Consumers are more interested in company transparency at fair wages than at the level of executive board salaries
Transparency study shows the topics on which consumers are demanding more transparency from companies / the food industry, energy, pharmaceuticals and banks are under pressure to act
Consumers want to know whether a company pays its employees fair wages. The big media topic about executive board salaries, on the other hand, is far less relevant. Only half of consumers would like companies to provide transparent information on this. This is shown by the first German transparency study by Klenk & Hoursch, for which around 3.000 consumers between 18 and 65 years of age were surveyed representative of the population. In other areas of entrepreneurial activity, on the other hand, consumers demand massive transparency. What exactly do consumers want to know from companies?
Well over two-thirds consider transparent communication on ingredients (84 percent), product risks (82 percent) or environmental protection measures (78 percent) by companies and manufacturers to be extremely relevant. Comprehensible information on fair working conditions (77 percent) is also important to consumers. Only around half of those surveyed are interested in shareholdings (53 percent) or sales and profits (49 percent). "The study clearly shows the areas in which companies need to address the issue of transparency," says Dr. Volker Klenk, Managing Partner of Klenk & Hoursch AG. "Currently, there is still a lot of catching up to do in most companies in many of the areas listed."
The importance of transparency is not the same for every industry
For the first time, the study also addresses the question of whether the requirements for corporate transparency vary depending on the industry. Twelve sectors were surveyed for this purpose. And indeed, there are major differences between the individual markets: the vast majority of consumers (91 percent) expect transparency from the food industry, followed by the energy and pharmaceutical industries (84 percent each). For comparison: Consumers demand the least transparency from the telecommunications industry (66 percent), traffic and transport (64 percent) and IT (55 percent). The results prove the high pressure to act for companies in the food, energy, pharmaceutical and banking sectors. What is surprising here is that many companies in these sectors often have no answers to their customers' justified demands for transparency.
The results in detail
Question: How important is it to you for the following aspects that a company is transparent?
| product risks | 84% |
| Ingredients | 82% |
| environmental efforts | 78% |
| respect for workers' rights | 77% |
| fair wages | 77% |
| Sustainable business | 76% |
| production conditions | 76% |
| Ecological damage | 73% |
| Social responsibility | 71% |
| Ethically exemplary action | 68% |
| dealing with critics | 67% |
| position on critical issues | 65% |
| Cooperation with ethically exemplary partners | 64% |
| Reduction of CO2 emissions | 64% |
| Economic goals | 62% |
| Salaries of board of directors / management | 56% |
| ownership structure | 53% |
| amount of water consumption | 51% |
| sales and profit | 49% |
| Supporting parties through donations | 46% |
Answer: Important or very important (n = 2.992 people); Multiple answers possible.
Question: How important is transparency to you when you buy/use products/offers from companies in the following sectors?
| Food | 91% |
| Energy | 84% |
| Pharmaceuticals | 84% |
| Banks | 80% |
| Chemical | 75% |
| Insurance | 75% |
| textile / clothing | 72% |
| Automobile | 71% |
| Retail | 71% |
| Telecommunications | 66% |
| traffic and transportation | 64% |
| IT | 55% |
Answer: Important or very important (n = 2.992 people); Multiple answers possible.
About the Study
The Klenk & Hoursch Transparency Study 2011 is the first substantial investigation into open and transparent communication by companies in Germany. For the study, a total of 3.000 people between the ages of 14 and 69 were interviewed to represent the population.
The survey took place as part of online interviews conducted from April 21 to 26, 2011 by the market research institute Innofact AG.
Download the study report: http://www.transparenz.net/?p=3939
Source: Frankfurt am Main [ S2xlbmsgJiBIb3Vyc2NoIEFH ]
