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This chapter aims to provide nuance into the issue of generational cohort differences at work by focusing on the role of contextual moderator variables. Theory and hypotheses derived from the research on generational differences, psychological contracts, and work values are contrasted to a countervailing set of hypotheses derived from theory and research on the confluence of age and Person-Environment (P-E) fit. Complex patterns of interactive effects are posited for both alternatives. The results favored a generational hypothesis regarding the positively valenced construct of job satisfaction but an age-based hypothesis for the negatively valenced construct of turnover intentions. Results are tested using a subset from a large and nationally representative sample of adults from the US workforce (n = 476). Results offer mixed support for both age and generational cohorts, qualified by the specific type of outcome at hand.

The purpose of this paper is to explore congruency between the self-identity of Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y consumers with the generational label and popularised identity of each generational cohort.

Data were collected using a mixed methods approach of focus groups (n=49) followed by an online survey (n=627) of Baby Boomer, Generation X and Generation Y consumers. Focus group data were thematically analysed. Descriptive, ANOVA and factor analysis was conducted on the survey data.

The results show that most consumers only have a vague association with their generational label and profile and find it easier to characterise generations that are different to their own. Generation self-identity congruency is greater among members of the Baby Boomer cohort compared to the younger generations. Yet, even in the Baby Boomer cohort, generational identity is not homogenous among its members.

The results challenge the explicit use of generational labels and stereotypes in marketing strategy.

Given the immense interest and application of generational cohort segmentation, understanding whether and why consumers identify with cohort labels and profiles is critical. The paper questions the longevity of generational cohort analysis given the limited understanding and relevance of this concept to consumers.

This paper aims to compare the levels of status consumption for Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (Millennials).

With an email sample of 220 adult consumers living in the southeast USA, this study measures status consumption, generational cohort, and demographics.

The study finds significant differences in the level of status consumption by generational cohort. The average level of status consumption was highest for Generation Y, followed by Generation X and then Baby Boomers. In looking at the significance of these differences between individual cohorts, there was a significant difference between Generation Y and Baby Boomers. This suggests that while there are differences in the level of status consumption by generation, this difference is only significant between Generation Y and Baby Boomers. This paper then examines if this relationship between generational cohort and status consumption is impacted by demographic variables, such as gender, income, and education. The results illustrate that, holding generation constant, there is no significant relationship between gender, income, or education with status consumption. There is also no significant interaction between generational cohort and the demographic variables of gender, income, and education. This suggests that the relationship between generational cohort and status consumption is due only to generation and is not being impacted by other demographic variables.

Limitations of the study include that it was a convenience sample of predominately white, educated, and younger adult respondents. Additional research is needed to specifically examine ethnic group differences and cohorts prior to the Baby Boomers.

For luxury marketers they need to consider generational cohort, rather than other demographic variables, when segmenting their market.

This paper addresses a gap in the literature by examining if there are differences in the motivation to consume for status based on generational cohort, focusing on the cohorts of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. Additionally, this paper proposes that generational cohort is a better means to segment the status consumer than other demographic variables.

The purpose of this article is to understand how academics in management deal with the concept of generation in the workplace. We begin by conducting an interdisciplinary literature analysis, thereby elaborating a conceptual framework concerning generational diversity. This framework consists of four levels of analysis (society, career, organisation and occupation) and three dimensions (age, cohort and event/period). We then conduct a meta-analysis using this conceptual framework to analyse papers from the management field. The results from this analysis reveal the existence of a diversity of generational approaches, which focus on the dimensions of age and cohort on a societal level. Four factors seem to explain these results: the recent de-synchronisation of generational dimensions and levels, the novelty of theoretical models, the amplification of stereotypes by mass media and the methodologies employed by researchers. In sum, this article contributes to a more realistic view of generational diversity in the workplace for both academics and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the wine consumption preferences and behavior of Gen Z wine consumers in the USA and to determine if and how Gen Z differ from other major generational cohorts in the USA. This study applies the concepts of generational cohort theory to the US wine market to examine similarities and differences between age cohorts and their potential impact on future wine sales.

A quantitative survey was conducted with a quota sample of 1,136 US wine consumers located in all 50 states. Data analysis included one-way ANOVA analysis to test the null hypothesis that the generational cohort means are equal. If the test detected at least one mean difference across cohorts, then pairwise comparisons were performed to identify, which groups differed. The Tukey–Kramer method was used for all post hoc tests. Basic descriptive statistics were also calculated.

The results show some parallels in terms of similar consumption levels and a higher preference for red wine across all cohorts. However, on the majority of other common wine consumer research topics, Gen Z shows significant differences. Of specific interest, Gen Z consumers report higher levels of preference for sparkling wine than other cohorts; prefers to drink in social situations; are much more interested in labels and package; make decisions based on varietal and alcohol level and are much more engaged on Instagram and Snapchat social media platforms – all pointed to new marketing tactics needed to reach this new consumer segment.

This is the first empirical wine research study to explore the wine preferences and behaviors of Gen Z in the US market. This is valuable because Gen Z is a very large population of consumers, comprising 32% of the world population (Miller and Wei, 2018) and already represent more than $143bn in buying power (Dill, 2015). They are expected to have a huge impact on consumer products, not only in the USA but also on a global basis. Given that the USA is currently the largest wine market in the world in both volume and value (Wine Institute, 2019; VinExpo, 2018), it is important that research is conducted on this new and powerful generation.

The study examines how two types of trust – institutional and system trust – predict online banking intentions (OBI) as a function of generational cohort membership.

