Apple tops Google in cooperate reputation, study shows

Apple has edged out Google to become the most reputable company of 2012, according to a study from marketing research firm Harris Interactive. The firm's 13th annual Reputation Quotient (RQ) survey had Apple coming ahead of Google, which held the top spot in 2011′s poll. Coca-Cola, Amazon and Kraft Foods rounding out the top five. “We are seeing the emergence of a group of companies that garner reputation equity by being positively associated with multiple industries,” said Robert Fronk, executive vice president of Harris Interactive. “Companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon.com combine innovation and leadership across multiple business areas, giving them true competitive advantage.” Apple recorded an RQ score of 85.62, the highest in the survey's history, and was the top ranked in four of the six key dimensions of reputation - financial performance, products and services, vision and leadership and workplace environment. The Cupertino-based company was topped by Whole Foods in social responsibility, and by Amazon in emotional appeal.