CEO and Businesses are Losing Trust: Comparison of EU, USA, Czech and Slovak Republic

This article presents an in-depth study based on open-source data analysis (Edelman Trust Barometer and European Communication Monitor) concerning the general loss of trust, which both commercial companies, governments and, on a minor scale, also NGOs have been experiencing since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Trust is an essential line of corporate communications, public relations and reputation management of companies and it is personalized by the CEOs and top management. According to the data, the trust of CEOs saw the biggest decline in the U.S. while in Slovakia the trust is still quite high; on the contrary, in the E.U. in general, the level of trust of CEOs reached a historical minimum of 30%. The overall shift from trusting the traditional authorities, such as government, CEOs and official representatives to academics, stakeholders, employees and general "vox populi" can be seen globally. The aim of this article is to define trust and the social and communications context of building trust as a key factor in a company's reputation. Finally, clear managerial implications on reputation management focusing on Czech and Slovak CEOs and businesses will be given.