Global Corporate Purpose Tracker
Consumers are demanding new and different kinds of corporate activism. In a world where trust in institutions has been on the retreat and ethical consumerism on the rise, people increasingly look to companies to take action on important geopolitical issues like addressing climate change and cybersecurity, human rights, and forced labor.
To help leaders chart a path forward, Morning Consult’s Global Corporate Purpose Tracker follows consumers’ expectations surrounding corporate activism and gauges global trust in business on a monthly basis, while diving deeper into the expectations of U.S. consumers specifically.
Key Takeaways
Majorities of adults in all 18 countries surveyed said they prefer to buy from brands that reflect their social values. The United States currently holds the bottom slot, but a majority (58%) of U.S. adults nevertheless express a preference for values-based purchasing. As the United States barrels toward the 2024 elections, companies concerned about increasing political weaponization of “wokeness” should keep a close eye on this metric as a top-line gauge of how Americans are feeling about the issue.
Japanese consumers have become more disposed toward ethical consumerism in recent months. Since January, the share who say they prefer to buy from companies whose practices align with their social values has risen 6 points. The trend mirrors findings from our H2 2023 APAC Geopolitical Risk Outlook Report showing renewed Japanese optimism on various fronts over the last six months, including trust in government and support for democracy.
Baby boomers are the least likely U.S. generation to believe that the companies they buy from behave ethically overseas. They are also the most likely to say they will boycott companies that engage in international behavior they disapprove of.
Public desire for CEO action on major international issues is slowly trending upward. Amid growing concern over the role of artificial intelligence in geopolitics and future conflicts, foreign cyberthreats are the top issue that U.S. consumers think CEOs should speak out or take action on.
Values-Based Consumerism
Consumer Perceptions of Brands’ Global Awareness
Consumer Perceptions of Brands’ Overseas Practices
U.S. Consumers’ Willingness to Punish Brands for Their Global Practices
Consumer Demand for CEO Action
Source of This Data
Methodology
The Global Corporate Purpose Tracker relies on data collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. Interviews are conducted online toward the end of the indicated month. Data are weighted to approximate representative samples of adults in each country.
U.S. data reported in the tracker comes from a monthly survey conducted in the United States among representative samples of roughly 2,200 adults, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
For all other countries, surveys are conducted monthly among representative samples of roughly 1,000 adults per country, each with an unweighted margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
Morning Consult updated its weights for Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Spain, France, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in January 2023.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.
Email [email protected] to speak with a member of Morning Consult's Geopolitical Risk Analysis team about the Global Corporate Purpose Tracker.
Sonnet Frisbie leads Morning Consult’s geopolitical risk offering for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Sonnet spent over a decade at the U.S. State Department specializing in issues at the intersection of economics, commerce and political risk in Iraq, Central Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. She holds an MPP from the University of Chicago.
Follow her on Twitter @sonnetfrisbie. Interested in connecting with Sonnet to discuss her analysis or for a media engagement or speaking opportunity? Email [email protected].
