Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026): Business & Management Studies: An International Journal
Articles

Withdrawal from consumption: Generation Z's new consumption ethics, its causes, and economic implications

PDF
  • Ahmet Kasap,
  • Bülent Şen,
  • Serdar Budak
Ahmet Kasap
Assoc. Prof., Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Türkiye
Bülent Şen
Assist. Prof., Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Türkiye
Serdar Budak
Assoc. Prof., Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Türkiye

Published 2026-06-25

Keywords

  • Anti-Consumption, Generation Z, Underconsumption Core, Sustainable Consumption, Behavioural Economics, Post-Consumer Economy
  • Tüketim Karşıtlığı, Z Kuşağı, Aşırı Tüketim Karşıtı Akım, Sürdürülebilir Tüketim, Davranışsal Ekonomi, Post-Tüketici Ekonomi

How to Cite

Withdrawal from consumption: Generation Z’s new consumption ethics, its causes, and economic implications. (2026). Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 14(2), 1057-1069. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v14i2.2774

Copyright (c) 2026 Ahmet Kasap- Bülent Şen- Serdar Budak

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Withdrawal from consumption: Generation Z’s new consumption ethics, its causes, and economic implications. (2026). Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 14(2), 1057-1069. https://doi.org/10.15295/bmij.v14i2.2774

Abstract

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, global consumer culture is undergoing a structural transformation driven by the markedly different preferences of Generation Z, the cohort born between 1997 and 2012. This study examines that transformation by tracing it from the historical foundations of consumption theory to its present manifestations, explaining it through the interlocking dynamics of income inequality, climate anxiety, digital fatigue, and value-based identity construction. Drawing on a critical literature review and conceptual synthesis, the study demonstrates that Generation Z's withdrawal from consumption is not merely an economic response to financial constraints but also a deliberate ethical stance, an identity declaration, and a collective act of cultural positioning. The study's central theoretical argument is that withdrawal from consumption constitutes a motivationally layered identity-forming act in which economic precarity, ethical commitment, and digital cultural capital mutually reinforce one another. The study discusses the short-term macroeconomic risks this tendency generates, its long-term potential for structural transformation, and the policy implications for a transition toward a more sustainable production-consumption system.

