What extent has the introduction of millennials as consumers influenced business ethics in regards to social responsibility in the past 10 years. (Research Paper Sample)

Introduction of Millennial Consumers on Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility
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Introduction
Studies by Harris, Jason, and Joseph (2011) note that the contemporary dynamic business environment has seen the emergence of a new generation of consumers. The business atmosphere is faced with economic, environmental, as well as political challenges. The millennials comprise the impatient, digital natives, gamers, multitaskers, and experimental learners. The millennials are mostly obsessed with the networked world as they continuously demand nomadic connectivity, and increased selectivity, customization, and personalization of products as well as services. Weber (2017) argues that the millennials are the modern-day business leaders rather than the old paradigm that placed them as leaders of tomorrow. Their viewpoints concerning the way business should be conducted more inclined towards incorporating academic insights and enlightenment. Therefore, the new generation has put more pressure on the business entities to step up their services to meet the increasingly dynamic needs and specifications. Weber argues that the world knows little about these new species of individuals committed to present a paradigm shift in the business environment concerning their ethical perspectives as well as perceptions.[Harris, Kimberly J., Jason Stiles, and Joseph Durocher. "A preliminary evaluation of the millennial shopping experience: Preferences and plateaus." Hospitality Review 29, no. 1 (2011): 2.] [Weber, James. "Discovering the Millennials' values orientation: A comparison to two managerial populations." In Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, vol. 26, pp. 39-50. 2015.]
Accordingly, Sempels &Hoffman (2013) argued that it is impossible to separate economic activities from the social and natural fabric on which is bases its tenets. In essence, a global financial crisis results in social and economic implications that generate environmental costs that are grounded on both social and economic impacts. Social implications range from alleviating poverty and protecting the environment to the need to tackle the increasing over-exploitation of natural resources. Therefore, there is an expanding demand for goods as well as services that meet the dynamic customer needs. As well, business entities are more practically inclined towards meeting consumers' needs as they introduce products that meet the societal needs of their customers like environmentally-sensitive products and healthier foods as compared to nonprofit organizations and governments. Yin & Jamali (2016) notes the need for business managers to understand better the action plans can be useful in generating wealth for the shareholders while meeting the legitimate needs of multiple stakeholders with the environments in which they operate.[Sempels, C., & Hoffmann, J. (2013). Sustainable Innovation Strategy, Creating Value in a World of Finite Resources. London: Palgrave Macmillan.] [Weber, James. "Discovering the Millennials' values orientation: A comparison to two managerial populations." In Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society, vol. 26, pp. 39-50. 2015.] [Yin, Julien, and Dima Jamali. "Strategic corporate social responsibility of multinational companies subsidiaries in emerging markets: Evidence from China." Long Range Planning 49, no. 5 (2016): 541-558.]
Recent studies have sought to understand the impacts on millennials from the employee viewpoint instead of focusing on the consumer perspectives. For example, studies by Carpenter & Charon (2014) sought to investigate how the business can attract, motivate as well as retain millennials. Culiberg & Mihelic (2018) examined the impact of millennials' ethical decisions as part of an expansion workforce unit while representing potential future corporate leaders who are more sensitive to employment relationships and work practices. On the contrary, this research paper does not view millennials as human resources but instead chooses to provide critical analysis of the millennials as a unique customer segment with an inherent potential for business organizations. Specifically, the research is aimed at investigating the perception as well as the reactions of the millennial consumers to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR hereafter).[Filatotchev, I., & Stahl, G. (2015). Towards transnational CSR: Corporate social responsibility approaches and governance solutions for multinational corporations. Organizational Dynamics, 121-129.] [Carpenter, Marian J., and Linda C. de Charon. "Mitigating multigenerational conflict and attracting, motivating, and retaining millennial employees by changing the organizational culture: A theoretical model." Journal of Psychological Issues in Organizational Culture 5, no. 3 (2014): 68-84.] [Culiberg, Barbara, and Katarina Katja Mihelič. "Three ethical frames of reference: insights into Millennials' ethical judgments and intentions in the workplace." Business Ethics: A European Review 25, no. 1 (2016): 94-111.] [Jaysawal, Dr, and Sudeshna Saha. "Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in India: A review." Available at SSRN 2692044 (2015).]