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Smartphones have become a seemingly indispensable device in everyday life. Although research on this phenomenon has mostly investigated the intensive use of smartphones as a risky behavior, recent studies suggest that different types of use can lead to positive outcomes. This study investigated the moderating role of emotion regulation in the association between smartphone use and functional impairment, and between smartphone use and psychological well-being, besides exploring moderating effects of types of smartphone use. A total of 308 individuals participated in an online survey. Participants responded to standardized measures of emotion regulation strategies, psychological well-being, and functional impairment, and reported on their smartphone use including actual hours of use recorded on their smartphone. As expected, smartphone use was negatively associated with psychological well-being; however, cognitive reappraisal presented a moderating effect, weakening this relationship. When cognitive reappraisal was associated with use for communication, this negative relationship was even weaker. On the other hand, while smartphone use was positively associated with functional impairment, emotion suppression presented a moderating effect, strengthening this relationship. And when emotion suppression was associated with use for entertainment, this association became even stronger. The findings demonstrate that implications of smartphone use vary according to types of use and emotion regulation strategies.

Against the overlap of concepts and measurements regarding organizational innovativeness, Ruvio et al. (2014) present a multidimensional definition of the construct and validate a scale for its operationalization. The present study aimed to validate this scale in the Brazilian context. Additionally, focusing the construct nomological validity, the study aimed to empirically verify the relationship between organizational innovativeness on its five dimensions and the level of innovation of the organization. A survey was conducted with participation of 165 executives of organizations from various sectors. The results validate the scale for usage in the Brazilian context and indicate that organizational innovativennes is as a predictive variable of the degree of innovation, which tends to impact firms performance in the long run.

Despite the efforts of organizations to perform their services properly, being able to eliminate all possible errors is highly improbable. When service failures occur, they tend to involve some level of social conflict, which in theory can lead to altruistic punishment; however, such behaviors have yet to be explored in relation to such a scenario. This study investigates altruistic punishment from consumers in contexts of service recovery. Two experiments were conducted by adapting the structure of the Ultimatum Game to consumer situations. It was possible to identify altruistic punishment through perceptions of injustice in the form of a rejection of a company’s proposal for recovery combined with retaliation. From the findings, it is evident that attention to altruistic punishment in a consumption scenario is advisable, as its occurrence is costly for consumers and businesses.

Purpose This study aimed to understand young children’s influence on family consumer behavior by examining children's and parents’ points of view in the Brazilian context. Design/methodology/approach Through an exploratory approach, the study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Specifically, to elicit children’s perceptions, two focus groups were conducted, and to capture the perspective of the parents, 8 families, via 12 participants, were interviewed. Findings Children’s use of information provided by the media in their attempts to influence family decisions is perceived positively by parents because such behavior helps parents to fulfill their parental duties. Research implications This study examines how young children perceive their influential role in family consumer decisions and how parents perceive this influence, given the existence of child adultization and adult infantilization. Originality/value The findings extend the discussions regarding the adultization of children and the infantilization of adults, revealing positive aspects of such a trend in association with consumer behavior.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate older shopper behavior in a retail environment. The study focused on how the environment elements of supermarket stores influence older customers to interact with other customers when they shop for groceries. Design/methodology/approach Various qualitative research techniques were undertaken, including interviews with retail architecture experts, store employees, a psychologist and a gerontologist; in addition, five interviews followed by three focus groups were conducted with older shoppers in Brazil. Findings Customer-to-customer interactions that are related to the environment elements of supermarkets tend to influence the shopping experience of the older shoppers, which has an impact on satisfaction. Although some customers may value social contact, some interactions can involve discomfort and embarrassment. Research limitations/implications The study sheds light on the understanding of the influence of the environment elements of supermarket stores on customer-to-customer interactions, and it proposes such interactions to be a relevant strategy that is used by older customers to maximize their satisfaction, although such strategies can also lead to dissatisfaction. Practical implications The findings provide insights regarding the specific needs of older customers in a supermarket context, associated with the design and ambient elements of the store environment, which can be valuable for retailers and policy-makers. Originality/value Considering the limited understanding of older shoppers and their experiences, this study provides a thorough understanding of how the retail environment can influence customer-to-customer interactions that involve older shoppers. Moreover, the study captures how interactions, which are influenced by the retail environment, can result in dissatisfaction; however, such interactions can also be used by older customers to modify their satisfaction with the shopping experience.

Purpose Because of the increasing volume of information spread in physical and online environments, a consumer intending to purchase a product or service must choose not only what to buy but also which sources to consult when searching for information that may aid decision-making. This study aims to understand how consumers choose their sources of information in pre-purchase external searches, given the information overproduction scenario. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, data collected through interviews with consumers were analyzed under the technique of content analysis, and the results were synthesized into a framework. Findings Consumers tend to consider few sources of information, based on a previously built perception of which sources are more or less appropriate for consultation. Choice tends to be based on pre-established evaluation criteria involving the use of heuristics in the form of socialized images regarding those sources. Research limitations/implications Despite the study’s exploratory nature, the proposed framework sheds light into how consumers respond to information overproduction when choosing their sources, providing interesting venues for future investigations. Practical implications The study identified the possible occurrence of consumer confusion associated with information sources, extending the theoretical understanding of such a concept. Moreover, it revealed the need for managers to consider specific aspects related to the sources to be included in marketing communications. Originality/value This is the first study to address choice of information sources associated with consumer confusion focusing the offline/online scenario.

