About 97 per cent of respondents to a new survey said they were concerned about negative media stories about their firms or themselves compared with an average of 84 per cent worldwide.

Customer complaints on websites or in the media also made executives here uneasy: 84 per cent would be concerned compared with 71 per cent of executives worldwide.

Global public relations firm Weber Shandwick and the Economic Intelligence Unit, a research firm linked to The Economist magazine, surveyed over 700 senior executives from 62 countries, including 62 from Singapore.

Sixty per cent of those surveyed came from companies that generated annual revenue of over US$500 million.

The survey - it was conducted online between June and July last year - found that while 99 per cent of all executives used the Internet to get a feel of their company's reputation, just 57 per cent found it 'useful' in their judgment.

Just 47 per cent of executives here found the Internet useful.

Most bosses - 62 per cent worldwide and 66 per cent in Singapore - still found traditional media like newspapers and television news more influential.

They were also 'blind to the blogosphere' - people who pen their personal thoughts on products, culture and issues on online journals - the survey said.

'Like executives elsewhere, those in the Asia Pacific believe that the least effective way to protect corporate reputations online is to build relationships with influential bloggers. Only 12 per cent of Asian executives...consider this strategy helpful,' said the survey.