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Geopolitics
The passport to global success: How to get a stamp of approval anywhere in the world
In a fracturing world, ‘corporate statecraft’ is essential. Your home country’s reputation directly impacts regulatory ease, consumer trust, and overall market access. Leaders should tailor corporate identity to individual markets, say Marcus Burke and Trent Ross.
How should multinationals operate in a world fracturing along national lines? What happens to the delicate dance between business and geopolitics when a company’s home country becomes a source of friction, rather than a symbol of strength? For decades, the playbook for global expansion was clear: a superior product, a powerful brand, and an efficient, borderless supply chain were the keys to the kingdom. In that world, a company’s nationality was, at most, a footnote – a detail of origin, not a determinant of destiny.
Today, that playbook is obsolete. In a global environment defined by narrow national interests and disruption, our global research on the impact of multinationals offers insights into how a nation’s political reputation acts as an increasingly scrutinized corporate passport. This passport can grant privileged, frictionless access, or it can create barriers, effectively stamping “denied” on a company’s growth ambitions.
C-suite leaders can no longer afford to view brand and corporate reputation as siloed functions, separate from the messy realities of international relations. A company’s national identity is an asset or a liability that impacts everything from market access and regulatory relationships to consumer trust and the ability to attract talent. The Ipsos Impacts of Multinational Corporations study, which surveyed over 23,500 citizen-consumers across 31 countries in 2025, provides a scorecard of which corporate passports are most – and least – valuable. Its findings can help to inform your strategy for navigating a world where local trust has become a non-negotiable global asset.
Our survey paints a picture of a world where perceptions of a nation’s behavior translate into commercial advantage or disadvantage. In this world, stakeholders elevate relationships with companies that build trust and curtail those they deem too risky or preoccupied with their own problems.
The US anomaly
Perhaps the most striking finding is the anti-American pushback observed globally, which poses a strategic challenge for US business leaders. When asked to choose between positive and negative statements, US firms faced a significant backlash, particularly from their closest allies. In Canada, the belief that US firms are a “drain on our economy” surpasses the view that they “invest in our economy” by a margin of 23 percentage points. The perception of US company ethics follows suit, with negative views of their business practices outpacing positive ones by 22 points.
European respondents were also skeptical, despite a more positive view of the economic contribution of US firms. Europeans harbor concerns about product safety, where negative perceptions exceeded positive ones by 15 points. This “American anomaly” is further underscored by trade relationship ratings. Globally, more than one in five people (22%) rate their country’s trade relationship with the US as poor – nearly double the figure for any other nation surveyed. This negative perception is driven overwhelmingly by Canada and Europe.
The trusted nation advantage
In contrast, companies from Canada, Germany, and Japan enjoy a powerful “reputation premium.” If you lead a Canadian company, for example, you are viewed so positively in the US that perceptions of you investing in the world’s biggest economy exceed negative views by 38 points. If your firm is German, you benefit from a strong, positive reputation across Europe, where positive views of your impact on job creation outstrip negative views by 36 points, and perceptions of fair worker treatment show a 31-point advantage. Japanese companies are also overwhelmingly associated with positive attributes, especially in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, where they see a 39-point advantage on job creation.
Why do these national corporate passports hold so much value? The data suggests a combination of factors: perceived political neutrality, a long-standing reputation for quality, or a history of more balanced, mutually beneficial trade relationships.
Globalization is no longer a monolithic, Western-led project ... strategy can no longer be one-size-fits-all.
Multipolar power plays
The data on China and India illuminates the complexities of an emerging multipolar world. While companies from these nations face significant pushback from the West, they are building strong relationships elsewhere. Chinese companies provoke deeply negative feedback in Europe, where negative views on their economic investment are 26 points higher than positive ones, and they face a 29-point deficit on worker treatment. Yet, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), those same firms earned a 14-point surplus in perceptions of their economic investment. This demonstrates that globalization is no longer a monolithic, Western-led project. For leaders, it indicates that strategy can no longer be one-size-fits-all but must be calibrated to the unique geopolitical and social dynamics of each region.
The CEO mandate
The perceptions captured in recent global studies are not abstract; they are leading indicators of business risk and opportunity that will have an impact on your P&L. When we asked 161 senior communications leaders across 19 markets about their top concerns for the Ipsos Reputation Council Report, the answer was a resounding “geopolitics, geopolitics, geopolitics.”
For the modern CEO, navigating this landscape is a critical mandate. Your C-suite agenda is likely dominated by the challenge of achieving growth in volatile markets, managing geopolitical risk, and navigating intense competition. The country-of-origin trust deficit speaks directly to each of these challenges. A negative corporate passport manifests in tangible, costly ways:
- Deal negotiations: If your firm is from a country with a trust deficit, you may face heightened scrutiny from regulators, complicating mergers and acquisitions and potentially adding a “reputation tax” to the deal price.
