Generation Y in Consumer and Labour Markets

Anders Parment

• Éditeur: Routledge
• Année: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781136631221
• Édition: 1
• Sujet: Negocios y empresa
• Sous-sujet: Comportamiento del consumidor

Generation Y in Consumer and Labour Markets explores the role of people born in the late 1970s and 1980s as consumers and coworkers in an emerging post-modernist society. Having grown up in a branded society overcrowded with commercial messages and a never-ending supply of choices and opportunities, Generation Y not only influences consumption patterns, they also bring their values to work life, thus changing the attitudes towards the employee-employer relationship and how work is being done. Generation Y particularly see work as a venue of self-realization and the boundaries between work and leisure time are becoming blurred—thus the consumer and labor markets converge in some critical dimensions.

This book delves into the substantial research body on characteristics and behaviors of the Generation Y, including their relation to other generations and the role of understanding generations in developing effective and attractive organizations. It further outlines the experiences and best practice for attracting, recruiting, selling to, and communicating with Generation Y, based on the author's experiences from hundreds of organizations where he has been involved as a consultant – offering the reader a better understanding of generations in marketing research, and the impact of generations in employee-employer relations.

1 Introduction

This book deals with Generation Y, people born in the 1980s, or in the late 1970s, and their role in consumer and labour markets. Young consumers, and to a certain extent Generation Y, have been subject to a great deal of research from a marketing perspective. However, in labour markets this emerging generation will also have a strong impact by bringing a new set of ideas, values and attitudes to the employee–employer relationship and how work is being done. Employers are increasingly asked by employees to offer a nice work environment, attractive terms and personal development, thus reflecting Generation Y’s need for self-realisation at work—ideals that may be derived from Generation Y’s coming-of-age in our consumption-oriented society. On the one hand, the changes cause frustration and generational conflicts. On the other hand, organisations need a demanding, creative and flexible workforce to stay competitive in a world of fierce competition, cost pressure and increasingly demanding customers.

Generation Y individuals have grown up in a branded society overcrowded with commercial messages and a never-ending supply of choices and opportunities. On consumer markets, they are demanding, aware of their rights and loyalty is limited in general terms. They see brands as an integrated part of consumption and personal image-building. Thus, personal branding (Dr. Phil, Karl Lagerfeld, Madonna and many other celebrities), employer branding (Apple, Google and IKEA) and place branding (Barcelona, Birmingham and Sydney) are something natural. Virtual networking, new communication technologies and intensive feedback are natural parts of everyday life. These changes and tendencies cannot be explained by the age of Generation Y individuals alone. A number of changes at different levels—society, the market environment, the social environment, and the way organisations respond to the emerging situation—taken together create a new situation for individuals who behave differently than earlier generations at the same age. As a consequence, individuals’ attitudes, priorities and choices—essentially their behaviour as consumers and coworkers—will change.

Given the attention paid to environmental scanning, market intelligence and different facets of the macro environment in marketing research and literature, the concept of generation has not been elaborated sufficiently. The concept of generations is inherently different from the concept of age, although both may give similar results and recommendations in some applications. The ambition of the book is to reach across age and generational boundaries to understand Generation Y. Thus, with Generation Y in focus, the book will introduce the concept of generations and generational analysis as an important concept in understanding markets and the behaviour of individuals as consumers and coworkers. The analysis covers four levels of analysis, thus mirroring the dialectics between society, the market environment, the social environment and how people think and behave as individuals and coworkers. The analytical framework lays the foundation for the analysis of Generation Y in the book, but may be used also for analysing other generations.

The book will present a challenging outcome of this emerging society: Consumer and labour markets converge in some critical dimensions. Generation Y sees work as a venue of self-realisation and the boundaries between work and leisure time are becoming blurred in an emerging postmodernist society with a multitude of choices and lifestyles, high transparency in many dimensions and strong market forces, which reduce the influence by the state.

This book is based on an assumption that to understand consumer and employee behaviour, one needs to understand both the environment and the individual, thus integrating insights from marketing and environmental scanning with consumer behaviour analysis. Companies try to link opportunities in the environment to market potential in selling to consumers and, from the perspective of this book, coworkers are often crucial in this process as bearers and communicators of the company’s values and culture.

The aim of this book is twofold. Firstly, to discuss the emergence of Generation Y in consumer and labour markets. Second, to gain deeper insights into the interplay between different elements of society in understanding generations, i.e., to substantiate and develop the model of four levels that are assumed to shape a generation (society, market environment, social environment and individuals). Thus, in a sense, the book will bring together two different streams of research by extending the analysis of how Generation Y acts in consumer markets to an analysis of how the Generation Y cohort relates to work and career.

THE STUDY OF GENERATIONS

Studies of generations already exist in a number of research fields, and they have an identifiable place within the field of sociology particularly, where Karl Mannheim’s Problem of Generations (1960) lays the foundation of research in sociology on this matter. Particularly useful to the exploration of generations is Mannheim’s distinction between generational location, i.e., individuals born in the same historical and cultural region such as birth cohort, or actual generation, i.e., individuals exposed to the same historical experiences (cf. the discussion on defining moments in this and the next chapter), and generational units, i.e., interpreting similar experiences in different ways depending on which generation the person belongs to.

