The New Generation Z in Asia

Dynamics, Differences, Digitalization

Elodie Gentina, Emma Parry, Elodie Gentina, Emma Parry

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781800432222
• Topic: Ciencias sociales
• Subtopic: Sociología

This book is the first to compare the Asiatic Generation Z (born 1990–1995) in terms of country and culture specific drivers and characteristics based on interdisciplinary and international scientific research. Although Asia has been the focus of many articles and books on demographics, politics and economics, few authors understand in depth the behaviour of the young people in their roles as consumers and as new members of the working world.
The New Generation Z in Asia: Dynamics, Differences, Digitalization explores how specific Asiatic cultures translate into a creative and innovative society in order to conduct business to adjust their recruitment and retention strategies, also examining how they attract and retain the best young talent in Asia.
Written for academics and professionals in the fields of Management, Organizational Behaviour, Marketing, and Human Resource Management, this work examines a set of topics that describe societal and managerial feelings, goals, concerns and behaviours of a vast continent that stretches from East Asia through South Asia, Southeast Asia to Western Asia.

Part I

Generation Z in Asia: A Research Agenda

Chapter 1

Generation Z in Asia: A Research Agenda

Elodie Gentina

Abstract

Generation Z, including individuals born from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, is said to be different from other generations before. Generation Z is said to be the generation of digital natives, with multiple identities; a worried and creative generation who value collaborative consumption; and a generation looking forward. The authors present here tentative observations of Generation Z in Asia using theoretical approaches and scientific backgrounds: the authors show how socialisation theory (parents and peer group) and technology (relationship with smartphones) offer meaningful perspectives to understand Generation Z behaviours in Asia. Finally, the authors ask some key questions about dealing with Generation Z in Asia in the field of smartphone use, consumer behaviour (shopping orientation), collaborative consumption (sharing), and work context.

Keywords: Generation Z; digital natives, Asia; consumers; workers; research

Introduction

For several years, Millennials, digital natives, and other names for ‘Generation Y’ have been the focus of academic research (e.g. Business Administration, Behavioural Management, Sociology, Psychology, etc.) and even more of practitioners in companies, politicians, teachers, parents, and of course of the media. However, over the past few years, a new generation slowly has moved into focus: Generation Z, including individuals born from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s. This generation of digital natives has grown up in a digital, technology-saturated world. We cannot understand Generation Z without understanding the context in which they have grown up. Then we can examine their characteristics, their behaviour as consumers, and their behaviour at work.

Worldwide, young people from ‘Generation Z’ are characterised by similar consumption practices with respect to clothing, music, and media use, pointing to the evidence of a ‘global youth culture’. This presumed uniformity, however, might be inaccurate. Recent research suggests that ‘Generation Z’ adapts global consumption practices and meanings to fit local contexts (Kjeldgaard & Askegaard, 2006). Consistent with this finding is a handful of cross-cultural studies that reports significant differences in consumer behaviour between highly individualistic cultures (e.g. Western cultures) and strongly collectivist cultures (e.g. Eastern cultures). This leaves open questions: How does the Generation Z look in other regions of the world? Are there specific patterns? Unique questions? Global questions? Much remains unknown, in particular about the behaviours of Generation Z especially in Asia.

The Concept of Generation

The concept of generation is a cross-disciplinary concept with different meanings, linked to age, genealogy or the filiation, and historical period. We focus here on the definition of generation proposed by Attias-Donfut (1988) in Sociology which relies on four different meanings:

1. generation in the demographic sense, gathering all people belonging to the same age range;

2. generation in the genealogical and family sense, making the distinction between the older generation (e.g. parents and grandparents) and younger generation (children) with a normalised hierarchical relation of the domination of the former over the latter;

3. generation in the historical sense, as the length of time required to renew individuals in public life, estimated as the time needed for a child to become independent and integrated in public life (estimated at 30 years on average);

4. generation in the socio-cognitive or sociological sense, gathering a group of individuals born in the same time period, during which they have shared unique events created by their common age situation within history (referring to generational cohort). For instance, Baby Boomers had the Vietnam War. Millennials had 9/11 and the financial crisis. For Generation Z, their life-­altering world event might be the Coronavirus crisis, and the accompanying slew of school closings, quarantines, and high unemployment rates.

There exist different generational cohorts ‘whose members are linked to each other through shared life experiences during their formative years, including macroeconomic conditions’ (Pekerti & Arli, 2017, p. 390):

- Baby Boomers born approximately between 1950 and 1964.

- Generation X born approximately between 1965 and 1979.

- Generation Y born approximately between 1984 and 1988.

- Generation Z or digital natives born after 1995.