A crescente oferta de escolha no universo de consumo pode implicar em confuso do consumidor. Frente falta de uma definio consolidada desse construto, investigou-se a compreenso e conhecimentos acumulados sobre o fenmeno. Utilizou-se o mtodo de teoria fundamentada aplicado a uma reviso sistematizada da literatura, em seleo de 93 artigos publicados na ltima dcada. Como resultado, foram identificadas seis compreenses distintas e achados empricos associados a cada uma delas. Concluiu-se existir uma tendncia de compreenso abrangente trajetria de consumo como um todo, faltando, porm, maior enfoque na confuso relacionada conectividade do consumidor no cenrio multimdia e multicanal. O presente artigo prope, portanto, uma nova definio do construto e questes a serem exploradas em estudos futuros.

Diante de um mercado virtual mais competitivo, impulsionado pelo crescimento das compras online e pelo aumento do número de varejistas nessa modalidade, mensurações para avaliar a qualidade do serviço online tornam-se importantes, sobretudo pela identificação de relação positiva entre a qualidade do serviço e a performance do serviço. Nesse sentido, Ding, Hu e Sheng (2011) propuseram uma medida consistente sobre a qualidade do serviço no comércio eletrônico, sob a perspectiva do autosserviço: e-SELFQUAL. Este artigo apresenta resultados da replicação da e-SELFQUAL no contexto brasileiro. Duas coletas de dados foram realizadas, na primeira, para uma amostra final de 106 estudantes, observou-se uma inadequação em um constructo da escala, e uma nova tradução foi proposta. Uma segunda coleta foi aplicada a uma amostra de 175 pessoas. Os resultados atestaram a confiabilidade e validade (convergente e discriminante) da escala, mantendo os itens originais do instrumento, isso permite afirmar que a e-SELFQUAL pode ser utilizada para mensurar a qualidade do autosserviço no Brasil., In face of a competitive virtual market, driven by the growth of online shopping and the increase in the number of retailers in this modality, measurements to evaluate the quality of online service become important, particularly due to the identification of a positive relationship between service quality and service performance. In this sense, Ding et al. (2011) proposed a consistent measure of the perceived quality of service in electronic commerce from the perspective of self-service: the e-SELFQUAL. This paper presents results of the replication of e-SELFQUAL in the Brazilian context. Two data collections were carried out: first, for a final sample of 106 students, there was an inadequacy in a construct of the scale, and a new translation was proposed. A second collection was applied to a sample of 175 people. The results confirmed the reliability and validity (convergent and discriminant) of the scale, keeping the original items of the instrument. The findings indicate possible use of the e-SELFQUAL to measure the quality of online self-service in Brazil.&nbsp

The increasing availability of choice in the consumption universe can result in consumer confusion. Facing the lack of a generally accepted definition of the construct, we conducted a systematic literature review in a selection of 93 papers published within the last decade. As a result, we identified six distinct understandings and a trend for a broad comprehension of consumer confusion associated with the path to purchase as a whole; however, there seems to be missing an increased focus on the phenomenon related to the consumer conectivity given the multimedia and multichannel scenario. Therefore, the present paper postulates a new definition of the construct and raises questions to be further explored in future studies., A crescente oferta de escolha no universo de consumo pode implicar em confusão do consumidor. Frente à falta de uma definição consolidada desse construto, investigou-se a compreensão e conhecimentos acumulados sobre o fenômeno. Utilizou-se o método de teoria fundamentada aplicado a uma revisão sistematizada da literatura, em seleção de 93 artigos publicados na última década. Como resultado, foram identificadas seis compreensões distintas e achados empíricos associados a cada uma delas. Concluiu-se existir uma tendência de compreensão abrangente à trajetória de consumo como um todo, faltando, porém, maior enfoque na confusão relacionada à conectividade do consumidor no cenário multimídia e multicanal. O presente artigo propõe, portanto, uma nova definição do construto e questões a serem exploradas em estudos futuros.

Aiming to contribute to the discussions regarding the joint use of qualitative and quantitative methods in Administration research, this paper presents a bibliometric analysis of studies published in Revista de Administração de Empresas (RAE) by the Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Revista de Administração Contemporânea (RAC) and Revista de Administração da Universidade de São Paulo (RAUSP), from 2010 to 2014, measuring how often mixed approaches were used and how they are characterized in studies that have been published in Brazil within this field. Results show that the use of mixed approaches is still low compared to the isolated use of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, denoting a dichotomic view involving the positivist and interpretativist paradigms in the research practice on the discipline. It concludes with suggestions for future studies, such as identifying researchers’ reasons for using, or not, mixed approaches and the respective difficulties, in order to further the debate on the research methods employed in the science of Administration. Com o objetivo de contribuir para as discussões acerca do uso conjunto de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos na pesquisa em Administração, este artigo apresenta uma análise bibliométrica dos estudos publicados na Revista de Administração de Empresas da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (RAE), na Revista de Administração Contemporânea (RAC) e na Revista de Administração da Universidade de São Paulo (RAUSP), no período de 2010 a 2014, dimensionando a frequência de uso de abordagens mistas como metodologia de pesquisa e como tal prática está caracterizada em estudos publicados nesse campo no Brasil. Os resultados indicam ser o índice de uso de abordagens mistas ainda pequeno em relação ao uso isolado de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos, denotando uma visão dicotômica envolvendo os paradigmas positivista e interpretativista na prática de pesquisa na disciplina. Conclui-se com a sugestão de novas investigações como, por exemplo, identificar entre os próprios pesquisadores as razões pelas quais utilizam ou não abordagens mistas e as dificuldades implicadas, visando à continuidade do debate sobre os métodos de pesquisa empregados na ciência da Administração.