Why Is Fortune Smiling on Apple?

Though the consumer world may have begun favoring Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) brand over Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), the business world has a clear favorite in the iPhone maker, according to Fortune‘s latest list of the world’s most admired companies.

In the Harris Poll released in mid-February, Amazon showed that it had won consumers’ favor by outscoring Apple, Google, and every other company included in the poll. Apple came in second, followed by Disney (NYSE:DIS), Google, and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) in that order.

Apple did manage a couple smaller victories in that poll, as it was voted slightly above Amazon in vision, leadership, and financial performance — admirable areas on the business end — while Amazon won in trust, products and services, social responsibility, and emotional appeal — areas consumers care about.

The minor victories may explain why Apple has now been able to beat Amazon in Fortune‘s poll, which surveyed 3,800 directors and executives. Google also appears to have more favor from these types of people, as it came in second, ahead of Amazon…