PDF

References

  1. Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. HarperCollins.
  2. Baudrillard, J. (1998). The consumer society: Myths and structures (C. Turner, Trans.). Sage. (Original work published 1970)
  3. Bauman, Z. (2007). Consuming life. Polity Press.
  4. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste (R. Nice, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1979)
  5. Boyd, d. (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Yale University Press.
  6. Buğday, E. B., & Babaoğul, M. (2016). Bilinçli tüketim kavramının boyutları: Bilinçli tüketim davranışının yeniden tanımlanması [The dimensions of conscious consumption]. Sosyoekonomi, 24(30), 187-206. https://doi.org/10.17233/se.2016.10.012
  7. Canoğlu, M., & Üstüner, S. (2025). The moderating role of environmental knowledge in influencing sustainable consumption intention of Generation Z through personal norms, social norms, and environmental awareness. Innovative Marketing, 21(1), 14-25. https://doi.org/10.21511/im.21(1).2025.02
  8. Cherrier, H. (2009). Anti-consumption discourses and consumer-resistant identities. Journal of Business Research, 62(2), 181-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.025
  9. Cohen, M. J. (2001). The emergent environmental policy discourse on sustainable consumption. In M. J. Cohen & J. Murphy (Eds.), Exploring sustainable consumption: Environmental policy and the social sciences (pp. 21-37). Elsevier.
  10. Çokgezer, A. (2024). Consumption and consumption theories. Kesit Akademi Dergisi, 10(41), 699-720. https://doi.org/10.29228/kesit.76609
  11. Connolly, J., & Prothero, A. (2008). Green consumption: Life-politics, risk and contradictions. Journal of Consumer Culture, 8(1), 117-145. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540507086422
  12. Dal, N. E. (2017). Tüketim toplumu ve tüketim toplumuna yöneltilen eleştiriler üzerine bir tartışma [A discussion on consumer society and critiques thereof]. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 9(19), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.20875/makusobed.311006
  13. van Dijck, J. (2013). The culture of connectivity: A critical history of social media. Oxford University Press.
  14. Escalonilla, M., Cueto, B., & Pérez-Villadóniga, M. J. (2022). Is the millennial generation left behind? Inter-cohort labour income inequality in a context of economic shock. Social Indicators Research, 164(1), 285-321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02958-x
  15. Evans, D., McMeekin, A., & Southerton, D. (2012). Sustainable consumption, behaviour change policies and theories of practice. In A. Warde & D. Southerton (Eds.), The habits of consumption (Vol. 12, pp. 113-129). Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies.
  16. Featherstone, M. (1991). Consumer culture and postmodernism. Sage.
  17. Fernandes, T., & Oliveira, R. (2024). Brands as drivers of social media fatigue and its effects on users' disengagement: The perspective of young consumers. Young Consumers, 25(5), 625-644. https://doi.org/10.1108/YC-09-2023-1873
  18. Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Polity Press.
  19. Goldstein, J. P., & Hillard, M. G. (Eds.). (2009). Heterodox macroeconomics: Keynes, Marx and globalisation. Routledge.
  20. Hall, S. (1996). Introduction: Who needs identity? In S. Hall & P. du Gay (Eds.), Questions of cultural identity (pp. 1-17). Sage.
  21. Hansen, A., & Nielsen, K. B. (Eds.). (2023). Consumption, sustainability and everyday life. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11069-6
  22. Harantová, V., & Mazanec, J. (2025). Generation Z's shopping behavior in second-hand brick-and-mortar stores: Emotions, gender dynamics, and environmental awareness. Behavioral Sciences, 15(4), 413. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15040413
  23. Holt, D. B. (1995). How consumers consume: A typology of consumption practices. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1086/209431
  24. Hosany, A. R. S., & Serdiuk, K. (2025). Understanding Gen Z consumers: A typology of (un)sustainable purchases. Psychology & Marketing, 42(11), 2820-2832. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.70013
  25. ILO. (2023). World employment and social outlook: Trends 2023. International Labour Organization. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@inst/documents/publication/wcms_865332.pdf
  26. Iyer, R., & Muncy, J. A. (2009). Purpose and object of anti-consumption. Journal of Business Research, 62(2), 160-168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2008.01.023
  27. Jackson, T. (2009). Prosperity without growth: Economics for a finite planet. Earthscan.
  28. Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263-291. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
  29. Kara, A., & Min, M. K. (2024). Gen Z consumers' sustainable consumption behaviors: Influencers and moderators. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 25(1), 124-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-08-2022-0263
  30. Kazantsev, N., Agca, A. O., Mate, O.-A., Chatha, K., & Godsell, J. (2025). Strategic shame management: Leveraging individual footprints to nudge sustainable development goal 12. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 57, 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.04.018
  31. Kennedy, E. H., Cohen, M. J., & Krogman, N. T. (2016). Social practice theories and research on sustainable consumption. In E. H. Kennedy, M. J. Cohen, & N. T. Krogman (Eds.), Putting sustainability into practice: Applications and advances in research on sustainable consumption (pp. 3-20). Edward Elgar Publishing.
  32. Keynes, J. M. (1997). The general theory of employment, interest and money. Prometheus Books. (Original work published 1936)
  33. Korkmaz, S., & Sertoğlu, A. (2013). Genç tüketicilerin sürdürülebilir gıda tüketimi davranışının güven ve değerlere dayanan planlı davranış teorisi kapsamında tartışılması. Hacettepe Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 31(1), 127-152. https://doi.org/10.17065/huniibf.103659
  34. Kumar, S., & Panda, T. K. (2025). Mindful consumption: Cultivating sustainable consumption behavior for food and clothing through mindfulness among Generation Z. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 42(1), 106-130. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-02-2023-5857
  35. Leightner, J. E. (2000). Asia's financial crisis, speculative bubbles, and under-consumption theory. Journal of Economic Issues, 34(2), 385-392. https://doi.org/10.1080/00213624.2000.11506277
  36. Liu, J. C. (2022). Rethinking consumption & production: Systems design for sustainable lifestyles in the Global North (Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). MIT Libraries.
  37. Marx, K. (1992). Capital: A critique of political economy (B. Fowkes, Trans., Vol. 1). Penguin. (Original work published 1867)
  38. Mazzucato, M. (2018). The value of everything: Making and taking in the global economy. PublicAffairs.
  39. Mont, O., & Plepys, A. (2008). Sustainable consumption progress: Should we be proud or alarmed? Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(4), 531-537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.01.009
  40. Ngo, T. T. A., Vo, C. H., Tran, N. L., Nguyen, K. V., Tran, T. D., & Trinh, Y. N. (2024). Factors influencing Generation Z's intention to purchase sustainable clothing products in Vietnam. PLOS ONE, 19(12), e0315502. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315502
  41. Odabaşı, Y. (2017). Tüketim kültürü: Yetinen Toplumdan Tüketen Topluma [Consumer culture: Living beyond sufficiency] (5th ed.). MediaCat.
  42. OECD. (2023). OECD economic outlook, volume 2023 issue 1. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ce188438-en
  43. Pemberton, E. (2023). Rethinking consumer agency in the global economy (Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield). White Rose eTheses Online. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/33664/
  44. Raworth, K. (2017). Doughnut economics: Seven ways to think like a 21st-century economist. Chelsea Green Publishing.
  45. Ricardo, D. (1973). The principles of political economy and taxation. Dent. (Original work published 1817)
  46. Robinson, W. I. (2020). The global police state. Pluto Press.
  47. Rubin, J. D., Chen, K., & Tung, A. (2024). Generation Z's challenges to financial independence: Adolescents' and early emerging adults' perspectives on their financial futures. Journal of Adolescent Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584241256572
  48. Schor, J. B. (1998). The overspent American: Why we want what we don't need. Basic Books.
  49. Shove, E. (2010). Beyond the ABC: Climate change policy and theories of social change. Environment and Planning A, 42(6), 1273-1285. https://doi.org/10.1068/a42282
  50. Simmel, G. (2004). The philosophy of money (D. Frisby, Ed., T. Bottomore & D. Frisby, Trans., 3rd ed.). Routledge. (Original work published 1900)
  51. Smith, A. (2007). An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Metalibri. (Original work published 1776)
  52. Spohn, D. (2024). Financial resilience and innovation among Generation Z in the face of economic adversity. European Journal of Management, Economics and Business, 1(3), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.59324/ejmeb.2024.1(3).04
  53. Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.
  54. ThredUp. (2025). 2025 resale report. https://ir.thredup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/thredups-13th-resale-report-shows-online-resale-saw-accelerated/
  55. Thunberg, G. (2019). No one is too small to make a difference. Penguin.
  56. Twenge, J. M. (2017). iGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy, and completely unprepared for adulthood. Atria Books.
  57. Veblen, T. (2009). The theory of the leisure class. Oxford University Press. (Original work published 1899)
  58. Warde, A. (2014). After taste: Culture, consumption and theories of practice. Journal of Consumer Culture, 14(3), 279-303. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540514547828