This year Rolex supplanted BMW as the world’s most reputable company, having jumped from its fourth place result last year in a list of internationally recognized companies that have captured the respect of global consumers. BMW? It fell to fourth place, behind Walt Disney Company and Google. 
 
 The ranking is the product of Reputation Institute (RI), a reputation management consulting firm based in Boston that launched in 1997. Since its founding the firm has offered corporate clients strategies and insights into how they might gauge and improve their reputation among customers in various markets. (See above for our slideshow of the 25 Most Reputable Companies.) 
 
 FORBES CONTENT LICENSING 
 
 LOGO LICENSING 
 
 REPRINTS 
 
 ORDER SPREADSHEET 
 
 In putting together its annual list of the world’s most reputable companies, RI assigns each company a score – The RepTrak Pulse – ascertained by taking into account the esteem, trust, admiration and feelings the general public has for each company in seven categories. Ratings are based on online polls of more than 240,000 people in 15 countries, such as China, the United States, Germany, Russia, Brazil and others. 
 
 Of the 100 companies in the survey (identified by taking the best-scoring companies from markets around the world that also score well worldwide), Rolex managed to place in the top ten among poll respondents in 11 nations—more than any other company. Sony (which came in 9th overall) scored in the top ten in 10 nations. Rolex has indeed been consistent as of late, placing in the top five most reputable companies for the past three years, as have other household-name firms like Google, Walt Disney and BMW. 
 
 “Around the world, (Rolex) has a consistently strong to excellent reputation,” says Kasper Ulf Nielsen, Executive Partner at RI, “Being number one in the world – which is a summary of fifteen countries – it shows that you are strong to excellent throughout the world—it’s not enough to be excellent in a few markets.” 
 
 The area where Rolex scored highest among respondents (a score of 82.2) was in products and services, proving that the general population has high regard for the company’s wares and its willingness to stand behind its product. Rolex also scored highly in performance, innovation, workplace and governance – among other categories – generally getting high marks across the board. 
 
 Another strong performer on this year’s list was The Walt Disney Company, which scored higher in the citizenship and governance categories. Says Nielsen: “The Walt Disney Company is number one in the world when it comes to being perceived as a good corporate citizen and also as a company with fair and ethical business practices.” 
 
 One firm that saw a dropoff in reputation was Volkswagen. Following scandalous allegations of cheating on emissions testing and the subsequent resignation of its chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, the company’s good name took a noticeable hit, dropping from 14th place, with a RepTrak score of 75 last year, to 123rd place in 2016, with a mediocre score of 61.3. 
 
 But how do a strong reputation and the admiration of the general populace translate to sales? According to Reputation Institute, companies with higher RepTrak Pulse scores are more likely to have their goods or services recommended by their customers. For a company on the list, improving a RepTrak Pulse score by five points can increase the likelihood of customer recommendations by 8.5%. 
 
 Also, companies that rated average on RI’s score chart (with a RepTrak Pulse score of between 60 and 69) saw only about 35% of respondents willing to buy their products. Companies that scored between 70 and 79 saw that willingness to buy jump up to an average of 55%. “In a world where companies are fighting for market share,” says Nielsen, “this is showing us that reputation is an avenue to improve the recommendations you get from consumers.” 
 
 The importance of the personal recommendation has grown in recent years, Nielsen says, likely because people have generally lost trust in institutions like governments and corporations—they expect to be disappointed and hold quality in higher regard when they find it. “And that means that if you’re able to stand out as a company that is trusted, you get an accelerated level of support.” That support, he added, can lead to increased sales and profit. ||||| Worst Reputations: 
 
 Source: vw.com 
 
 10. Volkswagen Group 
 
 > 2017 reputation score: 63.46 
 
 > 2016 reputation score: 54.75 
 
 > Industry: Automobile manufacturing 
 
 > CEO: Matthias Müller 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency announced in September 2015 that a number of Volkswagen vehicles had been rigged to pass emissions tests. Volkswagen admitted that 11 million of its cars were manipulated to falsely understate exhaust emissions levels. The scandal was one of the worst instances of major corporate fraud in recent history. It resulted in more than $20 billion in fines and lawsuits in the U.S. alone, the resignation of the CEO and suspension of several executives, and pending criminal charges for a number of U.S. employees. While Volkswagen’s reputation is recovering — the increase in the company’s reputation score from 54.75 in 2016 to 63.46 in 2017 was the largest of any corporation — the automaker has one of the worst reputations of any company today. 
 
