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Despite USA’s emphasis on children as consumers with great spending power, little is known about their actual spending preferences and how they might be linked to personal character traits such as materialism and gratitude. This study aims to address this literature gap by examining children’s spending preferences in an imaginary windfall scenario, as well as main and interactive effects of materialism and gratitude on such preferences.

This was a school-based research study. Survey methodology was used in which self-report measures were collected from 247 7-14-year-old children (58 per cent male).

Results suggest that materialism was significantly associated with saving resources and allocating less money to charity. Gratitude was related to more charitable giving. One interactive effect was found whereby the link between more materialism and saving was attenuated by high levels of gratitude. Contrary to expectations, no age or gender differences in spending preferences or materialism were found, but older children and girls reported higher gratitude than did younger children and boys.

Although cross-sectional data limit conclusions regarding directionality, the results have implications for understanding children’s consumer behavior, as well as children’s well-being, self-regulation and ability to delay gratification.

The results suggest that materialism, with its emphasis on consumption, and gratitude, with its positive feedback loop that encourages prosocial connections, are particularly relevant avenues to continue examining in future research on youth consumer patterns.

Gratitude not only promotes social connectedness but also is more environmentally sustainable in promoting appreciation for what one has rather than wanting more. Uncovering ways that these characteristics are linked to hypothetical and, ultimately, actual spending behavior reflects a meaningful contribution to the field.

This paper fills gaps in the literature by examining links between specific character traits and potential spending behaviors, with deeper implications for children’s psychosocial development, self-regulation and environmental sustainability.

Prior research consistently found maximizers to experience greater regret over their choice than satisficers. Moreover, research also found maximizers to be trapped in a “maximization-regret-maximization” cycle. This paper aims to assess the role of construal level theory in alleviating regret felt by maximizers.

The authors examine the construal level theory (CLT) in conjunction with the choice context (comparable and non-comparable choices). Three experimental studies tested our assertion that a match between CLT mindset and choice set relieves regret for maximizers.

The authors show maximizers experience similar levels of regret compared to satisficers when considering comparable options in a concrete mindset, and non-comparable options in an abstract mindset. However, maximizers experience heightened regret in comparison to satisficers when considering non-comparable (comparable) options in a concrete (abstract) mindset. Choice difficulty mediates our effect.

Future research is needed to replicate our results in real-life settings.

If marketers think that their product is likely to be compared with other comparable products, they should adopt product-specific information that focusses on how the product would be used. However, if marketers think that consumers will compare across non-comparable products, then they should focus on why their product is the most suitable to fulfil consumers’ needs.

This research represents the first attempt at reducing regret for maximizers and answers the call for an examination of the relationship between maximization and CLT. The research adds to the maximization literature by evidencing a CLT-based strategy that attenuates the negative experience of regret for maximizers.

The objective of this study was to determine Salmonella prevalence, antimicrobial-resistant phenotypes, and their genetic relatedness in frozen organic chicken collected at retail level in Turkey.

Retail packs (n = 348) of cut-up chicken parts (breast, leg quarter and drumstick) and whole chicken carcasses were purchased from a central hypermarket in Diyarbakir (Southeast Anatolia Region in Turkey) and from a large online retailer in Turkey. The retail packs were paired by part type, brand, production date, and sell-by date. The chicken samples were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella spp., and then isolates were screened for antibiotic susceptibility, class I integron, and genetic similarity.

Salmonella prevalence in retail frozen organic chicken samples was 6.3 percent; however, the prevalence by parts, leg quarter, drumstick, breast, and whole chicken was 2.1 percent, 10.4 percent, 10.4 percent, and 0 percent, respectively. Salmonella prevalence was significantly higher in samples obtained from the hypermarket (9.2 percent) compared to online retailer (3.8 percent). All the isolates were serotype Infantis, genetically similar (highly clonal), and 68.2 percent harbored class I integron. All isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin (drug of choice to treat salmonellosis in human), and 86.3 percent of the isolates were multidrug-resistant.

Salmonella prevalence in organic chicken meat, regardless of the retail market source in Turkey, may pose a health risk to consumers especially with the high prevalence of multi-drug resistant phenotypes. Findings inform researchers and the public about the safety of organically produced chicken and the potential health risk to consumers.

This paper aims to analyze the characteristics of Brazilian micro and small businesses (MSBs) and the main lessons derived from the largest small business innovation support program in the country, the Local Innovation Agents – Agentes Locais de Inovação (ALI) Program.

In total, 34 papers were selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases (28), as well as from the Revista de Administração e Inovação – RAI (6), a seminal Brazilian innovation journal. The papers were analyzed in terms of the regional context, methodological approach and main findings. Regional complementary analyzes of some program figures were also performed by Spearman correlation and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

The review revealed a low innovation level among Brazilian MSBs and that the platform (incremental product) and brand (marketing) innovation dimensions were the most developed across different regions and industries. Reviewed papers also showed that all MSBs were able to improve innovation over the program independent of previous management and innovation levels, besides positive relationships between management and innovation. The complementary analysis provided a regional panorama of the program figures and corroborated MSBs innovation improvement.

This review analyzed relevant papers and figures related to the program, summarized main lessons and provided future research venues.

Different innovation strategies reviewed may be implemented by MSBs owners. Policymakers may also benefit from the program experience.

Despite the high number of publications and the relevance of the largest Brazilian innovation support program, there were still no literature reviews comprehending the diverse lessons derived from the ALI Program, as well as a regional panorama of the program figures.