Testing the Effectiveness of Alternative Foot-in-the-Door Manipulations

Recently the foot-in-the-door principle was applied in a typical business research setting by Reingen and Kernan. Results of this single-contact or nondelay foot application were mixed; compliance rates for the foot treatment groups lacked statistical significance when compared with those of appropriate control groups. A field experiment undertaken to explain these results yields evidence that the specific nature of the foot manipulation in part determines its effectiveness. The study compares the effectiveness of high and low involvement foot manipulations in generating compliance with both short and long forms of a mail questionnaire. The high and the low involvement foot manipulations generate significantly higher response rates and faster response times than a noncontact control situation. In addition, the short form questionnaires generate a higher return rate. High involvement foot treatments generate higher response rates than low involvement foot treatments. Managerial implications of the results and suggestions for future research are presented.