Do response rates matter in entrepreneurship research

For many scientific disciplines that rely on surveys and voluntary participation (e.g., organizational behavior, psychology), nonresponse bias (NRB) has been shown to bias estimates, create range restriction, and lead to both Type I and Type II errors. The present research endeavors to fill a methodological gap in the entrepreneurship literature by presenting the following findings: (a) response rates in entrepreneurship research (39%) are higher than firm-level research in management, but lower than individual-level management research, (b) there is virtually no evidence that response rate has any meaningful or consistent influence on relationships in entrepreneurship, and (c) there is little evidence of selective reporting when response rates are low. These promising findings should give entrepreneurship researchers cautious optimism that at least in the aggregate, NRB has limited impact.