Question

Corporate sustainability and firm characteristics. Corporate sustainability refers to business practices designed around social and environmental considerations (e.g., "going green"). Business and Society (March 2011) published a paper on how firm size and firm type impact sustainability behaviors. The researchers added questions on sustainability to a quarterly survey of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). The survey was sent to approximately 23,500 senior managers at CPA firms, of which 1,293 senior managers responded. (Note: It is not clear how the 23,500 senior managers were selected.) Due to missing data (incomplete survey answers), only 992 surveys were analyzed. These data were used to infer whether larger firms are more likely to report sustainability policies than smaller firms and whether public firms are more likely to report sustainability policies than private firms.

a. Identify the population of interest to the researchers.

b. What method was used to collect the sample data?

c. Comment on the representativeness of the sample.

d. How will your answer to part c impact the validity of the inferences drawn from the study?

Short answer

a. The entire set of CPA firms

b. Survey

c. Less Likely

d. The inferences drawn are not valid

Step-by-step solution

Specifying the population

The population signifies the exclusive set for the research study here, thebatch of Certified Public Accountant firmsis considered. Hence, this is the population for this respective research study.

Elaborating the methodology used to obtain sample data

The methodology used to obtain the sample data is asurvey.As provided that the survey was sent to 23,500 senior managers at CPA firms. The survey comprises questionnaires that individuals answer, and basis the answers, the inferences are made.

Explaining the representativeness of the sample

The sample isless likely to be an accurate representation of the populationsince only a handful of people responded to the survey. These individuals were not selected randomly. The data were analyzed for only 992 individuals who responded. This cannot accurately explain if the sample is representative of the entire population.

Elucidating the validity of the inferences.

The sample is less likely to be explaining the features of the population; hence any inference drawn from this sample is less likely to be true for the population. Therefore, the inferences drawn areunreliable.