A study conducted pro bono by Encuesta, Inc. as part of the Americanos Poll® in March 2011 explored the perceptions of Hispanics and non-Hispanics regarding corporate citizenship and involvement in the community, and the results are compared with the findings from similar studies conducted in November 2009 and February 2005.
The findings show that Hispanics have lost some confidence in major corporations’ role in their community and find it less important that major corporations be “good” corporate citizens in their community (79% on a top two box basis using a 5-point scale) compared to the 2009 survey (86% in 2009 vs. 81% in 2005). As background, the 2009 study was conducted right after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the subsequent and unprecedented actions by the federal government such as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, all of which created an environment where it seemed Latinos were looking for Corporate America to step in and play a greater role.
However, there are indications that Hispanics today are more likely than non-Hispanics to believe in a greater role for major corporations in their community based on the importance of being a “good” corporate citizen and are more likely to agree that major corporations are increasingly involved in their community or have made a better effort to communicate with members of their community in a relevant manner. These findings indicate that Latinos are more responsive to Corporate America’s actions within their community from both a corporate responsibility standpoint and as a result of specialized communication efforts.
“The study clearly demonstrates that Hispanics continue to believe in Corporate America and its potential to influence their daily lives.” said Martin Cerda, Research Director of Encuesta, Inc. He added “This has important implications in today’s challenging business environment where brand guardianship and reputation management are vital for success.”
On the following tables, letters next to percent denote a statistically significantly different measure at a 90% Confidence Level (column pairs tested A-B, B-C, A-C, D-E, E-F, D-F, A-D, B-E, and C-F with the letter on the higher measure to indicate direction).
Table 1 – Importance of Major Corporations’ Being “Good” Corporate Citizens in the Community
Q. How important is it to you that major corporations in all industries be "good" corporate citizens in your community?
Table 2 – Major Corporations’ Involvement in the Community
Q. How would you rate major corporations in all industries today in terms of their involvement in your community? Would ….you say they are doing more, less, or about the same as they were five years ago?
Table 3 – Major Corporations’ Relevancy of Their Communication Efforts
Q. How would you rate major corporations in all industries today in terms of the relevancy of their communication efforts, ….by that I mean their advertising or promotion, specifically meant for consumers in your community?
Survey Methodology
The March 2011 study is based on a telephone poll (using both household and cell phone level sample frames) conducted by Encuesta, Inc. between March 4-28, 2011, among a nationally representative sample of 613 non-Hispanic and 1,006 Hispanic adults (ages 18 and over), in their choice of English or Spanish. The random probability sample mirrors the population’s known distribution of demographic, language usage, country of birth, and acculturation variables. Fieldwork for the November 2009 study was conducted November 6-27, 2009 and the February 2005 study was conducted February 11-28, 2005.
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