HOW EXECUTIVES PERCEIVE THE NET GENERATION

Abstract

This paper reports on an exploratory study of how executives in organizations perceive the entrance of the ‘net generation’ into the workplace. We approached this question by collecting data from interviews, focus groups, and an online survey. The results show that executives perceive tensions associated with values and behaviors of the net generation workers as the younger workers enter current organizational settings as well as technology-related issues not solely associated with the younger generation. The paper discusses the different organizational mechanisms and strategies executives use to address these tensions. Particularly, we discuss executives’ preference for top-down strategies and their tendency to address the triad of technology–values–behavior as separate components instead of a unified concept.