The trust gap: Businesses must do more to earn social license to lead, survey finds

Businesses are often thought to be highly if not the most trusted, but GlobeScan’s research tells a different story, with significant implications for how companies should respond to societal expectations. 

Since 2001, GlobeScan has measured “thick trust” in institutions through our annual global Radar survey conducted in more than 30 countries, with an average sample size of 1,000 per country. We ask respondents how much they trust institutions such as global companies, governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) “to operate in the best interest of our society.” Our approach intentionally goes beyond measuring transactional trust with the “thick trust” measure, aiming to capture a deeper relationship between society and institutions. 

Contrary to the belief that businesses are the most trusted of all institutions, our research shows that global and national companies rank relatively low compared to institutions such as scientific bodies, NGOs, the United Nations and charitable foundations. While net trust in global companies is generally positive, meaning more people express some degree of trust than less or no trust at all, levels of trust in businesses are still significantly lower than for other institutions.

What does this mean?

The relatively low level of trust in businesses is a complex and multifaceted issue rooted in economic, social and environmental factors. Filling the trust gap requires significant changes in corporate behavior, including greater transparency and accountability. It also requires companies to humbly and genuinely collaborate with other trusted institutions, such as scientists and civil society, to gain the social license to lead in addressing our greatest societal challenges such as climate change.

Surveyed countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Türkiye, U.K., U.S. and Vietnam. 

Survey question: Please indicate how much you trust each of the following institutions to operate in the best interest of our society. Would you say you have a lot of trust, some trust, not much trust, or no trust at all in…? – Our national government; Global companies operating in my country; Nongovernmental organizations such as environmental and social advocacy groups; Press and media; Scientific and academic research institutions; The United Nations; Large charitable foundations; Your fellow citizens; Large national companies

Source: GlobeScan Radar Trends Report (survey of 30,216 people in the general public in July-August 2024)