Media is belittling millennials for the current overall decrease in civic engagement. They are criticized for their apparent lack of responsibility, political knowledge and reluctance to get involved in current affairs, and social media and the Internet have been regarded as contributing to this civic decline. Millennials choose more liquid forms of organizing, as they have uprooted from pre-established and stable collective identities. There is a change in generations and their activities, and millennials’ use of social media for both political and civic engagement is a growing research field now. Hence this thesis aims to determine how civic engagement has been redefined by new media and generational shifts. The Internet has been proven to entice citizens to thoroughly engage in politics, providing a framework for broad social participation, which is inherently democratic, becoming a potent tool for civic and political participation, a crucial motivation for the core constituency of movements. According to the theoretical and empirical material, with the emergence of new media, new concepts, such as online activism, have been materialized or old ones, such as simple protests, have simply shifted and adapted to current times. There is not a discontinuity but rather a redefinition of civic engagement. The findings of the current study are significant in this sense, as they support the theoretical concept of the reinvigoration of civic life through generational shifts and the rise of new media.

Family businesses are the backbone of the German economy and, indeed, of almost all economies in the world. Every year business owners face many challenges, one of which is the succession process. Unfortunately, daughters are often considered or perceived as less suitable or viable choice for the position of a successor, compared to sons. The aim of the master thesis is to identify potential challenges a female successor faces when taking over a family business and whether various strategic and/or structural requirements need to be considered by the daughter within the succession process. Empirical data has been gathered within the methodological framework of the grounded theory. Semi-guided expert interviews have been conducted to gain empirical insights. The results indicate that the challenges each individual successor will experience as most crucial or difficult will always depend on her personal character, on the senior family mem bers’ behaviour during the succession process, and on the company ’s hand-over capability at the outset of the process. Moreover, the strategic and/or structural requirements the successor faces are not as much influenced by gender, as by the up- or out-dated circumstances of the existing strategies and structures of the family business, which will ultimately determine the requirements the daughter has to fulfil. In conclusion, the succession process is very complex and burdened with emotions from the family members. Having a clear road map for the succession that leaves room for improvement in case of unpredictable factors in advance can be essential for the success of the succession. Hiring an external expert as support can be beneficial as well. Additionally, the daughter aspiring to lead her fami ly’s company must be 100 % sure that her life’s vision is compatible with the vision of the family business.

Making up one quarter of the current United States population, some 80 million Generation Y-ers are changing the ways in which we live, work and play. Dubbed “Millennials” this population is comprised of those individuals born between 1980 and 2000. This generation is the first to have been raised with cell phones, the internet, and reality television. The “Selfie” or “Me Generation” is snubbed for narcissism and an instant gratification attitude. Yet on the whole Millennials have progressive values, are well educated, are conscious of their health and are optimistic about the future despite coming of age during the Great Recession. Millennials are also the most diverse, most informed and most well connected generation the United States has ever seen.They are supporters of the locavore movement and conscious of the environment. Their habits and tastes - constant Facebook status updates and Instagram posts - are much more communal in nature than narcissistic, the highest value of which is not “self-promotion, but it’s opposite, empathy -- an open-minded and hearted connection to others.” In this way Millennials are using social media and technology to build community in a new way - virtually. Before there was Facebook or Instagram, people found community in “third places” - social places independent of work or home in which to fraternize and build relationships. In his book, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg examines the difference between the sociological functions of first place (the home), second place (the workplace) and third place. Third place can be described as the social place, a place independent of the home and workplace in which to fraternize and build community. Oldenburg argued that these places are in general decline, and more recent articles have noted that those brick and mortar third places are now being “hollowed out” by “cyber nomads”, those people in coffee shops and bookstores listening to headphones, typing away on a computer or talking on the phone. James Katz of Rutgers argues that these “physically inhabited by psychologically evacuated” places leave people feeling “more isolated than they would if the cafe were empty.” How do designers create spaces that support Millennials empathetic desire connection, that encourage interaction and that overcome the obstacle of becoming "psychologically evacuated" places?

Research Questions: “What knowledge do Generation Y consumers’ have about sustainability in the fast fashion industry?” and “How do the factors of the attitude-behavior gap influence the Generation Y consumers in their decision making for fast fashion clothes?”       Problem Formulation: Sustainability as a topic has regained great attention over the last couple of years. Generation Y consumers’ demand for more sustainable actions, especially in fast fashion, puts increasing pressure on the industry. As the biggest consumer cohort, it is important for fast fashion companies to meet their needs and demands for more sustainable actions to stay competitive. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the perception of sustainability of Generation Y consumers’ in the fast fashion industry by looking at eight factors that influence the attitude-behavior gap, namely Price Sensitivity, Ethical Obligation, Lack of Information, Subjective Norm, Quality, Inertia, Cynicism and Guilt. Additionally, the previous knowledge about sustainability in the fast fashion industry of this generation will be investigated by using the triple-bottom line approach of economic, environmental and social aspects. Methodology: This thesis utilized a qualitative methodology by conducting semi-structured interviews. The research consists of 6 participants from the Generation Y. The interviews were performed personally face-to-face. Findings/Conclusions: The findings indicate that the factors of the attitude-behavior gap still influence Generation Y consumers’ in their purchase decisions for fast fashion brands. They are more hesitant to invest in acquiring clothes from fast fashion retailers, as they see them as violating to the society and the environment. Therefore, Generation Y consumers would rather purchase sustainable clothes from sustainable companies that are behaving and producing their clothes in a right, sustainable and ethical way. Hence, their attitude indicates to be similar to their potential purchasing behavior. Furthermore, Generation Y consumers’ hold a broad, detailed knowledge about sustainability of all three parts of the triple bottom line.

This thesis aims to investigate sustainable apparel purchasing habits from customers’ perspective with an emphasis on attitude-behaviour towards the phenomenon. Furthermore, the possible attitude-behaviour gaps are detected throughout the research, illustrating dissimilarities in sustainable apparel consumption and discrepancies between actual purchasing action and consumer attitude. The study analyses Swedish consumption patterns, within Millennials and Generation X consumers by using a qualitative research strategy, where participants have the ability to express their perceptions on the concept and evaluate on their post-purchases. Two chosen models are used as fundamental pillars in understanding essential purchasing actions. The findings contribute to the models while also develop theories based on them.

Digitaliseringen inom marknadsföring har resulterat i att företagen numera lägger stor vikt vid att synas på sociala medier, vilket gett upphov till en omfattande användning av Influencer Marketing. Detta används särskilt effektivt vid marknadsföring av kläder mot målgruppen millennials, via Instagram. Samtidigt ger klädbranschenupphov till omfattande miljöproblem, vilket tyder på att konsumtionen av kläder i dagens samhälle inte är hållbar, varken miljömässigt eller socialt. Inom området för Influencer Marketing identifierades därmed ett kunskapsgap gällande avsaknaden av ett hållbarhetsperspektiv på konsumtion. Utifrån detta kunskapsgap formulerades innevarande studiens frågeställning till hur Influencer Marketing kan bidra till hållbarhet och etisk konsumtion bland millennials. Därmed fokuseras studien till en generation med hög betydelse både inom Influencer Marketing och hållbarhet. Målsättningen var att ta reda på hur Influencer Marketing av kläder kan bidra till ett mer hållbart samhälle, istället för mindre hållbart, som det gör i nuläget genom överdriven klädkonsumtion med tillhörande konsekvenser för miljö och samhälle. Syftet med studien är att skapa djupare förståelse av Influencer Marketings betydelse för hållbarhet och etisk klädkonsumtion bland millennials. På så sätt ska undersökningen hitta faktorer i influencers offentliga livsstil och i reklamsamarbeten på Instagram, som påverkar millennials attityder till hållbarhet, etisk klädkonsumtion positivt. Genom att studera dessa attityder i en kvalitativ ansats, kan Influencer Marketings påverkan på millennials konsumtionsbeteende undersökas, utifrån den teoretiska ramen för innevarande studie. Den teoretiska ramen inkluderar Influencer Marketing, hållbarhet och etisk klädkonsumtion, samt millennials utmärkande konsumentbeteende. Utifrån denna ram genomfördes åtta semistrukturerade djupintervjuer med kvinnliga millennials. Trots detta urval är inte målet med studien att begränsa resultatet endast till kvinnliga millennials. Det empiriska resultatet analyserades i förhållande till den teoretiska ramen med en tematisk analys. Denna analys ledde till slutsatser om att Influencer Marketing har hög potential att påverka millennials till hållbarhet och etisk konsumtion, men att det krävs specifika åtgärder hos både företag och influencers. Dessa åtgärder sammanfattas i en ny strategi för Influencer Marketing. Strategin visar på specifika beteenden och egenskaper hos influencers, samt företagens åtgärder och val av influencers, som kan göra att Influencer Marketing bidrar till hållbarhet och etisk konsumtion bland millennials. Studiens praktiska bidrag är således ökade förutsättningar för en utveckling mot ett hållbart samhälle, både bland konsumenter och företag, genom etisk klädkonsumtion. Teoretiskt bidrar studien med en omfattande teoretisk ram för hur Influencer Marketing kan bidra till hållbarhet, genom en strategi inom Influencer Marketing med ett hållbarhetsperspektiv som tidigare saknades.

