River

Laboratories

International

Millipore

Corporation 17.9

15.3

12.1

25.5

26.7

40.4

0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

2004

2003


18

massachusetts corporate reputation survey (mcrs) - 2004

Documents