Google has been named the most reputable company in Ireland, appearing at the top of a 'corporate reputations' ranking.
The Irish Times was the highest ranking indigenous firm, finishing 7th behind Apple.
Anglo Irish Bank was ranked as having the worst reputation, finishing last out of 115 companies surveyed.
The RepTrak study measured companies' reputations based on consumer's trust, esteem, and admiration while also gauging perceptions of reputation.
The survey received 12,000 ratings from 3,000 members of the public.
The study revealed that of the 20 companies with the best reputations in Ireland, eight were indigenous firms while 12 were multinational.
An Post National Lottery, Easons & Sons and Smyths Toys were among the highest ranked indigenous firms, while Kellogs, BMW and Nokia were among the highest ranking multinationals.
Marks & Spencer Group, FBD and Nokia were the top performing firms in retail, financial services and telecommunications industries respectively.
"At Google we know that our users are only one click away from moving to a competitor service," said Google head of policy Niall O'Riordan.
The chairman and co-founder of the Reputation Institute Dr Charles J. Fombrun said corporate reputation is "critical to sustaining and growing businesses" in today's tough economic climate.
For the first time, Irish businesses now have statistics to show that there is a direct correlation between how well organisations manage their reputation and how likely consumers are to recommend or reject the company, he added.