Generations and Generational Differences: Debunking Myths in Organizational Science and Practice and Paving New Paths Forward
Rudolph, Rauvola, Costanza and Zacher start from the observation that talk about generations is everywhere in organisational science and practice, while the evidence for generations existing is, in their words, at best scant. They ask what accounts for that gap between ubiquity and evidence. First they take common myths about generations and generational differences at work and set out to bust them. Then they offer two alternative and complementary frameworks, the social constructionist perspective and the lifespan development perspective. They argue that the first helps explain why generations persist as an idea, and that the second is a better model than generations for how age operates and development unfolds at work. They urge students, researchers, consultants and managers to adopt these more nuanced perspectives in place of a generational one.
Rudolph, Rauvola, Costanza and Zacher start from the observation that talk about generations is everywhere in organisational science and practice, while the evidence for generations existing is, in their words, at best scant. They ask what accounts for that gap between ubiquity and evidence. First they take common myths about generations and generational differences at work and set out to bust them. Then they offer two alternative and complementary frameworks, the social constructionist perspective and the lifespan development perspective. They argue that the first helps explain why generations persist as an idea, and that the second is a better model than generations for how age operates and development unfolds at work. They urge students, researchers, consultants and managers to adopt these more nuanced perspectives in place of a generational one.
Written from the abstract, Semantic Scholar record of the Journal of Business and Psychology paper (Crossref confirms title, volume and pages).
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Rudolph, C. W., Rauvola, R. S., Costanza, D. P., & Zacher, H. (2021). Generations and generational differences: Debunking myths in organizational science and practice and paving new paths forward. Journal of Business and Psychology, 36(6), 945-967. doi:10.1007/s10869-020-09715-2