More and more consumers have become socially conscious when choosing which retailer to buy from; thus many retailers have increased their engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. One common form of CSR activity within companies is philanthropy, or corporate philanthropy, where companies aim to donate to charity or to take environmental and social issues into consideration. Conscious customers and ethical consumerism have led to a particular retail trend, known as the Buy- One-Give-One (BOGO) business model has grown in popularity among today’s retail industry brands. Since it is of importance to understand the motivations of consumers’ purchase decisions, the purpose of this study is to explore consumers’ choices to purchase BOGO-products, and how these BOGO- products influence consumer perception of retail store assortment. This thesis is based on an abductive research, where the empirical data was collected based on focus groups. Based on the eight ethical factors (ethical consumption) and five values (theory of consumption value) found in previous studies, we have concluded that eight of the ethical factors and values correspond with the findings of our research. Within these corresponding factors and values, we found that there are seven sub-themes that can determine how consumers are motivated to purchase BOGO- products; dependency, connection (relate factor), marketing, alternative donation, appearance (taste), and trend. The findings of our study both contributed to an in depth understanding of previous research, whilst developing new and relevant insights of how consumers are motivated to purchase BOGO-products. Since no previous research, to the best of our knowledge, has studied BOGO-products in combination with ethical consumption and the theory of consumption value (TCV), this study brings originality to the study field. Lastly, the originality of this study also lies in the importance, convenience and up-to- date nature of this topic. Nonetheless, further research is encouraged since our study is limited in three ways. Few of the participants in the focus groups had prior knowledge about BOGO; time and money restriction; and the participants were students (Millennials), which led to a frequent answer of budget restrictions.

Thesis advisor: Matthew S. Rutledge / In the past several decades, saving for retirement has significantly changed, with the large replacement of Defined Contribution for Defined Benefit plans, as well as the unreliability of Social Security given the aging population. This paper analyzes retirement wealth across three generational cohorts—Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Gen Xers (1965-1980), and Millennials (1981-2000)—in order to compare preparedness and determine whether or not younger cohorts have compensated for the future unreliability of other traditional retirement income sources. The results suggest that levels of retirement wealth do not significantly differ across cohorts at all age profiles. Therefore, younger generational cohorts have not increased the amount of personal saving in order to maintain their pre-retirement standards of living throughout retirement. These results indicate that a change in saving structure and policy may be necessary to ensure that younger cohorts retire out of poverty. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Arts and Sciences Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.

Social media is a big part of a millennial's life. It is where they communicate with their friends and share experiences. Companies know this and are subsequently trying to reach consumers on social media with their advertising. However, millennials are not highly affected by advertising but care a lot about what other people think and feel about products. The millennial generation is the adult generation that is using social media the most and is also one of the biggest consumer bases in e-commerce. This means that companies need to adapt and try new ways to reach these consumers. This thesis will therefore explore and describe if advertising on social media influences millennials purchasing behavior via Electronic Word Of Mouth (EWOM) rather than having a direct effect on their purchasing behavior. The research question that will fulfill the purpose is "Does advertising on social media influence millennials purchasing behavior via EWOM?". To achieve results and answer the research question, a literature review was conducted and complemented with a self-administered, internet questionnaire. The results show that there seems to be a correlation between millennials seeing advertising on social media and starting to search for more information about the product through EWOM before making a purchasing decision

UPerú es un proyecto que nació bajo la necesidad principal que afrontan muchos turistas millennials nacionales que pertenecen al segmento socioeconómico B y C, como es el desconocimiento de los lugares turísticos que ofrece Perú. Por ello, se realizó una investigación mediante encuestas a nuestros clientes potenciales para validar nuestro supuesto, en el cual permitió detectar una demanda insatisfecha debido a que la tecnología va avanzando cada día y por el cual va aumentando el perfil del cliente a un cliente digital, este nicho no cuenta con la suficiente difusión de canales que permitan poder interactuar entre el viajero y los servicios turísticos a fin de brindar promociones, descuentos, rutas alternativas y nuevos sitios por conocer. Aprovechando el uso constante de las redes sociales como es el caso de Facebook, creamos una fanpage para que nuestros clientes potenciales se encuentren familiarizados con nuestra APP e ingresen a través de otra página (Landing page) logramos validar un 26.53 % optaría por este aplicativo virtual para poder satisfacer sus necesidades al momento de viajar. Este proyecto se llevará a cabo con una inversión aproximado de S/ 116,419.60 para la creación y actualización de la plataforma y los gastos indirectos que conlleva, deseando ser en un futuro una de las primeras opciones de búsqueda de información turística a nivel nacional y que indirectamente apoyará al desarrollo del turismo en lugares no concurridos. / UPerú is a project that was born under the main need faced by many national millennial tourists who belong to the socioeconomic segment B & C, as is the ignorance of the tourist places offered by Peru. Therefore, an investigation was conducted through surveys to our potential customers to validate our hypothesis, in which it allowed us to detect an unmet demand due to the fact that the technology is advancing every day and by which the client's profile is increasing to a digital client, this segment does not have enough diffusion of channels that allow to interact between the traveler and the tourist services in order to offer promotions, discounts, alternative routes and new places to know. Taking advantage of the constant use of social networks such as Facebook, we create a fanpage so that our potential customers are familiar with our APP and enter through another page (Landing page) we can validate a 26.53% would opt for this virtual application to be able to satisfy your needs when traveling. This project will be carried out with an approximate investment of S / 116,419.60 for the creation and updating of the platform and the indirect costs involved, wishing to be one of the first options for finding tourist information at a national level and that indirectly will support the development of tourism in unoccupied places. / Trabajo de investigación