The study uses a cross-sectional survey of 559 U.S. Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) members using quota sampling from three generational groups: SGI (born before 1946), older boomer (born 1946–1954), and millennial (born 1977–1992).

Results showed generational cohort differences in system and institutional trust as well as OBI. Serial mediation model results showed the model where institutional trust precedes system trust best explains the relationship between generational cohort membership and OBI.

While diverse, the sample comprised of MTurk workers and relied on self-report measures of behavioral intentions, thus limiting the generalizability of our findings.

This study introduces two levels of e-trust into the technology acceptance literature and provides a guideline for financial institutions and system designers to understand the role of trust in driving online service adoption and use for different generations.

This study explores generational differences in technology use with special focus on older adults, which is yet to be fully explored in the literature. This study differentiates between two levels of e-trust and explores the order in which both trust types mediate the relationship between generational cohort membership and OBI.

The purpose of this paper is to use generational cohort and professionalism theories as the framework to examine the interaction between supervisor‐subordinate relationships, work‐family conflict, discretionary power and affective commitment at the work‐life interface for Northeast Brazilian public sector professional nurses.

Quantitative data were collected from 550 public hospital nurses in North‐Eastern Brazil. Path and multivariate analysis were used to test the hypotheses.

The findings demonstrate that the impact of the independent variables on affective commitment was statistically significant but low. The impact of NPM factors such as contracting out and multiple job‐holding was a major influence on affective commitment and work‐life interface across generational cohorts. The analysis revealed significant differences between generational cohorts and suggested that affective commitment may well be enhanced by improving the quality of the work‐life interface and consequently, the wellbeing of nurses.

This study is confined to the Northeast of Brazil and confined to public sector hospitals. The self‐reporting techniques used in this study to gather information may be open to common method bias.

The contribution of this research includes the provision of new information about the working context of professional nurses in Brazil, which is a fast growing BRICS economy where the issues surrounding the practice of nursing and nurse management are not well studied to date (i.e. NPM impact on nurse environment). North‐eastern Brazilian managers need to be more aware of generational differences and their impact on levels of affective commitment and the quality of the work‐life interface and wellbeing.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the successful generational cohort segmentation from global and country-specific formative experiences in the USA, to examine the justification of cohort segmentation in South Africa. It also describes the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the latest consumer cohort – Generation Y for the interest of retailers and marketing managers.

The study gathers secondary data by carefully scrutinizing books, journal articles, essays and dissertations. From these secondary sources, summaries of various findings and important scholarly insights into the qualifying factors for cohort formation and the important characteristics that make Generation Y an attractive consumer segment are provided.

Findings show that, generational cohort segmentation is reserved for countries whose defining moments meet some qualifying conditions. South Africa can segment consumers in terms of generational cohorts because the historic and political defining events the country experienced fulfil the requirements for cohort formation. Particularly, apartheid is suggested to be the country-specific defining event backing the labelling of Generation X and Y South Africans. Generation X should thus be “the apartheid, socio-economic instability cohort” and Generation Y should be “the post apartheid socio-economically liberated cohort” Findings also show that Generation Y South Africans constitute a majority of the growing middle class, termed “Black Diamonds”.

In addition to providing summaries of useful marketing-related reasons to target Generation Y consumers, this study assesses the qualification of South Africa’s historic and political events in forming consumer cohorts for generational marketing.

While there are many articles in the popular press and practitioner journals concerning the Millennials (i.e., who they are and what we need to do about them), the academic literature on the subject is more limited. This chapter (1) extensively reviews this literature as published in practitioner, popular press, and academic journals across disciplines including psychology, sociology, management, human resources, and accounting education, and (2) surveys the generational study literature to determine what, if any, rigorous empirical studies exist to support (or refute) the existence of a distinct Millennial generational cohort. While the popular press is voluminous when it comes to avowed generational differences between Millennials and their predecessors, there is a paucity of peer-reviewed, academic, empirical work in the area and most of the latter suffers in some way from the overarching problem with generational research: the linear relationship between age, period, and generation that results in these variables being inherently entwined. However, even absent strong empirical evidence of a unique generational cohort, the literature offers extensive suggestions about what to do about the Millennials in our classrooms and work places. This chapter better informs accounting faculty about the traits of the current generation of accounting students that are supported by empirical research versus claims made in the popular press. It argues for a more reasoned “continuous improvement” approach to Millennials while offering some classroom suggestions for accounting faculty members.

This study examined generational differences in traits and desired schemas of leaders among Filipino workers using the lens of the generational cohort theory.

This study utilized a sequential exploratory mixed-method approach. Phase One of the study utilized a qualitative approach in eliciting perceived characteristics and leadership schemas. Phase Two utilized a quantitative approach utilizing a survey to test generational differences.

Cluster analysis of survey responses of 341 Filipino workers showed two generation cohorts – the political and technological generation. Respondents from the political generation characterized themselves as being work-centered, family-oriented, traditional, seasoned, decisive and multi-tasking. The political generation also believes that an ideal leader is someone who cares about people's welfare, delegates, and is able to control others. On the other hand, the technology generation described themselves as being tech-savvy, carefree, laid-back, proud, individualistic, self-centered, arrogant, energetic and adventurous. The technological generation views an ideal leader as someone who is responsible, provides clear instructions, listens, and recognizes people.

The study focuses on Filipino workers and more studies in other countries are needed to establish generational differences in schemas.

The results have implications on the way that leaders are selected and developed especially in an increasingly diverse workforce.

The results highlight the role of political, sociocultural events and technological trends that shape the traits and schemas of workers.

The study contributes to both generational studies as well as implicit leadership literature. The study highlights the value of examining the intersection of both culture and generation in the context of leadership.