The survey also shows that confidence in the future economy has dropped substantially over the past year. Over one in five Captains expect conditions to worsen over the next 12 months, the same proportion as expect things to improve. Despite their increased pessimism about the state of the British economy however, these Captains are more buoyant about prospects for their own company. Over half expect to see an increase in business over the coming months.

In terms of views on new technology, many Captains think it is a significant feature of the marketplace today. Many are of the opinion that it is making a major impact on the way that Britain's business leaders think and work. Over half see e-commerce as revolutionising their industry, while nearly 6 in 10 claim that their companies have already developed online services to their customers over the Internet. The rest are currently developing or planning to develop their online strategy.

The Internet is also an increasingly important aspect of Captain's working lives. The majority now receive an average of 34 e-mails daily, with one in ten receiving over 60. Looking at their own surfing habits, the popular business sites emerge as ft.com, Bloomberg, the BBC, Reuters and Hemscott's.

The study included interviews with 196 board directors of Britain's leading companies during late 2000, selected from the top 500 companies. To ensure the quality of response, the interviews with Chairmen, CEO and MDs were conducted face-to-face.