Small Business Executives’ Online Survey Response Intentions: The Effects of Incentives and Survey Length

Abstract

Data obtained from small-business executives (owners and managers) is central to many domains of research on entrepreneurship since they can provide unique insights. Online surveys to collect data from these executives have gained in popularity in light of their favorable cost, speed of delivery and response, and ease of data cleaning and analysis compared to other survey methods. While the benefits of undertaking online surveys are numerous, low response rates can be a major drawback. Though there is considerable research on survey response rates in general, little is found about the combined effects of both survey length and incentive type on response rates, especially among small-business executives. The purpose of this study is to address this gap in the survey research literature. Building on the seminal work by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) on the correspondence between behavioral intentions and actual behaviors, 248 small-business owners and managers reported how likely they would be to respond to 10, 20, and 30-minute online surveys with the same set of incentives for each. Small-business executives reported being significantly more likely to respond to online surveys when cash, a gift card, or a donation to a charity was offered compared to the offer of providing survey results or a lottery incentive, regardless of the survey length. In addition, the findings strongly confirmed that survey length negatively affects small-business executives’ intentions to respond.