Factors affecting industrial mail response rates

Abstract

This article proposes a new approach to the study of response behavior to industrial mail surveys using communications theory as an integrative framework. Specifically, a conceptual model of the industrial mail survey process is constructed, focusing on the relationship between the researcher and the respondent, and emphasizing the collective impact of the various design and implementation elements on survey response. The central tenet of the model is that a prerequisite for inducing response is the existence of sufficient overlap in the perceptions of the researcher and the respondent regarding the basic dimensions comprising the total mail survey “package.” The model is then used in the empirical part of the investigation, which employs factor comparison techniques to examine the degree of overlap in a sample of marketing research agencies (the researchers) and a sample of major United Kingdom companies (the respondents) with regards to the factors influencing mail questionnaire response. The results indicate that, overall, the same underlying dimensions exist within the two samples, although some subtle variations can be identified.