Wienerberger reached the best position among the five Austrian companies included in the “Webranking Europe 500” research, followed by Erste Group, OMV, Voestalpine and Verbund. The European Ranking includes the 500 largest listed European companies based on market capitalisation listed in the STOXX All Europe index and assesses the transparency of their communications. The Austrian companies were analysed by Lundquist in cooperation with Comprend.
Austrian performance in Europe
The average score for Austrian companies is 54.2 out of 100 points, 10.6 points higher than the European average of 43.6 points. However, this result should be taken into context, while on the one hand it is partly the result of the representativeness of the sample itself, which in the case of Austria takes into account only the top 5 companies, on the other hand it conceals a levelling off of all the companies evaluated at half the available score.
No company excelled or improved significantly compared to last year, however, the figure still demonstrates a good overall performance of the companies evaluated, almost all of which are in the upper half of the ranking. For instance, there is a difference of less than 20 points between Wienerberger, first with 63.1 points, and Verbund, fifth with 41.7.
German-speaking countries comparison
Stakeholder expectations for transparency are high and companies must stay ahead of their needs by constantly improving and adapting their corporate communications. When comparing Austrian performance with Germany, another German-speaking country, a different approach to online corporate transparency can be noted. In terms of investor information and corporate governance, German companies demonstrate better transparency than Austrian companies, as shown in the graph above.
Austrian companies, however, fare better than their German counterparts when it comes to communicating with media and financial analysts as well as for areas such relating to web features and functionalities. The latter area covers the performance and user-friendliness of the website along with its security and overall architecture.
“For almost 20 years we have promoted a culture of transparency. Today, however, we must evolve and go beyond. The time has come for Webranking to evolve too”
– Joakim Lundquist, CEO Lundquist
Transparency is just the beginning of a journey
It is no longer sufficient to translate information from financial statements and documents to the website, but it is necessary to think how to present the content directly online, taking into account mobile viewing, SEO and accessibility as well. Especially since transparency in data presentation is now taken for granted. Today, stakeholders want to understand the future prospects of companies.
And this is not just regarding financial performance but business prospects and brand value. Bringing the value of corporate purpose and strategy, sustainability commitments and innovation initiatives to its employees, customers, and communities. This is where competitiveness and credibility towards our stakeholders play out and which is at the core of our research .trust that aims to help companies towards a new approach of communications. The research offers a valid tool for all those who want to define a corporate purpose and create a concrete and distinctive communication to support the business.
Get in touch
For further information about the research, to receive the highlights with the score per areas and to order a tailored, interactive report, please contact:
