Individual innovativeness of different generations in the context of the forthcoming society 5.0 in Lithuania

Abstract

Global challenges such as climate change, the depletion of natural resources, rising economic disparities, and aging society are increasingly encountered in the world. The initiative Society 5.0 aims are to solve these problems and create the Super Smart Society, when innovation brings together the virtual world and reality. Given the aging issues in Lithuania, the development of the Society 5.0 is a challenge for the country today. Therefore, it is very important to consider how representatives from different generations can contribute to the creation of the Society 5.0, also called the Super Smart Society, in Lithuania. The purpose of the paper is to disclose the individual innovativeness of different generations in the context of the forthcoming Society 5.0 in Lithuania. The paper provides the generation conception, gives a short overview of generational diversity, focuses on generational differences, discusses theoretical aspects of individual innovativeness, and provides the empirical results of individual innovativeness of different generations in Lithuania: the Baby Boomers, the Generation X, the Generation Y and the Generation Z. Finally, based on the findings, the discussion considering the contribution of different generations to creation of the Society 5.0 in Lithuania is provided. A quantitative research was performed, using “Individual Innovativeness Scale” developed by Hurt, Joseph and, Cook (1977). Three methods were used for data analysis: The Hierarchical Cluster analysis, Multidimensional scaling (ALSCAL) and the CATREG-Regression for Categorical Data.