Organizational Survey Nonresponse

Abstract

This paper has benefitted from the generous comments of Howard Aldrich, Ron Czaja, Arne Kalleberg, Kevin Leicht, Sarah Mavrinak, Charles Perrow, Catherine Zimmer, and ASQ reviewers. This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (SES-902318). Direct correspondence to Tomaskovic-Devey, Department of Sociology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8107 or DonTomaskovic-Devey@NCSU. EDU . This paper advances a theoretical model that explains organizations' nonresponse to surveys as a predictable aspect of organizational behavior and structure. We argue that survey researchers must take into account the authority, capacity, and motive to respond of both the organizations sampled and the designated respondent within the organization. Our analysis identifies a series of organizational sources of nonresponse that have clear consequences for final sample bias. These include resource independence from the environment, subsidiary status, information dispersal in large establishments, and lack of staff dedicated to information processing. We provide suggestions for future organizational survey design and for analysis strategies to cope with sample selection bias.'

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