Background: From 2020 onwards the business environment has changed more than ever, and a new generation is making its way into the workforce. After the Covid-19 pandemic and digitalization created a new normal with hybrid and remote working structures, the wish for flexibility in the work environment has increased among Generation Z. However, this generation is not just interested in working a 9 to 5 job, as Generation Z has outnumbered previous generations with the start of their own business.  Research Problem: Generation Z has only been limitedly researched, as they recently started to enter the working force. The existing research portrays the intention and attitude of Generation Z toward entrepreneurship, their work preferences, and the characteristics of Generation Z. However, when it comes to Generation Z entrepreneurs there is only limited existing literature about what motivates them to start engaging in entrepreneurial activities.  Research Purpose: The purpose of this study was to complement and fulfill the identified research gap considering the entrepreneurial motivation of Generation Z. The research aims to create a broader and deeper understanding of what motivates Generation Z to start engaging in entrepreneurial activities. Research Question: How is Generation Z motivated to start entrepreneurial activities? Research Method: A qualitative study has been carried out following an abductive approach from the perspective of a relativistic ontology and social constructionist epistemology. Furthermore, the methodology concerns an explorative single case study whereas primary- and secondary data was collected through semi-structured interviews and archival information. The collected data was analyzed following the Gioia method dividing the data into empirical observations, first-order codes, second-order themes, and third-order aggregate dimensions.  Conclusion: Generation Z is motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, whereas freedom and flexibility within the working environment, and being in control are motivational factors for them to start engaging in entrepreneurial activities. Generation Z possesses important characteristics and competencies that are beneficial when becoming an entrepreneur, such as being independent, positive, and having strong communication skills. Also, education often had a positive impact on the confidence of the entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Moreover, the entrepreneurs want to contribute or add value to the society with their business. Lastly, the Covid-19 pandemic and the increased accessibility due to digitalization opened new opportunities for the entrepreneurs to start working on their own business.

Background and problem discussion: With Generation Z entering the workplace, organizations are faced employing up to four generations at the same time, which leads to disparate perspectives on work ethics, values, and leadership on the work floor. According toexisting research, Generation Z tends to value certain interpersonal qualities, so-called soft skills, in their leaders more than previous generations do. This soft side of leadership involvesfor example communication, teamwork, and building a good relationship. It is of greatimportance to create an understanding of what motivates and engages the youngest generation in the workforce. As existing literature foremost focuses on comparing Generation Z to previous generations and the topic of the influence of soft leadership skills is under-studied, a research gap is identified. The attributes motivation and engagement are essential parts of leadership, and the understanding of how to influence these is of high importance for companies. Therefore, the influence of soft leadership skills on the motivation and engagement of Generation Z employees is identified as a gap in research. Research Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create new knowledge and add to the theory of previous research by acknowledging the perspective of the newest generation at work and providing a greater insight on the influence of soft leadership skills on Generation Z’s motivation and engagement. The findings of this study strive to fulfill the identified research gap and have a significant impact on understanding the influence of soft leadership skills from a Generation Z employee perspective. Research Question: How do soft leadership skills influence the motivation and engagement of Generation Z as employees? Research Method: This study, with the philosophical assumption of a relativist ontology and a social constructionist epistemology, follows a qualitative approach where we study the perceptions of our research participants: Generation Z employees. We conduct a holistic single case study, with an exploratory research purpose, which allows for an in-depth understanding of our case company Ernst & Young. The data is analyzed utilizing the Gioia method.  Conclusion: It becomes evident from our study that it has a positive contribution to the motivation and engagement of Generation Z employees when a leader owes and applies strong soft leadership skills. Our study shows that the strongest influential factors are open face-toface communication, promoting a supportive work environment, and finally the relationship between the leader and the Generation Z employee.

Under coronapandemins år 2020 så fick en ny sociala medie-plattform många nya användare. Den applikationen heter TikTok. TikTok är en sociala medie-plattform där du som användare kan publicera, redigera likaså interagera med videos i alla dess storlekar och former. Det är bara kreativiteten som sätter stopp för ditt uttryck på plattformen. TikTok har en bred grupp med användare från olika åldersgrupper. En stor majoritet av de som använder TikTok är under 25 år – en grupp med människor som kan kategoriseras ihop som generation Z. Med nu över en miljard användare i flera olika åldrar, stora mängder av effekter, filter, trender, hashtags och låtar så är möjligheterna oändliga på TikTok. TikToks makt är något som är svårt att missa både för konkurrenter, andra företag, vänner runt omkring en och allmänheten. TikToks influenser kommer in på alltmer ställen i samhället. Konkurrenter tar inspiration av deras designspråk - likaså deras smarta funktioner. TikTok bestämmer desto mer över musikbranschen – både hur användare lyssnar på musik och hur musik produceras. TikTok tar upp alltmer tid hos varje TikTok-användare med deras hypnotiska feed och korta interaktiva videos. Uppsatsens syfte är att bidra med ny kunskap kring digitaliseringens påverkan på generation Zs musiklyssnande. I synnerlighet vilken vikt TikTok-videos har i detta.  Studien är genomförd med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod som har applicerats. Detta har skett i form av ett enkätformulär. Det som kom fram i resultatet var ett resultat som bekräftade hypotesen. Digitaliseringen har påverkat generation Zs musiklyssnande. Det har digitaliseringen gjort på många sätt, bland annat genom TikTok-videos. Generation Z blir matade med massvis av digitalt material och de släpper in den digitala världen mer i sina liv både medvetet och omedvetet. TikTok och digitaliseringen påverkar generation Zs musiklyssnande – och TikTok är en del av flera anledningar som spelar en stor del i det. Det argumenteras också att denna forskningsstudie ska ses som en början på ett nytt forskningskapitel. Det har tidigare inte funnits mycket forskning kring ämnet och för att dra en motiverad slutsats behövs mer forskning utöver den befintliga att göras.

