Effects of Immediate Versus Delayed Notification of Prize Draw Results on Response Behavior in Web Surveys: An Experiment

Many online surveys offer the chance to win prizes as a primary incentive for respondents. One researcher found that prepaid monetary incentives were the most effective technique for increasing response rates, however, other researchers showed that a prize incentive outperformed other incentive types in a web-based survey. Using the immediacy effect and supporting theories as a base, this study extends the research on using prize draws as an effective incentive for web surveys by investigating the effects of immediate versus delayed notification for prize draw winners. Results indicate that the immediate notification of prize draw results did significantly increase response rates to the survey over the delayed notification, receipt of results, and control groups.