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Students as surrogates for managers: Evidence from a replicated experiment
Author(s) -
Trottier Kim,
Gordon Irene M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
canadian journal of administrative sciences / revue canadienne des sciences de l'administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.347
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1936-4490
pISSN - 0825-0383
DOI - 10.1002/cjas.1377
Subject(s) - comparability , replicate , perspective (graphical) , sample (material) , psychology , population , computer science , medicine , statistics , artificial intelligence , mathematics , combinatorics , chemistry , environmental health , chromatography
Using students as surrogates for managers in experiments is commonplace, yet the validity of this practice has not been fully established. To explore the appropriateness of using student samples, we replicate an experiment previously conducted employing a sample of senior managers involved in financial reporting. The result is that although student and manager responses are significantly different from a statistical perspective, both samples lead to the same conclusion for this experiment. The findings suggest that having some disassociation between students and the target population they are meant to represent does not necessarily make them inappropriate surrogates. To examine when inferences are best supported, we explore the comparability for student subgroups and managers along dimensions of experience, knowledge, culture, and gender. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.