Karl Mannheim’s work challenges the boundaries of Generation Y, including social bonds, into biological understandings of age and generational cohorts. Individuals within the same historical time period may have different interpretations of what happened during the period. Mannheim emphasises that interactions formed within or across generations may represent cultural exchange.

Mannheim also deals with the process by which the cultural transmission between generations takes place. During periods of rapid social change, strains towards discontinuity between generations are intensified. Mannheim suggests that “ The rate of social change increases the likelihood that new generations will break from the tradition” (Mannheim, 1952, pp. 309–310). Thus, a turbulent societal environment is likely to result in more pronounced differences between generations.

The suggestion made in this book is that the study of generations has been underemphasised in the fields of business and management. Thus, the perspective taken is strongly influenced by the emphasis on generations in studies carried out by sociologists. Companies are likely to benefit from understanding the generation dimension in their striving for competitiveness and organisational effectiveness.

Elder (1994) in one of the most quoted articles on sociology, emphasises the strong influence of generations in the social sciences, and how it emerged during the 1960s to 1980s. Elder starts by referring to the situation around 1960:

The concept of life course, however, as we know it today (Elder 1992a, but see Cain 1964), was not to be found in the scholarly literature. It did not appear in sociological or psychological theory or in the coursework of our leading graduate programs. I left graduate studies without any exposure to, or understanding of, the life course as field of inquiry, theory, or method. Today we find that life course thinking has diffused across disciplinary boundaries and specialty areas within particular disciplines (Featherman, 1983). Application of the perspective in sociology extends across the subfields of population, social stratification, complex organisations, family, criminology, and medical sociology, among other. Beyond sociology, life course studies appear in social history (Elder, Modell, and Parke 1993; Modell 1989), developmental psychology (Bronfenbrenner 1979), and gerontology …. (Elder, 1994, p. 4)

It appears to be a remarkable lack of interest for generations in business and management research in general. Grenier (2007) argues that while gender, race/ethnicity and class are clearly articulated in the research literature (see, e.g., Oakley, 1981; Phoenix, 1994), age and generation remain undertheorised fields. Hence, as this book will show, marketing as a field of study is also in great need of the generational dimension. Consumer behaviour research focuses on age and behavioural traits of children, teenagers and other age cohorts (see, e.g., Evans et al., 2009), but hardly discusses this in generational terms.

The literature on two generations specifically—Generation Y and baby boomers—has expanded in recent years. The majority of the literature on Generation Y focuses on their attitudes towards established norms and societal institutions (Huntley, 2006; Martin & Tulgan, 2001; Tulgan, 2009); their traits at work (Chester, 2002; Lipkin & Perrymore, 2009; Martin & Tulgan, 2001; Tulgan, 2009); and how to deal with conflicts between generations (Gravett & Throckmorton, 2007). To an extent, this stream of literature is based on research, but there is a lack of integration with marketing thinking, and the lack of theorising makes these research results more geared towards practitioners. Few books deal with baby boomers in the workplace—if baby boomers at work are treated, it is in the context of conflicts between generations, etc. (Gravett & Throckmorton, 2007). As baby boomers are in the last years of their careers, but have in aggregate terms high purchase power and more time than younger consumers (Gerstner & Hunke, 2006; Parment, 2008d), there is reason to expect the interest in baby boomers as consumers to be higher. There are numerous books on this subject area, at least 25 in English and 13 in German (as a contrast, there is only one book on Generation Y in German). A few of these books are based on substantial research, e.g., Ian Chaston’s Boomer Marketing. Selling to a Recession Resistant Market (2009) and to an extent Brent Green’s Marketing to Leading Edge Baby Boomers (2003).

In research journals there are a few articles on marketing to generations, e.g., Herbig, Koehler, and Day (1993) on what they call the baby bust generation—a concept hardly used recently—that is, children of the baby boomers. Roberts and Manolis (2000) compare baby boomers and baby busters in few consumer behaviour dimensions. Bakewell and Mitchell (2003) study the decision making of adult female Generation Y consumers. Littrell, Yoon, and Halepete (2005) compare the attitudes towards fair trade among Generation X (age 29–40) and Swing (age 65–70).

To an extent, marketing scholars have been applying life course theory, e.g., for the study of brand loyalty (cf. Higgs et al., 2009; White & Klein, 2007). All in all, there appears to be a lack of recent studies that help us understand generational cohorts and their overall implications for consumer and labour markets. And as most available studies are rather restricted in their approach, we need to go beyond relatively limited studies of a few aspects of what constitutes a generation to get a broader picture of what Generation Y means to society, businesses and individuals.

