Klareco Communications worked collectively with the /amo strategic advisors group, a leading global independent agency network, to launch the Global Corporate Values report for 2022. The Values Most Valued report shares invaluable insights into how blue-chip companies from multiple national markets seek to project their sense of purpose and worth to their various audiences. Spanning across 17 industry sectors in 19 markets, it outlines the values that are most frequently cited by individual markets to identify broad trends across different regions over time.

Here are the key findings from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and across the globe:

1. Globally, relations with stakeholders are increasingly important. There has been a marked shift over the last year towards expressions of respect and responsibility towards key stakeholders, notably employees (up 27%) and clients (up 32%). More broadly, concern for the environment rose sharply (up 37%). However, there were some wide and disparate geographic variations in this broad pattern. For example, the number of Chinese companies citing a broad sense of social responsibility towards people and communities was sharply up over the year. In the UK, too, there was a strong increase in the number of companies evoking such broad social values. However, in the US, there was a marked shift away from the generic towards a sharper focus on identified stakeholders, notably employees and partners.
2. Across 17 industries, integrity – a popular catch-all term for general moral rectitude – still ranks high as a value, but this year it slipped behind “innovation” into second place among the individual values. This was not an isolated case of just the single word losing favour. The entire broader category related to ethics & integrity was only quoted by 43% of companies surveyed this year, down from 46% the previous year, reflecting the tendency of companies to be more specific about the impact of their values. The healthcare industry was the loudest proponent of ethical rectitude. Many of the B2B sectors were also likely to post values in that category – including conglomerates, engineering, industrial products, mining, and technological hardware. However, the consumer-facing sectors tended to be slightly less vocal in their claims.
3. In Singapore, innovation is more highly prized than ever. Faced with a daunting range of new challenges – including pandemics, supply chain issues, inflation, war and climate change – companies are keen to be perceived as creative thinkers. As a global hub for innovation, this value (and variations on the word) has been the most popular single value in Singapore for the past two years and was claimed by 50% of companies in 2021-22 (vs 43% the previous year).

4. In Malaysia, there was sharp increase in values citing “employees and partners” with Malaysia leading the Asian markets. Despite “Innovation” being the most frequently cited individual corporate value globally, in Malaysia, the value fell by two rank places, albeit still in the top five.  Additionally, “Integrity” (in one form or another) was also cited by 80% of Malaysia’s largest listed companies as a corporate value.

5. In Indonesia, despite “innovation” being the most frequently cited corporate value globally, it was seldom cited in Indonesia. Instead “Respect & Trust” was clearly the top-ranking values category among Indonesian companies. This values category includes a commitment to mutual trust and respect for each other, treating their stakeholders with respect, upholding the trust given, being loyal or dedicated, and prioritizing the interests of the nation and state. It was stated by 7 companies (as opposed to 6 companies in the previous year).

Fill in our form and download the full report to find out more.