Generational cohort differences in psychological ownership: how does gen z come to feel ownership in an intangible world?

Abstract

The purpose of this conceptual pape ris to investigate the relationship between psychological ownership and its emergence in Generation Z based on prior published research, which differs in behavior, characteristics, and values compared to previous generational cohorts. Through the synthesis of existing literature, a conceptualization of the psychological ownership theory based on three proposed underlying consumption trends of Generation Z further advances the academic landscape: (1) ‘A need for expressing individual identity’, (2) ‘A fundamental desire for security’, and (3) ‘A desire for control’. This paper’s originality stems from being the pioneer conceptual paper to apply the psychological ownership framework to Generation Z’s traits and thus, greatly contributes to existing psychological ownership literature. Products and services which drive the development of ownership feelings are discussed and future research propositions, calling for deeper empirical investigation of psychological ownership in generational cohorts, are outlined.