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Abstract Since its original formulation, commodity theory (Brock, 1968) has stimulated dozens of studies which have clarified its assumptions and extended its domain. A liberalization of the theory is proposed. The three key features are (a) extension of the domain from any conveyable and possessable objects (messages, experiences, and actual physical objects) to traits and skills, (b) extension to negative objects, and (c) identification of cognitive elaboration as a mediator between scarcity and evaluative polarization. In addition, conceptual clarification was attempted by showing that the bulk of independent variables studied in conjunction with unavailability are properly regarded as moderators rather than as mediators.
Brock et al. (Sun,) studied this question.