Differences Across Generations in the Perception of the Ethical, Social, Environmental, and Labor Responsibilities of the Most Reputed Spanish Organizations

Abstract

The implementation of integrated corporate communications can be challenging for organizations owing to three main requirements: (i) genuinely committing with corporate social responsibility (CSR) beyond product profitability, (ii) effectively integrating the UN 2030 Agenda, and (iii) meeting the expectations of a wide variety of stakeholders, particularly those belonging to the younger generations. Generation Z is a particularly relevant generation marked by a context of ongoing technological, information, and social changes, as well as financial, pandemic, and war crises. The objective of this study is to analyze how the ethical, environmental, social, and labor responsibilities of the most reputed Spanish organizations are perceived by different generations, with a special focus on Generation Z. To do so, a nationwide survey was conducted among Spanish adults (N = 5,087) and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was applied to identify dissimilarities across generations. Findings show that Generation Z assesses CSR dimensions more positively than the other three generations. Also, women of the two older generations (Boomers and Generation X) assess CSR dimensions more positively than men, while there are no significant gender differences in Millennials and Generation Z. From a Generation Theory perspective, these findings represent a turning point in the theoretical rationale that correlates age with the acceptance of organizations’ labor and social commitment. From a Stakeholder Theory perspective, since this study is conducted on the most reputed Spanish organizations, reputation can be hypothesized to be a mediating variable when it comes to engaging with younger generations within the integrated communication paradigm. Although it is important to note that our study did not investigate the underlying reasons for these differences in perception, our findings demonstrate that generational and gender differences in CSR perception exist and that companies should take this into account when developing and communicating their CSR programs.