(Newsletter #10) New Generations: Old Questions?
Are we collectively aware of the obstacles young people encounter in integrating into society? Is there too much pressure on their shoulders? Are we really giving them the means to be understood and listened to?
This month, our professors and researchers look at two major issues facing young people in developed economies: their place in the labour market and in companies, and their status as consumers.
“Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life” (H. H. Asquith)
This quote from the beginning of the 20th century doesn't seem to have aged a day, and neither do the underlying questions that inevitably spring to mind when you read it.
Are we collectively aware of the obstacles young people encounter in integrating into society? Because they are (seen as) an essential force for change, is there too much pressure on their shoulders? Between the need for autonomy, help, control or else, are we really giving them the means to be understood and listened to?
This month, our professors and researchers look at two important issues facing young people in developed economies: their place in the labour market and in companies, and their status as consumers. Between old and new questions, they try to bring a fresh perspective to these essential but worrying issues.
Don't forget that all these articles are available in French on edhec.edu.
Happy reading!
3 questions to Manuelle Malot on the ‘candidate experience’ as seen by GenZ and recruiters
An interview with Manuelle Malot - Director of the EDHEC NewGen Talent Centre
One company out of three struggles to recruit junior staff. A new study reveals that the candidate experience is crucial in attracting and retaining young talent. Quality of the advert, number of stages, fluidity of interactions vs. ghosting, role of AI etc. : the EDHEC NewGen Talent Centre has joined forces with JobTeaser and The Gen Z Lab to question nearly 6,000 individuals aged 18 to 30 and more than 550 HR managers... Read this interview
Is pride an asset or a hindrance for the future successor(s) of a family business
By Fabian Bernhard - EDHEC Associate Professor and member of the EDHEC Family Business Chair
When you carry the colours of a family business, what you say and show about your link with this company is essential. The way it is perceived by stakeholders - employees, consumers, business partners, etc. - is even crucial. In this article, originally published in The Conversation France, the author shows the ambiguity of displaying pride for members of family businesses: it can strengthen identity, commitment and cohesion internally but also create a negative impression of pride or superiority... Read this article
5 questions to Laura Lacombe on gender differences in career aspirations
An interview with Laura Lacombe - Research manager at the EDHEC Diversity & Inclusion Chair
A closer look at students' aspirations - in terms of education and career - seems to reveal a clear difference between men and women. Since these differences ultimately fuel pay and career inequalities, what can be done to reduce them between individuals, regardless of gender? In an original report to be published before the end of the year, the EDHEC Diversity & Inclusion Chair documents this problem, its link with ‘occupational segregation’ and suggests various ways of countering these inequalities... Read this interview
Teenagers and advertising: navigating identity in a world of consumption
By Hua (Ariel) Li – EDHEC Assistant Professor, Director of the MSc in Marketing Management
Adolescence is a crucial period during which individuals shape their identity, often through consumption, as they navigate between asserting their uniqueness and seeking acceptance from their peers. It is essential to move beyond the traditional idea that adolescents are increasingly impervious to advertising. The author highlights the fact that the intense internal conflicts of this period create the ‘optimal’ conditions for succumbing to the influence of marketing. A more holistic approach is needed to safeguard their well-being... Read this article
What we know about the new generations of higher education graduates and their relationship to professional life
Stereotypes of the younger generation's views of and relationships with the collective, companies, the corporate spirit or the (inevitable) constraints of work, to name a few, are legion. For years, Manuelle Malot and Geneviève Houriet Segard - respectively Director and Deputy Director of the EDHEC NewGen Talent Centre - together with their team and partners try to take an objective look at the different dimensions of this issue. Here are some of their latest articles:
- Work as a springboard for the diverse ambitions of new generations (in Harvard Business Review France)
- The new generations and the world of work: 5 questions to M. Malot and G. Houriet Segard (in #EDHECVox)
- Do recruiters fully understand the aspirations of the new generation of business school students? (in The Conversation France)
- Companies & recruitment difficulties: what if your raison d'être replaced your employer brand? (in Harvard Business Review France)
Jewellery: can synthetic diamonds and CSR appeal to millennials?
By Sabine Ruaud - EDHEC Professor, Catherine Lejealle - ISC Paris Researcher, and Thierry Delecolle - Deputy Managing Director Pôle Léonard de Vinci
Representing 32% of the luxury market in 2019, millennials will account for 50% of the market by 2025. In an article originally published in The Conversation France , the authors analyse COURBET a young brand positioned in the synthetic diamonds and recycled gold market that aims to target Chinese millennial. What value proposition can it offer to win them over? Can eco-responsibility set it apart from the big luxury brands with their century-old reputations?... Read this article
Meet Michael Antioco, a Dean of Faculty & Research who thrives on learning and nurturing talent
Portrait of Michael Antioco - EDHEC Professor of Marketing and Dean of Faculty & Research
" 'I have very fond memories of my doctoral years,’ he says. ‘The close relationship between academia and business in the Netherlands really cemented in me the belief that research should be rooted in reality and should seek to have an impact. I also learnt a lot from the Dutch approach: a culture of consensus, a very direct style of communication and a management style that is more horizontal than vertical.’..." Read this portrait
Illustration (header) 2024 - Anne Moreau