GENERATIONS AND AGE

Age cohorts should not be confused with the very meaning of generations. The former does not really consider the societal conditions, while the latter emphasises that different periods may imply different values, societal priorities and critical collective experiences, e.g., the Cold War, the 9/11 terror attacks, the emergence of the Internet and the behavioural traits that came with it, political change, and the economic climate. It has been suggested that Generation Y grew up with a fundamentally different set of values, since there was unbroken economic growth and the end of the Cold War changed the attitudes towards fear and wars (cf. Meredith & Schewe, 1994; Schewe & Meredith, 2004).

With a generational perspective, people are expected to relate to environmental considerations and the climate discussion in different ways depending on how society overall deals with these issues. Thus, research results on the attitude towards ecological and environmentally friendly food among people aged 20 to 29 may vary vastly depending on which year data were collected. Twenty-year-old data on the matter means that another generation answered the questions in another societal setting (environmental concerns were less heavy at the time), so although they were 20 to 29 when data were collected the findings cannot be used without thought-through reinterpretation.

While age has for a long time been used as a segmentation variable, generations have not been discussed in this context until quite recently. Age being an established concept in marketing, few would disagree with Eisenstadt’s (1956) comment that “Age and differences of age are among the most basic and crucial aspects of human life and determinants of human destiny” (p. 21). However, there are strong reasons to complement the concept of age with that of generations, and integrate research from other disciplines, e.g., sociology.

Sociologists generally recognise that age groups are a product of the interaction of biological and social factors, and the phenomenon of generations is seen as the biological rhythm of birth and death (Mannheim, 1952; O’Donnell, 1985). According to O’Donnell (1985), a generation in its broadest usage comprises all those members of a society “who were born approximately at the same time, whether or not they are related by blood” (p. 2). Mannheim (1956) distinguishes between location, to be located or coexist with others of the same age, and generation as actuality, meaning individuals who share a community of experience and feeling.

The major body of research on age and generations has been done decades ago and to a large extent it has been done by sociologists. The majority of sociologists studying the concept of generations emphasise the dialectics between individuals and their behaviour, and social structure (cf. White Riley, 1982), thus mirroring society as the primary unit of analysis. Moreover, sociologists suggest that generation and age are different principles, the former having meaning in family and the latter in society as a whole (Kertzer, 1983). However, this varies with country and culture, and the muddling of the distinction between generation and age cohort causes confusion. According to Fry & Keith (1982), the number of age grades, the centrality of reproductive careers in determining life course stage, and the use of chronological age to allocate social positions vary within and between societies.

At least in Western societies, Internationalisation and Globalisation have fundamentally changed the patterns of life cycles, at least from a consumption perspective, and made them less restricted by country and culture (cf. Alden, 1999). In every country a multitude of consumption cultures emerge, and they may be shared by a particular generation, geographic location, political interest or professional association. With our ambition to explore the generational cohort dimension, it is crucial to keep in mind that other factors than generational belonging may be crucial in understanding the situation at hand.

THE COMING-OF-AGE EXPERIENCES AS FOUNDATION OF THE ANALYSIS OF GENERATIONS

The book rests on two assumptions. First, the assumption that individuals’ values and preferences are shaped by a broad set of values and forces at (i) a societal level (e.g., collectivism versus individualism, modernistic values that favour industrialism, rationalism and functionalism as opposed to postmodernistic values); (ii) the market environment that reflects supply and demand mechanisms and the availability of products from the global marketplace; and (iii) the social environment that represents how people relate to each other under influence from contemporary popular culture and the technology available.

Second, the assumption that coming-of-age experiences influence values, attitudes, behaviour, and how individuals relate to consumer and labour markets for a lifetime. A substantial body of research suggests that individuals are highly influenced by the external events that were happening when they were coming of age (generally between the years 17 to 23, but also to an extent in years before 17). The Great Depression, the Cold War, Watergate, the energy crisis in the 1970s, 9/11, the Assassination of Olof Palme, the reunion of Western and Eastern Germany and the end of the Franco era in Spain are examples of major events that distinguish one age cohort from another. Some events are global by nature, e.g., the Cold War, and some others are local, e.g., the end of the Franco era, but all events may have a varying impact across geographical areas, cultures, generations and individuals depending on their character.

In the social sciences in general, and in marketing in particular, one dimension can hardly constitute the only prediction of behaviour, nor can it be seen as the overriding explanatory factor. There are, in most cases, too many intertwined factors in a complex set of explanatory and response variables, driving forces and effects so the result of the analysis will ultimately depend upon the perspective chosen and assumptions made. This book assumes generations to be important in understanding decisions and policy making in companies’ actions in consumer and labour markets. The message of the book is not necessarily that the concept of generations is more important than other factors in understanding consumer behaviour and developing marketing strategies. However, at the same time, the book rests on a conviction that generations must be taken into consideration in developing viable and successful strategies.

AGE AND GENERATIONAL COHORT—THE DANGER OF MIXING THEM UP

Table 1.1 shows a typ...

Table des matières

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Images
• List of Tables
• List of Boxes
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Generational Cohorts and the Emergence of Generation Y
• 3. Generation Y and Society: Values and Defining Moments
• 4. Generation Y and the Market Environment
• 5. Generation Y and the Social Environment
• 6. Generation Y as Consumers and Coworkers
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index