Postcard reminders versus replacement questionnaires and mail survey response rates from a professional population

Nonresponse is a major problem in the use of mail questionnaires. The great number of variables that can influence response rates has resulted in an extensive literature on the subject, but a literature that is restricted to few examples of replication. Moreover, many of the studies reported in the literature were not conducted under controlled conditions. This article presents the results of a study using a single-factor experimental design to test the efficacy of two different follow-up forms in improving response rates. The results indicate that replacement questionnaires are to be preferred over postcard reminders when using a one-time follow-up in surveying a professional population.     

Disclosure regulation and public policy a sociohistorical reappraisal

This study questions contemporary precepts concerning the SEC's disclosure system as being both ahistorical and asocial. The authors suggest that disclosure was but one of several modes for resolving the contradiction between an individualistic, market-based public philosophy and increasing economic concentration and centralization. When understood in these terms, the securities acts are seen not as fundamental changes in public policy but as part of an ongoing attempt to maintain an ideological, social, and economic status quo.     

Telemarketing in distribution channels

This article identifies the use of telemarketing in channels of distribution. Specific telemarketing applications for sales leads, marginal accounts, new products, customer inquiries and complaints, and advertising effectiveness are discussed.