Overuse of natural resources and uncontrollable economic growth have led to numerous social issues. This has brought the paradigm of altruism into focus. Egoistic values, such as striving for accomplishments and power, have become less important, while altruistic values, like universalism and charity, are coming to the forefront. Through the shift of values, the relationship between companies and their consumers has changed as well. The customer views and expectations, towards the role that the companies should play in today’s society, have evolved. The public is becoming more and more mindful and critical of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies that the companies have incorporated into their business models. This graduate thesis explores how the values of egoism and altruism, as well as environmental identity, influence customer expectations towards CSR and consumer sustainability behaviour, amongst generation Z and millennials. It includes a quantitative analysis in a form of a survey, which included 246 people. Data analysis has shown how environmental identity, altruistic and egoistic values impact consumer expectations towards CSR and sustainable consumption. The results have shown a positive influence of altruistic values and environmental identity on both sustainable consumption as well as expectations towards CSR.
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