| Abstract: | Findings in multiattribute decision research were used as a basis for predicting the effects of help-wanted advertisement characteristics on vacancy attractiveness. In the first experiment, undergraduate students were presented with entry-level service job advertisements differing in attribute set size, attribute relevance, and pay ambiguity. Results revealed strong evidence for a set-size effect, with ads containing more (relevant or irrelevant) attributes increasing the attractiveness of the vacancies being advertised. Pay ambiguity decreased the attractiveness of vacancies with ads containing a small set of attributes. A second experiment presented students with the same advertisements, except that the small-set ads were physically enlarged to equal the size of the large-set ads. Results replicated the (large) set-size effect only for relevant-attribute ads. Also, pay ambiguity increased the attractiveness of vacancies promoted by ads containing a larger amount of relevant attributes. We conclude that merely adding relevant attribute information to help-wanted advertisements can lead to the inference that the jobs promoted in the ads are more attractive. Moreover, we tentatively suggest that pay ambiguity can lead to pessimistic inferences about pay for ads containing less information, and optimistic inferences about pay for ads containing more information. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
