Top 3 Most Important Corporate Responsibilities, According to Consumers

          - Consumers say companies should focus on providing good jobs, good quality products and being environmental

          The top three most important responsibilities for companies today, in the eyes of consumers, are proving good jobs for people, producing good quality products or services and being environmentally responsible.

          GfK surveyed over 27,000 internet users across 22 countries. Respondents were asked to select the top three most important company responsibilities from a list that ranged from protecting the health and safety of workers to advertising honestly or providing a good return for stakeholders.

          Men in general select the environment ahead of health and safety

          Overall, men and women agree in believing that providing good jobs for people (47 percent of women and 46 percent of men) and producing good quality products and services (41 percent each) come at the top of the list as the most important corporate responsibilities. But there is divergence on what comes next. Slightly more women select 'protecting the health and safety of workers' (40 percent) than 'being environmentally responsible' (39 percent), while for men it's the other way around - 36 percent selecting environment compared to 34 percent for health and safety.

          There is also a strong gender difference seen further down the list. Significantly more men than women select 'investing in research and technology' as one of the three most important responsibilities for companies today - standing at 21 percent and 13 percent respectively.

          UK and Belgium put 'paying a fair share of taxes' in the top three

          The UK and Belgium stand out for high level of consumer belief on the importance of companies paying their fair share of taxes. Over a third of the online population in each country (36 percent and 35 percent respectively) selected this as one of their three choices - making it the second highest focus in Belgium and the third highest in the UK.

          Sweden, China and Hong Kong have the highest levels of people who see protecting the health and safety of its workers as one of the top three most important responsibility for any company (50 percent, 47 percent and 46 percent respectively).

          These findings are essential for all corporations, to ensure they invest budget in the areas that matter most to the consumers in each specific country.

          Download the findings for each of the 22 countries: http://www.gfk.com/global-studies/global-study-overview

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          Stefan Gerhardt
          Global PR
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          Source: GfK