By Doug Pinkham
Public Affairs Council President

November 27, 2011

Do people think corporations are too powerful? Certainly. Do they think CEOs make too much money? Absolutely.

But those two opinions don't provide a complete picture of American attitudes toward business. Nor do they reflect the high expectations the public has for companies to improve the quality of life in the U.S.

Now consider these facts: More than six in 10 Americans have a favorable view of major companies. And nearly three-quarters say companies are doing a good job of providing useful products and services. Those are just two of the conclusions reported in the Public Affairs Pulse survey, an annual poll commissioned by the Public Affairs Council and conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.

Here's another surprise: Despite the visibility of young activists in the Occupy Wall Street Movement, guess which generation has the most favorable opinion of major companies? Seventy-one percent of members of "Gen Y" (age 18-34) have a favorable opinion, and the Gen X group (age 35-46) has similar views. The most negative attitudes about Big Business come from Baby Boomers (age 47-65) and older Americans — but even a majority of those groups still are favorable.

The Public Affairs Pulse analyzes a host of business-related attitudes, many of which have never been examined in major public polls. Among these are opinions about non-management corporate employees, business's role in providing public services, crisis communication and the acceptability of lobbying. The survey is based on telephone interviews with 1,753 adults age 18 or older living in the continental U.S. The interviews were conducted Aug. 10 through Sept. 8.

High Expectations for Companies

"Many Americans want major companies to be full, active partners in taking on the big problems that have traditionally been the province of government action," says the survey report. For obvious reasons, nine in 10 want big companies involved in improving the economy and creating jobs. But there is also majority support for business involvement in:

• Providing community services such as food banks, free clinics and job training for the poor (80 percent);
• Providing relief for disasters like floods, tornadoes and earthquakes (76 percent);
• Improving health care (73 percent);
• Improving education (72 percent); and
• Improving roads, bridges and mass transit (56 percent).

What's more, in four of these five cases, most Americans expressed strong support for business involvement. Yet despite the dollars and volunteer hours many companies currently invest in corporate citizenship endeavors, 57 percent of respondents say major companies are generally not doing a good job "contributing to their communities." Only 35 percent say they are doing well on that front.

While many Americans are uneasy about companies getting involved in politics, they are supportive of specific lobbying activities. It's true that more than half (55 percent) think unfavorably of a firm that hires lobbyists. But when presented with five specific lobbying activities, a majority says such actions are acceptable.

Support for Advocacy

Lobbying to protect jobs at the company, for example, is acceptable to 85 percent of Americans. Advocacy to open new markets, create a level playing field with competitors or reduce business costs also receive high scores. Even lobbying to secure government funding or grants is considered acceptable by 50 percent of respondents; only 45 percent disagree.

The survey also investigates public reaction to corporate disasters. When faced with a crisis of its own making, a company has a limited number of options. Should it put its executives in front of the TV cameras immediately? Or should it keep quiet until the lawyers say it's safe to speak? 

Presented with seven possible actions, the right strategy is clearly "Do something!" Moving quickly to pay any costs to those affected would help "a lot" to make people think the firm is responding properly. Only 8 percent say it would not help at all. Other high-scoring steps include: having top executives answer questions about what happened, firing executives and other employees responsible for the crisis, paying for ads explaining the company's actions to fix the problem and having top executives make a public apology.

A quick and thoughtful response also pays dividends down the road. When Americans are asked what the most important factor is in deciding whether to buy a company's products or services after a major disaster, the company's honesty and responsiveness in dealing with the crisis is the choice of 67 percent. Only 15 percent say the company's long-term reputation determines whether they decide to become a customer again.

Now for the Bad News

Some of the survey's results are positive for corporations, but others, not surprisingly, are negative.

There's no question, for example, that executive compensation issues have struck a nerve with the public. A large majority of Americans (76 percent) think companies are not doing a good job of keeping executive pay within reasonable bounds. The public's mood gets even worse when bonuses are brought into the conversation. Asked if giving top executives large bonuses when a company is doing well would make them feel more favorable toward that firm, only 16 percent said "yes," while 49 percent said "no."

But what happens if executives receive large bonuses when the company is not doing well? Nearly nine in 10 (87 percent) say such actions would make them think more unfavorably of a company.   

For corporations that often claim in their sales materials that they "put customers first," here's a reality check. Most Americans think major companies routinely put the interests of CEOs first, followed by the interests of stockholders. When asked whom companies should put first, employees are at the top of the list — and top executives are at the bottom.

If you're ready to blame liberal Democrats for those trends, think again. Conservatives, moderates and liberals all agree that corporate priorities are upside down. Tea party supporters are even more likely than other groups to say companies should focus on employees first and top executives last.

The survey also zeroes in on the one-quarter of the public who can be called "activists," based on their various civic and political activities. Since members of this group typically express their opinions more forcefully and more frequently than others, they have a louder voice in public policy. Despite the diversity of their personal and political profiles, they mirror the general public's overall views of major companies: 62 percent are favorable. What sets activists apart is their higher level of distrust for certain types of companies, especially banks, pharmaceutical firms and energy companies. 

Most important, when an activist is upset with a major company, he or she is twice as likely as a non-activist to post negative comments about the company on the Internet and three times as likely to contact a government agency or official to complain. 

For a full summary of results from the Public Affairs Pulse, visit the Council's special website at pac.org/pulse.