Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.63191/mcpr.17.1.8
Generation Z and Gender Differences in Sustainability Advocacy: the Influence of Society and Consumerism
Manuela Bukovec
Irena Klepac Mustać
Ivana Belić
Abstract
Generation Z, social media, conscious consumerism, and sustainability are increasingly interconnected, positioning young people as important participants in environmental and social change. This paper investigates gender differences within Generation Z in sustainability advocacy in Croatia, focusing on the influence of social media and sustainable product choice as an expression of conscious consumerism. The analysis was based on valid item-level responses, with the analytical sample varying across procedures (295 valid responses for perceived social media impact, 292 for sustainable product choice, and 286 observations in the moderated regression model). Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, moderated regression, and regression-based mediation analysis were employed to test three hypotheses. The findings confirm that women report higher levels of sustainability advocacy (H1) and that sustainable product choice partially mediates the relationship between social media impact and participation in sustainability initiatives (H3). At the same time, social media significantly influence sustainability-related attitudes and behaviours regardless of gender, leading to the rejection of H2.
Keywords
consumer behaviour, gender differences, Generation Z, social media, sustainability advocacy
Hrčak ID:
349531
URI
Publication date:
17.8.2026.
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