Ernest Cyril de Run & Hiram Ting Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia

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The Myth of Generation: Are We All the Same?Defining Generation Cohort and Generational

Transmission in Developing Markets

Hyatt Regency, Yogyakarta November 23-25, 2014Hyatt Regency, Yogyakarta November 23-25, 2014

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This presentation is based on research at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (Grant No: FRGS/2/2013/SS05/UNIMAS/01/1). The authors express their gratitude to Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and UNIMAS for sponsoring the research carried out.

It is also based on the work carried out by Dr. Hiram Ting in his PhD titled “A Study of Generational Cohort Effect on Attitude towards Advertising: A Two-directional Study of Advertising in General and Controversial Advertising.” He was supervised by Prof Dr Ernest Cyril de Run.

What is Generation?What is Generation? Generation cohort is defined as a group of individuals who are born

during the same time period and who experience similar external events during their late adolescent and early adulthood years (Meredith & Schewe,

1994; Rogler, 2002).

As such, it goes beyond what age can divulge because it explores one’s life journey through formative years (Motta & Schewe, 2008).

Its rationale hinges upon that individuals are intrinsically influenced by major events which occurred when they came of age (Rogler, 2002). Attachment to these events is expected to influence them well into their adulthood, thus enhancing the understanding and prediction of their behaviour (Holbrook & Schindler, 1994).

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Theoretical StanceTheoretical Stance Introduced in sociology in the 1950s by Karl Mannheim, earlier

researchers have used generation to illustrate its effect on the American culture (Eyerman & Turner, 1998).

The Theory of Intergenerational Value Change developed by Inglehart (1977, 1997) maintains that major historical occurrences bring about changes on the existing social foundations and value systems of the society, and consequently give rise to people of new generations.

The Theory of Historical Generations proposed by Rogler (2002)

expands the earlier suppositions with three propositions:• Generations start with cataclysmic historical events.• Persons most likely to form historical generations are young adults.• Reactions to historical events (a) are differentiated according to a

young adult’s location in the social structure and then (b) consolidate them into stable orientations

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Theoretical Stance (cont.)Theoretical Stance (cont.) Intergenerational Transmission Theory is a process that defines

behaviours or patterns exhibited by parents that will be replicated by children in their adulthood. It advocates how attitudes and behaviours in the family are passed on from parents to children (Bivona-Guttadauro, 2013).

Social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) is a theoretical foundation for the technique of behaviour modeling. It posits that people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling due to continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental influences.

Both theories are relevant as intergenerational transmission is regarded as social learning and it is a broad conceptualization of behaviour modeling within the “family-of origin” environment (Wareham et al., 2009).

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Generation in the U.S.Generation in the U.S. Generation cohorts in the U.S.

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Cohort (Also referred to as)

Birth Years

Formative Years

Defining Event Brief Description of Characteristics

Veteran (Silent, Traditionalists & Depression Babies)

1925 - 1945

After WWII

Great depression, Lindbergh, FDR & 2nd World War

Dedication, hard work & respect for authority

Baby Boomers (Leading/Trailing edge & Boomers)

1946 - 1965

1960s - early 1908s

Civil rights movement, cold war, Vietnam war, assassination of JFK & women’s movement

Optimism, personal gratification & growth

Generation X (The Thirteenth & Baby Bust Gen)

1966 - 1979

Mid 1980s - 1990s

New feminism, the Challenger incident, energy crisis, & the spread of AIDS

Diversity, informality, techno-literacy & fun

Generation Y (Millennials, Nexters & Baby Boom Echo)

1980 - 2004

After late 1990s

High school violence, celebrity scandals, terrorist acts (e.g. 911), computer & internet

Civic duty, optimism, confidence, social-caused & achievement

Source: Adapted from Dwyer, 2009; Schewe & Meredith, 2004; Zemke, et al., 2000

Generations in Other Countries?Generations in Other Countries? Studies of generational cohorts have been carried out in various

countries, such as the Netherlands (Ester, et al., 2000), England, Germany and Japan (Schuman et al., 1998; Scott & Zac, 1993), Brazil (Rubens & Motta,

2005), Russia (Schewe & Meredith, 2004), and China (Egri & Ralston, 2004; Fong,

2004).

For example, China is found to be made up by three generational cohorts in the past 60 years. They are labelled as Red Guards (birth years: 1951-1964; formative years: 1966-1979), Modern Realists (birth years: 1965-1973; formative years: 1980-1991) and Global Materials (birth years: 1974-1984; formative years: 1992 onwards) (Hung, et al.,

2007). Also for Brazil and Russia.

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Could We be the Same?Could We be the Same? Despite the pervasive impact of some global events, generation cohorts

mainly reflect the values emphasized during a country’s particular historical period (Egri & Ralston, 2004).

Limitations are expected in cross-cultural studies when common age-groups or birth years are adopted as proxies for generation cohorts rather than the socio-historical events (Inglehart, 1997).

Generation is regarded as a demographic variable (Kotler & Armstrong,

2011). This is because cohorts and their respective characteristics are well-established in the U.S. context.

Its labels and characteristics are more than often generalized to other countries, including Malaysia.

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Could We be the Same? (cont.)Could We be the Same? (cont.) A framework was developed based on theories and past literature.

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Political Aspect

Economical Aspect

Social Aspect

Technological Aspect

Major Events Generation Cohorts

Environmental Aspect

Formative Years

Control Variables:Age, Race, Residence

Are We the Same?Are We the Same? A generation study was conducted in Sarawak in 2012-2013. The

findings are found to be largely different.

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Summary of Events Cohort Label Formative Years

Age (as of 2013)

Any event remembered, mostly disjointed Neoteric-inheritors 2004 onwards

Aged 21 & below

Political matters, economic recovery, technological advancement Prospective-pursuers 1981-2003 Aged 22 to 35

Stability in economics and social welfare, development of infrastructure Social-strivers 1961-1980 Aged 36 to 51

Communism (curfew) and the formation of Malaysia Idealistic-strugglers 1946-1960 Aged 52 to 70

Japanese occupation and British colonization Battling-lifers 1925-1945

Aged 71 & above

How Much is Transmitted?How Much is Transmitted? A bird-eye’s view of generational characteristics

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IssuesIssues Issues at hand include:

1. Defining actual generation cohorts in Malaysia

2. Defining generation cohort in other developing countries, particularly those in Asia (if there are collaborators).

3. Comparing generation cohorts by countries so as to determine what is shared/common and what is not.

4. Developing a model that incorporates and conceptualizes generation cohort and generational transmission.

5. Developing a new and comprehensive theory to explain the impact of various drivers in generation cohort formation and transmission.

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Thank YouThank You

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Ernest Cyril de Run, PhDEmail: drernest@feb.unimas.my

Hiram Ting, PhDEmail: hiramparousia@gmail.com