The report, dubbed "Meetings around the world: The impact of collaboration on business performance" by Frost and Sullivan was conducted in March and identifies the influence of communication on business performance.

The survey collected 946 respondents from 2000 companies in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific covering financial services, government, healthcare and pharmaceutical, high technology, professional services and manufacturing, with revenue ranging from US$5 million to $10 billion.It found that, out of the three major aspects of business performance, quality of communication is the largest contributor with 36 per cent, while pursuing new markets accounted for 18 per cent and external market forces affected only seven per cent.

Virtual collaboration expert Jaclyn Kostner said collaboration via communication is an important consideration in the marketplace.

"As a general rule, global companies that collaborate better, perform better. Those that collaborate less, do not perform as well. It's just that simple," she said.

Frost and Sullivan ICT consulting vice president Brian Cotton said collaboration enables opportunities for technology and communication analysis.