Get' em While They Last! Effects of Scarcity Information in Job Advertisements

Participants in Study 1 ( N = 172) were presented with a restaurant server advertisement differing by vacancy availability (scarce vs. plentiful) and scarcity type (number of vacancies vs. time to apply). Companies advertising only a few vacancies available were perceived as paying a significantly higher hourly wage than companies advertising many vacancies available. Also, both vacancy scarcity and time scarcity had positive effects on various company‐image perceptions. Study 2 ( N = 181) replicated most of the findings in Study 1 using a different entry‐level job advertisement. However, although presentation mode (i.e., advertisement vs. factual) had a main effect on intention to apply, it did not interact with vacancy scarcity.