- New market entry: Opening a new factory in a market where your home country is viewed negatively can trigger protests, consumer boycotts, or a more arduous regulatory process, delaying your time-to-market and increasing costs.
Consumer choice: When two products are of similar quality and price, a consumer may choose the one from a “trusted nation,” turning reputational perception into a driver of sales and market share.
Impact of multinational companies. Source: IPSOS Impacts of Multinational Corporations Tables show the net scores of negative, positive, and don't know responses. *Countries are not rated in their own markets and therefore not included in the regional figures. Survey: 23,528 online adults under the age of 75 across 31 countries, interviewed 27 October – 4 November 2025
How to build a ‘certainty bubble’ for stakeholders
Leaders must adopt strategies to build a resilient corporate identity for a world where local trust is a global asset. To create a “certainty bubble” for your stakeholders, consider these strategic approaches:
1 – Embrace radical localization
The first strategy involves bearing or absorbing some financial costs of uncertainty to become a source of stability for your stakeholders. The data demands that multinationals, particularly those from countries with a reputation deficit, go beyond hiring local managers – you must embrace a strategy of “radical localization” to prove you are genuinely invested in the host country. This involves demonstrating that your company is creating quality jobs, investing in the local economy, and behaving ethically in accordance with local standards. A successful localization strategy listens to regional priorities and responds with tangible programs, from local sourcing initiatives and workforce training centers to community partnerships and transparent tax contributions.
2 – Leverage technology for strategic sense-making
Companies must provide information and make commitments that stakeholders can count on. However, the sheer volume of information (and disinformation) can feel overwhelming, especially with the influence of AI. Our research identified what we call the “AI paradox.” While a majority of senior communication professionals (57%) use AI daily, confidence in their ability to use it meaningfully has dipped, and only 11% feel their corporate ethical policies are sufficient for its adoption. This reveals a leadership class caught between the pressure to innovate and a well-founded fear of the risks.
While AI can feel daunting, it can also help decipher shifts in the political and commercial climate. Here, the leadership imperative is not to simply adopt AI for efficiency, but to use it as a tool for geopolitical sense-making. The aim is to move beyond traditional surveys to analyze real-time public discourse, providing the intelligence to make your “radical localization” strategy effective. It is also important to recognize that AI is a weapon that can be used against you. Leaders should harness technology not just to speak faster, but to listen better, see further, and build robust verification processes that position their company as trustworthy.
3 – Corporate diplomacy as a core competency
Your corporation should move beyond traditional government relations and develop a proactive corporate diplomacy function. The goal is to build deep, authentic relationships with a wide array of stakeholders to build trust independently of your company’s national flag. Inevitably, this risks creating tension with another trend identified in our research: the rise of “strategic silence.” Faced with divisive geopolitical issues, only one in five (21%) senior communication professionals prefer their organization to speak out. This is a deliberate, risk-assessed decision not to engage unless an issue is core to the business. However, this raises a crucial question, especially for US firms: how long can you remain silent if your government’s actions actively undermine your brand equity? If your corporate passport is the source of the problem, your silence may be misinterpreted as complicity.
4 – Develop a ‘transnational’ identity
For companies from nations with a significant “reputation deficit,” it is worth considering how to cultivate a “transnational” identity that counteracts negative associations with their country of origin. This involves building a brand that feels universal, or (for multinationals) even local, rather than tied to its home country. This requires deep community integration and the empowerment of your regional leadership.
For example, a transnational company might grant its regional hubs autonomy, allowing them to tailor products, strategies, and community engagement to local needs. Populate your global leadership team with executives from diverse backgrounds to break the perception of a monolithic headquarters culture. Invest in local R&D and build partnerships with local universities and institutions. Your company’s identity then becomes a mosaic of its global operations rather than a reflection of its country of origin, allowing it to build trust on its own merits, market by market.
The future is local
In a polarized marketplace, companies cannot afford to impose a single global template. Their license to operate is a social contract that must be earned and renewed in every market, every day.
Our research provides a clear-eyed assessment of the geopolitical risks and opportunities embedded in your company’s identity. It challenges you to look beyond traditional brand metrics and ask tough questions: What is the value of our corporate passport? Where is our national identity an asset, and where is it a liability? How can we mitigate the negatives and harness the positives? The businesses that answer these questions head-on and adopt a new and necessary form of corporate statecraft will build the resilient, trusted, and global enterprises of the future.
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