 Source: Wikimedia Commons 
 
 9. AIG 
 
 > 2017 reputation score: 63.22 
 
 > 2016 reputation score: 61.15 
 
 > Industry: Insurance 
 
 > CEO: Peter Hancock 
 
 AIG can trace its roots back nearly 100 years to its Shanghai-based predecessor, a general insurance company known as American Asiatic Underwriters. Today, the company provides insurance and other financial services in more than 100 countries. 
 
 The company’s reputation took a major hit during the financial crisis, when the federal government stepped in to save the insurer it considered too big to fail with an $85 billion bailout. AIG is one of several companies on this list to receive a bailout during the Great Recession, many of which are also blamed for contributing to the crisis that led to their downfalls. Currently, company board members are discussing CEO Peter Hancock’s future with the company, as his two-year restructuring plan designed to reward shareholders appears to be failing. 
 
 Source: Wikimedia Commons 
 
 8. Charter Communications 
 
 > 2017 reputation score: 62.80 
 
 > 2016 reputation score: 64.78 
 
 > Industry: Cable telecommunications 
 
 > CEO: Thomas Rutledge 
 
 Charter Communications is a telecommunications company that sells cable, phone, and internet services through the brand Charter Spectrum. After purchasing Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks in 2016, Charter became the second largest broadband internet provider and third largest pay-TV provider in the United States. Those who opposed the merger claimed that the less competition would leave little incentive for Charter to improve its customer service. Charter Communications currently has one of the lowest customer satisfaction scores of any major company on the ACSI. While most of the Harris Poll’s 100 most recognizable companies improved in reputation over the past year, Charter’s reputation score fell from 64.78 in 2016 to 62.80 in 2017 — one of the largest declines of any company. 
 
 Source: Wikimedia Commons 
 
 7. Sears Holdings Corporation 
 
 > 2017 reputation score: 62.74 
 
 > 2016 reputation score: 64.69 
 
 > Industry: Retail 
 
 > CEO: Edward Lampert 
 
 Sears has long struggled against the rising tide of e-commerce. In the ACSI, Sears ranks third worst in customer service among major retailers, ahead of only Ross Stores and Wal-Mart. Sears continues to close stores nationwide. Even as it is constantly trimming down operations, the company loses money. Sears Holding Corporation has reported a net loss in each of the last five fiscal years, amounting to over $8.3 billion. Over the past five years, company shares plunged by nearly 90%. 
 
 Like many other companies on this list, Sears Holdings does not appear to do well by its employees. According to reviews on Glassdoor, fewer than one in three employees would recommend a job with the company to a friend. Only 13% of employees approve of CEO Edward Lampert. 
 
 Source: Wikimedia Commons 
 
 6. Bank Of America 
 
 > 2017 reputation score: 59.69 
 
 > 2016 reputation score: 64.26 
 
 > Industry: Finance 
 
 > CEO: Brian Moynihan 
 
 Bank of America, the second largest American bank based on total assets, did not have a good year when it comes to its reputation. In the 2016 edition of the Harris Poll survey, the bank received a reputation score of just 64. In the 2017 edition, BofA’s score fell below 60, one of the sharpest drops of any company. The company has faced a number of lawsuits for its actions and the actions of companies it acquired, including Bear Stearns, during the financial crisis. In January, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corpoation sued Bank of America for $542 million for money the bank allegedly owes the federal body. 
 
 Customer service is a big part of a company’s reputation, and Bank of America’s ACSI score of just 75 is tied with Chase as the worst among major banks.
– The Reputation Institute is out with its annual list of the world's most reputable companies, based on a poll of 240,000 people from 15 countries. Volkswagen took a major hit, falling from the 14th spot to 123rd in 2016, per Forbes. The top 10: Rolex Disney Google BMW Daimler Lego Microsoft Canon Sony Apple