People tend to trust companies more than their innovations. They also trust companies more to integrate innovations into society than other entities in society, according to a text on the news portal Coletiva.net entitled “Reputation and innovation: allies for brand growth”, signed by reporter Jéssica Mello.
Anik Suzuki, founder and CEO of ANK Reputation, explains in the article that this occurs because innovations are experiments that have not yet been confirmed in the market. “It is natural that there is greater distrust because the themes presented are not yet fully known,” she says. “Established companies will generate more trust than their promises of innovation.”
The text presents data from the 24th edition of the Edelman Trust Barometer – Brazil Report, an annual study conducted by this global communications agency. One of the conclusions of the survey is that trust in sectors does not guarantee trust in the innovations they promote. Among Brazilians, for example, 79% trust organizations in the technology sector, but only 53% believe in Artificial Intelligence (AI), a difference of 26 points.
Still, when it comes to innovation, companies in Brazil are seen as more trustworthy (63%) than NGOs (52%), media (50%) and government (46%) in the case of integrating innovations into society (see picture). Among those interviewed in Brazil – 32,000 were interviewed in 28 countries – the majority say that the government does not have the authority to legislate on emerging innovations and that government regulators do not adequately understand emerging technologies to regulate them effectively.
Pay attention to the result
Anik attributes the fact that governments are rated worse in terms of trust to successive allegations of corruption. He also points out that concern about results is significantly greater in the private sector. “Any company, regardless of size or time in existence, has a lot to lose. A slip-up, a crisis, a reputational problem can be the end of the business, which is not the case with governments, parties or politicians.”
Tecnosinos executive manager Silvio Bitencourt da Silva, another interviewee, believes that companies’ greater credibility comes from the perception of security and stability, while innovations, especially technological ones, generate uncertainty. This is one of the points of concern for a consolidated brand like Tramontina, explains Corporate Marketing Director Rosane Fantinelli, for whom the company’s focus is to ensure constant improvement and meet the dynamics of a market that is always changing.
