The nexus of scarcity and donation: exploring the interplay of construal of resources, well-being, trust, and efficacy in nonprofit fundraising

Scarcity is an inevitable fact in individuals’ everyday lives. Having limited resources shapes cognition, attitudes, and behaviors. This study aims to explore how scarcity affects individuals’ mindsets and intentions for future donations and how psychological well-being differs after donating different scarce resources. We conducted three scenario-based experimental studies (N = 920). In three studies, we found that donors tend to construe time and money more abstractly when exposed to reminders of scarcity. We also observed that when donors perceive their resources as scarce, donating time yields higher psychological well-being and donation intention than donating money. Furthermore, we have found that donation intention is not moderated by organizational trustworthiness but negatively and partially moderated by perceived donation efficacy. The study provided original contributions to construal level theory and scarcity theory. The outcomes of this research offer remarkable managerial insights for nonprofit organizations in the designation of marketing communication strategies and segmenting donors.