Background: Since its publication in 1997, Jennifer Aaker’s brand personality model has been challenged but none of the publications have had the same seminal effect. Additionally, differences in perceptions of Aaker’s personalities have been found which suggests a gap of knowledge to research. With the development of social media, customers begin to be more engaged with the brands. Purpose: The goal of this study is to explore European airlines’ brand personalities and Gen Z’s perception of the personalities through brands’ TikTok content by using Jennifer Aaker’s (1997) brand personality dimensions. Additionally, social media engagement is used as a tool to investigate the significance of social media for brands. Method: An exploratory qualitative deductive study, with an exploratory nature and an experimental design, applying semi-structured interview methods with a sample size of 25 participants. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that Aaker’s personality traits are somewhat still relevant to Gen Z’s perception of them but there are traits that could be added which have been argued for by other scholars as well before. These additional traits should include negative traits and traits that show extroversion and introversion, for instance.

Datum: 2023-05-30 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i Företagsekonomi, 15 hp Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, Mälardalens Universitet Författare: Julia Thelenius 000429      Moa Jernberg 001215      Rasmus Hedin 011029 Titel: #I SAMARBETE MED FAST FASHION: En kvantitativ studie om hur influencer marketing påverkar Generation Zs köpbeteende inom fast fashion konsumtion online. Handledare: Annoch Hadjikhani Nyckelord: Influencer marketing, fast fashion & Generation Z. Forskningsfråga: Hur påverkar influencer marketing Generation Zs köpbeteende inom fast fashion online? Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vilka faktorer kopplade till influencer marketing som påverkar köpbeteenden för konsumenter inom Generation Z. Studien fokuserar på köpmönstret rörande mode-fenomenet fast fashion och om influencer marketing kan vara bidragande faktor till att konsumenter upplever att köpbeteendet påverkas till fast fashion konsumtion. Metod: En kvantitativ forskningsstrategi genom en enkätundersökning med frågor ur tidigare forskning. Av 100 respondenter var 25 bortfall. Genom en korrelationsanalys analyserades resultatet i SPSS-Statistics. Slutsats: Resultatet i helhet visade att Generation Z upplever att de inte blir speciellt påverkade av influencer marketing, samtidigt visar resultatet att de tagit del av influencers rekommendationer som i sin tur har påverkat deras köpbeteende. / Date: 2023-05-30 Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Julia Thelenius 000429      Moa Jernberg 001215      Rasmus Hedin 011029 Title: #IN COLLABORATION WITH FAST FASHION: A quantitative study on how influencer marketing affects Generation Zs buying behavior in fast fashion consumption online. Supervisor: Annoch Hadjikhani Keywords: Influencer marketing, fast fashion & Generation Z. Research question: How does influencer marketing impact Generation Zs purchasing behavior in fast fashion online? Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to examine which factors related to influencer marketing that influence the purchasing behavior of consumers within Generation Z. The study focuses on the buying patterns related to the fast fashion phenomenon and whether influencer marketing can be a contributing factor to consumers perceiving that their purchasing behavior is influenced towards fast fashion consumption. Method: A quantitative research strategy was utilized through a survey using questions from previous research. Out of 100 respondents, 25 were excluded. The results were analyzed using correlation analysis in SPSS-Statistics. Conclusion: The overall result showed that Generation Z feels that they are not particularly influenced by influencer marketing, while the result shows that they have taken part in influencers' recommendations, which in turn has influenced their buying behavior.

