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The psychographic attributes governing the buying behavior of Indian Generation X and

Generation Y customers: An Exploratory Paper

By: Prof Rashmi Mahajan & Dr Rakesh Dholakia

for DR. VIKHE PATIL FOUNDATION'S

PRAVARA CENTRE FORMANAGEMENT RESEARCH

& DEVELOPMENT

National Seminar

on

ADVANCES IN BUSINESS

& MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

22 - 23 January 20131/23/2013

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Contents

• Introduction to the topic

• Understanding– Generations– Generation X and Generation Y– Characteristics of Generation X and Generation Y– Indian Generation X and Generation Y– Buying Behavior– Psychographics– Psychographic attributes

• Conclusion– Questions raised

• Bibliography

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Introduction

• Customers have power - technically savvy, confident and well informed.

• Generation X and Generation Y customers play a major role in the economic up liftment of a country.

• “What makes these segments tick? “

• It is important to understand the psyche- attributes governing their buying behavior.

• This paper deals with finding out the psychographic attributes affecting these customers and raises questions so as to identify the areas where good study could make a contribution in the knowledge pool.

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Generations• Strauss & Howe in their book ‘Generations’ (1991) and ‘The Fourth Turning’ (1997) - American

history is divided into ‘saecula’ (about 90 years long i.e as long as one human life), or seasonal cycles of history.

• ‘Saeculum’ is further divided into four "Turnings" that are about 22 years long - as long as the period between birth and adulthood.

• Children brought up during a particular Turning share similar historical and cultural experiences, resulting in distinct generational types there by developing some common characteristics.

– Veterans (born between the years 1925-1942), – Baby boomers (born between the years 1943-1960), – Generation X also known as 13th Generation (born between the years 1961-1981), – Generation Y also known as Millennial Generation or Echo Boomers (born between the

years 1982 and 2003) – Generation Z (born from 2003-?).

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Generation X and Generation Y

• Generation X– The people born between the years 1961-1981 and

the

• Generation Y– Also known as Millennial Generation or Echo

Boomers are born between the years 1982 and 2003.

• There is a diverse opinion of various authors, academicians, demographers & historians about the birth years of Generation X & Generation Y. 1/23/2013

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Characteristics of Generation X and Generation Y

Generation X (Jackson, 2010)

• Often had both parents working & were exposed to day-care and divorce, and popularly known as “latchkey kids”.

• Well-educated generation with many having tertiary qualifications and are resourceful, individualistic, self reliant and skeptical of authority. Unlike the Baby Boomers they are not interested in long-term careers, corporate loyalty or status symbols.

• In the workplace they focus on relationships, outcomes, their rights and skills. They tend to change employment and even careers frequently and will leave a job if they are unhappy. They often have a “what’s in it for me” attitude.

Generation X (Jackson, 2010)

• Millennials are very technology wise and were comfortable with ethnically diverse groups. • They are optimistic, confident, sociable, and have strong morals and a sense of civic duty.• Generation Y are not brand loyal and the speed of the Internet has led the Net Generation to

be flexible and changing in its fashion, style consciousness and where and how it is communicated with.

• They expect great workplace flexibility and are likely to change employers even more frequently than Generation X’s.

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Indian Generation X & Generation Y

• Generation X and Generation Y have been accepted as a Western phenomenon.

• Generational theory implemented to India– Tamara Erickson (2009)(2011)– Dr. Graeme Codrington (2011)

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Buying Behavior

• Buying Behavior is defined by different dictionaries differently.

• (BusinessDictionary) “The  process by which individuals  search for, select, purchase, use, and dispose of goods and services, in satisfaction of their needs and wants.”

• (CambridgeDictionary) “The way that people behave when they buy things, such as what they buy, where and when they shop, and how much they spend.”

 • The meaning of buying behavior is (BusinessDictionary) “Purchase decision

making pattern that is a complex amalgam of needs and desires, and is influenced by factors such as the consumer's 

• (1) Societal role (parent, spouse, worker, etc.),• (2) social and cultural environment and norms, and • (3) Aspirations and inhibitions.”

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Psychographics

Psychographics is defined as • (answers.com)

“(sī'kə-grăf'ĭks) 

n.(used with a sing. verb) The use of demographics to study and measure attitudes, values, lifestyles, and opinions, as for marketing purposes. (used with a pl. verb) The data obtained from such study.”

