A new article has been published in the journal Young Consumers, co-authored by 3 members of the CAS research group: Dr. Elisenda Estanyol, Dr. Lluís Mas-Manchón, Dr. José Fernández-Cavia, together with the professional Pablo Van-Bergen from Merco.

The article, titled "Raising the bar? How Generation Z perceives corporate reputation and environmental commitment", explores how different generations perceive corporate environmental efforts and reputation, with a particular focus on Generation Z across six countries: Spain, Italy, Portugal, Colombia, Mexico and Chile.

The cross-national survey (n = 8,980) examined perceptions of the 100 most reputed organisations in each country, comparing assessments across generations, gender, and industry type (stigmatised vs non-stigmatised sectors).

Key findings include:

• Generation Z rates environmental commitment and reputation more positively than older generations, particularly rewarding companies in non-stigmatised sectors that demonstrate genuine environmental efforts.
• European countries are more demanding in their evaluations than Latin American countries, with Spain being the most critical overall. However, Spanish Generation Z stands out for offering more positive assessments than previous generations in their country.
• Women consistently evaluate corporate environmental commitment and reputation more favourably than men across all countries and generations.

This research contributes to CSR and corporate reputation theory by providing cross-cultural evidence on generational differences in environmental perceptions. The findings offer practical guidance for organisations: tailoring communication strategies to demographic differences, such as Generation Z's preference for transparent, digital engagement, can strengthen credibility and foster long-term stakeholder trust.

Congratulations to Dr. Elisenda Estanyol, Dr. Lluís Mas-Manchón, Dr. José Fernández-Cavia and Pablo Van-Bergen for their important contribution to the field of corporate social responsibility and generational consumer research!

Reference

Estanyol, E., Mas-Manchón, L., Fernández-Cavia, J., & Van-Bergen, P. (2025). Raising the bar? How Generation Z perceives corporate reputation and environmental commitment. Young Consumers, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-06-2025-2596