Multinational corporations faced a public relation crisis in
China, where most people have a low regard for their corporate PR
image, according to a report.
It is the third straight year that the public reduced their
rating on multinationals in terms of their ability to manage public
relations, said the report by Horizon Research Consultancy Group
with China Business Network Co.
The report based on its finding on a survey of 2,285 residents
aged between 18 and 60 in Beijing, Shanghai and five other cities,
as well as 420 senior company executives. The respondents gave
79.34 points for the multinationals corporate image, 77.44 for
product image and 73.3 for their public relations out of a
100-point scale.
The three categories were all down by 0.5 to 0.7 points from
2006, a year when the multinationals saw a big decline in these
ratings by as much as 17 points after several quality scandals in
2005 with well-known overseas names.
"The decline shows that the multinationals are having trouble
focusing on PR work and image building," the report said. "They
should improve their product quality to improve their
influence."
(Shanghai Daily February 2, 2008)
