Public expectations of companies are rising everywhere - but consumers' top concerns vary substantially between countries and regions, according to a new study by GlobeScan...While consumers' expectations of companies have grown, their ratings of corporate performance have fallen in the last four years. Even industries such as computers and telecommunications, which have the highest ratings for social and environmental performance, have slipped in the public's perception...consumers hold companies more responsible for the things over which they have direct influence...[i]n particular,...the way people are treated - both direct employees and those further down the supply chain...[refers to McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo]...Internal barriers are preventing leading companies from testing their belief that they could derive value from innovation that meets environmental and social needs, says a study by Arthur D Little, the management consultants...The report, entitled The Innovation High Ground, says social and environmental concerns must be explicitly considered when setting strategy and designing products. Few companies are doing either, let alone both. [refers to Dupont, HP, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Vodafone, France Telecom]