Prior studies in consumer behaviour refer to generational cohorts to explain similarities related to their consumption behaviours inside the same age cohort and differences between different age cohorts (Pekerti & Denni, 2017). For instance, consumers in younger Generation Y are more impulsive (Hsiao & Chang, 2007) and are more permissive of questionable consumer behaviours (Freestone & Mitchell, 2004). Other studies in the management have shown some differences between age cohorts concerning their working relationships. For instance, members of Generation X are more intrinsic in their work motivation than Generation Y. Generation Z is more realistic than Generations Y and Z with regard to perceiving ethicality of work situation (Boyd, 2010).

Given that sharing life experiences related to consumption behaviour and working relationships is concerned, we naturally favour generation in its socio-cognitive or sociological sense. However, we do not focus on this exclusive sociological dimension of generation here, we also take into consideration the genealogical/family and historical perspectives present in socio-cognitive and historical approaches of generation.

Characteristics of Generation Z

A Generation of Digital Natives

The new generation of digital natives, who were born around the end of the first decade, can be considered as a new breed of digital citizens. They have unprecedented access to technology. Unlike Generation X or Y, who are ‘digital immigrants’, Generation Z gathers the first true digital natives who have abandoned traditional computers for mobile devices. Members of Generation Z do not need to familiarise themselves with technology by comparing it to something else. On the contrary, they propose new ways of thinking about how technology can be effectively used. Generation Z perceives the world through different eyes: what is a novelty for digital immigrants is something ordinary, for digital natives as it is an integral part of their lives. For instance, 55% of parents estimate that their children under the age of 12 are more technologically knowledgeable than themselves (Dingli & Seychell, 2015).

A survey by Project Tomorrow (tomorrow.org) found that Generation Z is digitally literate, connected, experiential, social, and demanding of instant gratification. A 2017 Pew Research Center report showed that 92% of American teens go online daily and 91% of them are connected to the Internet through mobile devices. By age 20, these young adults will have spent around 20,000 hours online exploring their place and identity in the world. Many adolescents consider smartphones as integral parts of their lives and can hardly imagine living without them (Roberts, Yala, & Manolis, 2014). For example, in South Korea (the country with the highest smartphone penetration rate worldwide), almost 75% of tweens (aged between 10 and 15) spend more than 5 hours per day using a smartphone (Roberts et al., 2014). Adolescents spend on average more than 3 hours per day on their smartphone, suggesting that smartphone addiction among adolescents is a prevalent problem among members of Generation Z (Gentina & Delécluse, 2018). Smartphone addiction is ‘the excessive use of smartphones in a way that is difficult to control’ (Gökçearslan, Mumcu, Haşlaman, & Çevik., 2016, p. 640). More specifically, nomophobia, defined as a fear of having to go without mobile devices (Roberts et al., 2014), is emerging as a common phenomenon among Generation Z.

Generation Z loves their online audience but also value their anonymity. They know how to manage their digital privacy because they have grown up with a keen understanding of the line between public and private in online settings, and, thus, preserve their privacy. This can explain why Generation Z has less interest in Facebook, preferring social media. Generation Z can more easily keep their interactions restricted to their intimate friends or present a carefully curated image. Generation Z tries to keep communication private, and, thus, prefers private social networks such as Snapchat.

A Generation with Multiple Identities

Members of Generation Z express themselves through their personal characteristics, appearance, clothes, hobbies, and interests. At the same time, members of Generation Z, who spend most of their time online, express themselves in the real world while also extending and complementing their offline social life by using the digital environment. Thus, they manage their identity online and offline.

The way of expressing oneself is the main difference between Generation Z (digital natives) and Generation Y (digital immigrants). Digital natives are able to change many aspects of their personal identities much quicker and easier than it was before, thanks to online applications or online social networks (e.g. Facebook, My Space, Snapchat). They create their identity online thanks to a new profile in a social network, where they present themselves in a way that could be strikingly different from the way they present or express themselves in real space. Thus, members of Generation Z usually change aspects of their personal and social identities almost constantly and experiment with multiple identities online thanks to their profile pictures and avatars (as they change their clothes or hairstyle).

Friendships are important in Generation Z’s lives. Adolescence is marked by transformational intrapersonal changes in identity and increased need to belong to a peer group (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). If digital immigrants (Generation Y) still prefer to make friends in person, Generation Z (digital natives) is open for friendship with people from around the world, thanks to their constant access to online social networks. Members of Generation Z flocked to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to continue their social interactions with people who are already a part of their extended social network (Ellison, 2007). Facebook provides opportunities for young people to make new friends (Madge, Meek, Wellens, & Hooley, 2009). Moreover, Twitter attracts Generation Z who is interested in engaging in short conversations with other teens to receive and share information with others, a way to develop more social interactions (Kwon, Park, & Kim, 2014).

Another major shift between Generation Z and other generations (Generations Y, X, and Baby Boomers) is related to the method of watching television. Among American adults, 59% of them cite cable or satellite as their primary method of watching television, according to a 2017 Pew Research study. On the contrary, the majority of Generation Z use their smartphone as their primary medium to watch videos. In a recent Business Insider survey (2018) co...