• (allbusiness.com) “criteria for segmenting consumers by lifestyle, attitudes, beliefs, values, personality, buying motives, and/or extent of product usage”

• (wiki.answers.com) “Psychographic segmentation is the practice of dividing groups via particular psychological traits for the purpose of marketing to these markets. Segmentation takes place via consumer lifestyle, personality, or social class.”

• (answers.com) “Strategy whereby the intended audience for a given product is divided according to social class, lifestyle, or personality characteristics. “

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Psychographic Attributes

• Values, • Opinion,• Interests, • Values, • Beliefs, • Lifestyles,• Personality, • Buying motives, etc of a customer.– ( Schiffman. L. L & Kanuk L. L., 2009)

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Conclusion

The paper rises following questions on which research can take place:

• Diverse opinion of various authors, academicians, demographers & historians about the birth years of Generation X & Generation Y which is largely an western phenomenon?

• Questions on the birth years of Indian ‘Generation X’ and ‘Generation Y’?

• Questions on the characteristics of the Indian Generation X and Generation Y ?

• Questions on the importance given to the research on the psychographic attributes during the process of buying?

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Bibliography• Schiffman. L. L & Kanuk L. L. (2009). ConsumerBehavior. Pearson Prentice Hall.• allbusiness.com. (n.d.). psychographic-segmentation. http://www.allbusiness.com , pp.

http://www.allbusiness.com/glossaries/psychographic-segmentation/4963782-1.html#ixzz28PHmOZ6j.

• answers.com. (n.d.). pp. http://www.answers.com/topic/psychographic-segmentation#ixzz28PC4orRQ.

• answers.com. (n.d.). psychographics. http://www.answers.com , p. http://www.answers.com/topic/psychographics.

• Barton, A.J. & Skiba, D.J. (2006). Adapting your teaching to accommodate the next. • BusinessDictionary. (n.d.). pp. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/buying-

behavior .html#ixzz28mgPcvk9).• BusinessDictionary. (n.d.). consumer-buying-behavior. http://www.businessdictionary.com , pp.

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/consumer-buying-behavior.html #ixzz28mjqpH6l).• CambridgeDictionary. (n.d.). buying-behaviour. http://dictionary.cambridge.org , pp.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/buying-behaviour,.• Carlson, Elwood. (2008). The Lucky Few: Between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom.

Springer.ISBN 978-1-4020-8540-6.• Codrington, D. G. (2011, 5). Detailed Introduction to Generational Theory in Asia.

TomorrowToday , pp. 8-11.

• Erickson T and Bevins T. (2011). Generations & Geography:India. Moxie Insight.• Erickson, T. (2009, 2 28). Generational Differences Between India and the U.S. HBR Blog

Network , p. http://blogs.hbr.org/erickson/2009/02/global_generations_focus_on_in.html.1/23/2013

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• Fernandez, S. (2009). “Comparing Generation X to Generation Y on work-related beliefs.”. San Jose State University.

• Greene, E. (2003). Connecting with generation y. Chronicle of Philanthropy. 15(19), 31- 37.• Howe, N. & Strauss, W. (2004). Millenials rising: The next great generation. • Jackson, J. (2010, 1 4). Veterans, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z Understanding the

Different Generations and Their Characteristics.htm. http://suite101.com/article/veterans-baby-boomers-gen-x-gen-y-and-gen-z-a185353 .

• Leo, J. (2003). The good-news generation. U.S. News & World Report , pp. 135(15), 60-61.• Patterson, C. (2007). The impact of generational diversity in the workplace. The Diversity Factor.

15(3), 17-22.• Price, Sarah; Kass, Susanna. (2006, 11 27). "Generation Y turning away from religion". Melbourne:

The Age .• Rosenburg, Matt. (2009). "Names of Generations (per the Population Reference Bureau)".

About.com.• Smola, K.W. & Sutton, C. (2002). Generational differences: Revisiting generational work values for

the new millennium. Journal of Organizational Behavior , 23, 363-382.• Sujansky, J. (2004). Leading a multi-generational workforce. Occupational Health & Safety., (pp.

73(4), 16-18.).• Ulrich, John. (2003). Introduction: A (Sub)cultural Genealogy In Andrea L. Harris. GenXegesis:

essays on alternative youth. GenXegesis , pp. 3. ISBN 978-0-87972-862-5.• Vejar, C. (2008). Generation y: Educational considerations. EBSCO Research Starters , 1-5.• wiki.answers.com. (n.d.). What_is_Psychographic_Segmentation. http://wiki.answers.com , p.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Psychographic_Segmentation#ixzz28PBpdfuWmarket segmentation .

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Thank You

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