E&N presents the study “Trust and Reputation in Central America 2025”

The 2025 Reputación en Centroamérica: The Value of Trust study confirms that business trust continues to shape perceptions across the region. For the third consecutive year, Estrategia & Negocios, DATOS Group, and PIZZOLANTE have assessed which companies, business leaders, and brands inspire confidence, and why.

This third edition introduces enhancements to the methodology, providing a more robust GPS of trust across Central America and Panama.

Expanding the Audience Perspective

A key innovation this year is the addition of a General Public survey, complementing the 2023 and 2024 focus on business audiences and informed decision-makers, now called Informed Public.

“Working with two groups, Informed and General Public, allows us to see trust from complementary perspectives,” explains Luis Maturén, CEO of DATOS Group. “Informed audiences engage more with economic, political, and business topics, while the General Public reflects perceptions rooted in daily experiences at work, in the community, and in everyday life.”

The study collected 3,968 responses from Informed Public and 924 from the General Public, totaling 4,892 participants, marking the largest engagement to date and continuing a growth trend from 1,600 in 2023 and 2,426 in 2024.

A New Model for Measuring Trust

This edition also implements a five-dimensional trust model evolving from the previous three dimensions: What, How, For Whom.

According to Maturén, the model draws on organizational psychology, sociology, and digital environments. The dimensions are:

• Behavioral Trust – consistency between words and actions
• Affective Trust – empathy and respect
• Cognitive Trust – knowledge and competence
• Social Trust – commitment to the community and stakeholders
• Technological Trust – innovation and forward-looking solutions

Highlights of Trust in Central America

The study evaluates institutional trust across companies, business leaders, and brands. While both audiences rank companies and leaders highly, the General Public shows slightly higher levels of institutional skepticism.

Family-owned companies generally outperform non-family firms in trust ratings, while regional businesses gain more recognition among informed audiences and national brands resonate with the General Public.

The study also identifies The 50 Most Trusted Business Leaders in Central America 2025, including top-performing women leaders, along with reasons voters place their confidence in them.

Each country, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, receives a dedicated report detailing historical comparisons, rankings, and insights from the trust model, revealing unique local perspectives: quality-focused markets like El Salvador and Nicaragua, locally-centered Panama, socially-conscious Costa Rica, and the rising trust in Honduras.

Implications for Small Brands: Beyond Channel Choice

The findings highlight that trust is built over time, beyond marketing campaigns or platform selection. For small brands, the question is not whether to prioritize TikTok over Google—the real challenge is generating traction: fostering resonance, authenticity, and recognition that endures regardless of algorithm changes.

Small brands can leverage their agility, closeness, and transparency to compete with large corporations. The smart strategy involves diversifying channels and cultivating a strong brand voice that can adapt and thrive across any digital ecosystem.

As Italo Pizzolante, Founding Partner of PIZZOLANTE, notes, “Behavioral trust, linked to product and service quality, is often the most valued by audiences when deciding whom to trust.”

Building Enduring Brand Trust

The Value of Trust 2025 underscores that trust is more than a campaign; it is a daily, deliberate effort that goes beyond superficial purpose statements. The study offers insights into how brands can connect with consumers, drive loyalty, and foster advocacy in every market segment, creating a resilient presence in the digital landscape.