Response rate in industrial surveys conducted in India: Trends and implications

Despite a growth in the number of India-focussed articles appearing in leading business journals, there has not been a systematic review of response rate to surveys conducted in India. India differs significantly from Western nations not only in its cultural norms but also in its practical difficulties of doing empirical research. We analysed more than 2000 studies published in 26 refereed academic journals. We find that the average response rate for an organisational level survey is significantly lower while for individual level respondent groups it is significantly higher than those reported in the Western context. Results, implications and recommendations are discussed.