sector is pharmaceuticals, followed by health insur- ance; these are also the two sectors considered most in need of new regulations. On the positive side, the food and beverage industry has the lowest distrust score and also the lowest score for being under-regulated. No industry sector is considered over-regulated by


a majority of Americans. If the public doesn’t think a sector is under-regulated, they most likely believe it is regulated at the right level.


Rising and Falling Over the years, it has been fascinating to watch indus- try reputations rise and fall in the eyes of the public. And, if people think a sector has become noticeably more untrustworthy, they also believe it needs new regulations.


The most dramatic “fall from grace” has been


the reputational decline of the technology sector. In 2013, Americans were more than twice as likely to say technology companies were more trustworthy than less trustworthy (25% vs. 11%). In fact, until 2018, technology ranked at the top of


the list for trustworthiness. But then it slipped to fourth place in 2018, to fifth place in 2019 and to sixth place in 2021. While the sector improved to fifth place in 2023, only 19% said it was more trustworthy than average and 24% still said it was less trustworthy than average. Concurrent with this trend has been a steep rise


in the number of Americans who feel the technology sector is under-regulated. Back in 2013, only 11% of Americans thought technology was under-regulated and 24% thought it was over-regulated. Now, 10 years later, 31% believe the sector is under-regulated and only 18% believe it is over-regulated. Te 2023 survey gives technology the third-highest


FIGURE 2 Who Needs More Oversight? Percentage saying an industry is under-regulated


Pharmaceuticals Health Insurance Energy Banks/Financial Institutions Technology Automobile Large Retail Manufacturing Food and Beverage


score for industries perceived to need more oversight— behind only pharmaceuticals and health insurance. Tus, it is no coincidence that there is more talk now on Capitol Hill about technology sector regulation than there was a decade ago. A positive example worth noting has been the reputational im-


provement in the banking and financial services industry. In 2013, 42% of Americans said banks and financial institutions were less trustworthy than average and 41% said they needed more regulation. By 2023, the percentage who thought they were untrustworthy


had shrunk to 25% and the percentage calling for more financial regulations had decreased to 28%.


2 0 SPRING 2 0 24 ■ IR UPDAT E 23% 23% 21% 21% 31% 30% 28% 34% 37%


FIGURE 1 Which Industries Are Least Trustworthy? Percentage saying an industry is less trustworthy than average


Pharmaceuticals Health Insurance Energy Banks/Financial Institutions Technology Automobile Large Retail Manufacturing Food and Beverage 16% 15% 19% 19% 37% 25% 24% 37% 37%


Food and beverage companies have also shown improve-


ment in both indices, but the changes haven’t been as dramatic. After years of being in the middle of the pack, in 2023 food and beverage companies received the best scores for both trust and regulatory restraint.


Partisan Takes on Business Where else do we see the connection between reputation risk and political risk?


niri.org/ irupdate


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