Many businesses are willing to switch from a local supplier to a competing supplier for a 10 per cent price reduction, according to the Amarach survey.

The utilities telecoms and energy are most affected by this. However, in nearly all categories more than half of all businesses will be willing to switch to a foreign supplier.

A huge 81 per cent would switch telephone supplier rising to 91 per cent for a 20 per cent price reduction. For energy supply 71 per cent would be willing to switch for a 10 per cent cut, falling to slightly more than 60 per cent for transport and banking and financial services. Legal and accounting services come in far lower at just 20 per cent, reflecting legislative differences which make these services harder to offer cross-borders.

The combination of the Internet and the euro will transform business practices, according to Mr Gerard O'Neill, managing director of Amarach.

The majority of firms are expecting to source more supplies and sell more products across the euro zone using the Internet.

In common with many other surveys, Amarach found that foreign businesses are significantly more prepared for the euro than their Irish counterparts. Some 92 per cent of foreign business consider themselves to be either "very well" or "reasonably well" prepared, compared to 80 per cent of indigenous industry.

Nevertheless, the majority of businesses consider themselves to be reasonably well prepared but only a minority describe themselves as very well prepared.

Companies with large proportions of their exports going to Britain are much less likely to be well prepared for the euro, than those with large proportions going to those countries which will be in the euro currency zone. Not surprisingly, the information technology and computing sector is best prepared, while the retail and wholesaling sector is least prepared.