The majority of today’s emerging adults view climate change as the defining challenge of their generation (Amnesty International, 2019). Young people’s climate concern has translated to unprecedented collective climate action, such as the youth climate strikes of 2019. However, young people and their relevant social identities are underrepresented in research on collective climate action. Following the social identity model of pro-environmental action (Fritsche et al., 2018), the current study assesses the extent to which emerging adults identify with Generation Z, or Gen-Z, as a relevant ingroup. In a Prolific survey of 296 participants aged 18-24 and currently living in Canada, I examined young people’s Gen-Z ingroup identification, perceived collective efficacy of Gen-Z, and three collective action outcomes: intentions to follow youth climate groups on social media, intentions to engage in future collective climate action, and participation in sending an advocacy message to the B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. I hypothesized that the interaction of ingroup identification and collective efficacy would predict collective climate action outcomes above and beyond the influence of each construct individually. This hypothesis was not supported. While Gen-Z ingroup identification and perceived collective efficacy each predicted intentions to follow youth climate groups on social media and intentions to engage in future collective action, the interaction term added no explanatory power to the models. Neither Gen-Z ingroup identification nor collective efficacy predicted participation in the advocacy message behaviour. These findings underscore the importance of systematically investigating broad social identities in the field of collective climate action, which has predominantly focused on specific environmentalist groups. The current study also highlights the need for further investigation of predictors of behavioural outcomes. / Graduate / 2022-12-15

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Detta examensarbete behandlar användandet av smileys och deras roll i kommunikation mellan ungdomar över det digitala mediet. Hur ser användandet av smileys ut bland ungdomar? Vilken mening lägger sändare respektive mottagare i användandet av smileys? Går det att kategorisera och gruppera användarna av smileys utifrån ålder och kön? Denna uppsats behandlar chatt och det chattspråk (innehållande smileys, förkortningar och asterisker) som dagens ungdomar - generation Z, använder sig av dagligen framför sina datorer. En enkätundersökning bland elever vid två år 6-9 skolor och en undersökning via två diskussionsfora på Internet, ligger till grund för resultaten till denna uppsats. Resultaten visar att smileys används som ett uttryck för känslor, sinnesstämningar, ansiktsuttryck, kroppsspråk och tonfall.

This research examines how Generation Z (individuals born between 1997 and 2012) is perceived to impact the construct of societal challenges and organisational changes within the context of Western Europe. To explore their impact, the research aims to investigate their perceived role in shaping societal perspectives and organisational responses. The study is guided by Mannheim's socio-historical theory, considering shared emotional orientations, motivations, considering limitations as a result of human development. Purposive sampling was employed to select participants with specialised knowledge of Generation Z's impact. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants, including Generation Z individuals, a sociology professor, an analyst, a youth worker, an HR professional, and individuals experienced with Generation Z-related issues. Reflexivity was applied to acknowledge the researcher's potential biases due to personal context as a Gen Z member. Thematic analysis was used to extract key themes from the interview data. The study contributes to understanding how Generation Z's socio-historical context shapes their perceptions, motivations, and actions, influencing societal challenges and organisational changes. It proposes a model connecting their context to expectations and actions. The research suggests that future studies should test the theoretical framework and investigate behaviour prediction based on widespread data. The study reveals that Generation Z's impact on society and organisations stems from their emphasis on authenticity, demand for transparency, and pursuit of purpose-driven approaches. They mobilise through digital skills, transforming personal concerns into collective activism, and their integration into organisations depends on alignment with values like transparency, social responsibility, and work-life balance.

Generation Z, personer födda mellan åren 1997-2012, är unika i deras egenskap av att vara den första generationen digital natives, det vill säga med liten eller ingen erfarenhet av ett liv utan internet. Ytterligare en unik identifikationsmarkör som lyfts fram hos generationen är deras egenartade humor, som beskrivs som abstrakt, oförståelig och intern. Internet skapar en global arena för generationen att dela denna humor. En central plattform där detta sker är Tikok. Tidigare forskning har teoretiserat om att Generation Z använder humor för att stärka den kollektiva identiteten, utifrån analyser av det humoristiska uttrycket memes. Vi avser med denna studie att skapa en bredare förståelse för denna obegripliga humorn i helhet med syftet att undersöka om den kan tänkas ha en betydelse för det kollektiva identitetsskapandet. Studien utgår ifrån en fenomenologisk ansats där vi avser att undersöka Gen Zs upplevelse av humoristiskt innehåll på Tiktok. Detta gjordes genom tio intervjuer. Med hjälp av Blumers interaktionistiska perspektiv, såväl som Goffmans teori om inramning kunde vi synliggöra att humorn är konstruerad kring komponenterna snabbhet, autenticitet, självdistans, originalitet och chockfaktor, samt att det finns primärt fyra olika typer av humor som upplevs roligt: dum-, observerande-, ironisk- och hånfull humor. Med hjälp av Jenkins och Tajfels teori om kollektiv identitetsskapande kunde vi synliggöra hur konstruktionen av humorn fyllde en central roll i att stärka den kollektiva identiteten på flera olika sätt. Således har vi kunnat synliggöra vad som upplevs roligt av Generation Z och vilken betydelse detta har för att stärka den kollektiva identiteten.