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WhatdotheBritishPublicthinkofbusinessbehaviour?LatestsurveyfromtheInstituteofBusinessEthics

TaxavoidanceandexecutivepayarestillfirmlyontheagendaasissuestheBritishpublicthinksbusinessneedstoaddress.

27th November 2014: Corporate tax avoidance remains the top public concern about business behaviour for 2014, according to the latest survey of public opinion about business behaviour conducted for the Institute of Business Ethics.

The survey, published today, shows that the public’s general opinion about ethical business behaviour remains the same as 2013. Since the survey began in 2003, the British public’s opinion consistently leans more towards judging business as behaving ‘ethically’ than ‘not ethically’.

Asked whether business generally behaves ethically, 58% of respondents said it did. However, over the past two years, the British public seem to have become less ambivalent about business behaviour. In 2012, 15% expressed no opinion, but in 2014 only 2% do not have an opinion on business behaviour.

Q There is a lot of discussion these days about how ethically business is behaving – that is, how far its behaviour and decisions follow good principles. How ethically do you think British business generally behaves?

Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

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However, views remain mixed as to whether business behaviour has improved over the decade, with 25% believing that business is behaving more ethically now than it did ten years ago, 36% thinking the behaviour was the same, and 36% considering it to be less ethical.

Q How do you think British business is behaving now compared with 10 years ago – is it behaving more ethically than ten years ago, less ethically, or the same?

Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

Women continue to think that the behaviour of British business is more ethical than men do, with 61% of women thinking that the behaviour of British business was either “very” or “fairly” ethical, whereas, only 55% of men thought the same.

Q There is a lot of discussion these days about how ethically business is behaving – that is, how far its behaviour and decisions follow good principles. How ethically do you think British business generally behaves?

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Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

Baby boomers (55+ yr olds) have become more positive about company ethics; they are more likely to agree that British Business is behaving ethically compared to last year, while those younger are more negative than last year. Generation X (35-54 year olds) especially has lost confidence dramatically, with nearly a 10% drop (8%) in those who think business behaves ethically compared to last year.

Q There is a lot of discussion these days about how ethically business is behaving – that is, how far its behaviour and decisions follow good principles. How ethically do you think British business generally behaves?

Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

The survey also compares the views of business by social grade It found that ABC1 respondents hold more positive views of business behaviour than C2DE respondents.

Q There is a lot of discussion these days about how ethically business is behaving – that is, how far its behaviour and decisions follow good principles. How ethically do you think British business generally behaves?

Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

Executive pay is rising again as an issue which the public think needs addressing; having gone down 4 percentage points in 2013 to 30%, it has now returned to 2012 levels (34%). This issue has been one of the top two issues since the 2008 banking crisis. Tax avoidance has also been one of the top two issues since it was first introduced as a category in the survey in 2012.

Exploitative labour* is an issue to watch, as it continues to be high on the public’s agenda, having risen 3 percentage points this year and 4 points last year. This may be due to public awareness of this issue being raised through the Modern Slavery Bill moving through parliament, and the attendant media comment.

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Q In your view of company behaviour, which two or three of these issues most need addressing?

Base: c. 1,000 GB adults 16+ each year, asked face-to-face

Philippa Foster Back CBE, IBE’s Director, commented on the results: “While business can take some heart in these results that the British public’s opinion of business behaviour is improving, we are not out of the woods yet. Business needs to listen to the public’s concerns about business behaviour and ensure that it addresses them, or they will lose the fragile trust that has been regained. Consideration must be made of the opinion of the younger generations and those of the working classes who are experiencing business behaviour differently to the general public.”

ENDS/

To obtain jpegs of the infographic, or to organise interviews or articles, please contact Katherine Bradshaw, Communications Manager, 07771 517700 k.bradshaw@ibe.org.uk

NOTESFOREDITORS

Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics – 2014 Survey Free Infographic download from www.ibe.org.uk

Published: Thursday 27th November 2014

AbouttheSurvey Since 2003, the Institute of Business Ethics has commissioned Ipsos MORI to carry out an annual face to face surveys asking British adults (16+) their opinion of the ethical behaviour of British business and the issues that most need addressing. This briefing considers the findings over these ten years.

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The three questions asked are:

Q1: How ethically do you think British business generally behaves?

Q2: How do you think British business is behaving now compared with 10 years ago? (asked since 2006)

Q3: In your view of company behaviour, which two or three of these issues most need addressing?

*In 2014 ‘Sweatshop labour’ was changed to ‘Exploitative labour’.

Interviews were conducted face to face with 997 GB adults (16+) between 1-10 August 2014. Data has been weighted to reflect the offline adult population (16+) in terms of age, gender, region, social grade, ethnicity, housing tenure and working status.

AbouttheInstituteofBusinessEthics

The Institute of Business Ethics promotes high standards of business practice based on ethical values.

We help organisations to strengthen their ethics culture through the sharing of knowledge and good practice.

www.ibe.org.uk