Diversity and Inclusivity in the Beauty Industry
Examining the Demands of Generation Z
Ida Marina Klink Nilsson, 18010 Karina Ananda Pedersen, 18011
Supervisor: Pia Aarestrup
Hand-in date: 17
thof May 2021 Number of characters: 248.697
Standard pages: 109
Master’s Thesis
MA International Business Communication
Copenhagen Business School
industry, creating a shift in what has previously been considered an industry that primarily catered to and promoted light-skinned consumers. The demands for diversity and inclusivity were further emphasized by the Black Lives Matter movement, which increased the focus on racial inequalities internationally, and thus, started a conversation in the beauty industry about the issue of its lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity and skin tone representation. This paper examines how Gen Z’s demands regarding ethnic diversity and inclusivity are reflected in the beauty industry, and how beauty brands can successfully accommodate this. This research area is of high relevance, as Gen Z will become the biggest consumer base by 2026, and limited research in regard to Danish Gen Z consumers’ demands and values, as well as very little insight into how this influences the beauty industry, is available. Thus, this paper aims to offer insight into this powerful generation in regard to their unique demands in an effort to provide recommendations as to how brands can reach this generation of consumers without missing the mark and experiencing “canceling on social media” or being accused of “diversity washing”.
This paper will apply the scientific method of social constructivism to provide a possible understanding of the complexity of the topic. This is done via a mixed-method approach including a survey of Danish Gen Z consumers, interviews with industry experts, in-store observations as well a netnographic study that is used to illustrate the similarities between Danish and international Gen Z consumers. The theoretical framework of this paper includes theories about branding, consumer psychology, consumer behavior, and identity. In conclusion, this paper finds that demands for diversity and inclusivity can indeed be identified in the Danish beauty industry amongst Gen Z consumers and that a lack of diversity and inclusivity can be identified in the two biggest Danish retailers of cosmetics, both in terms of foundation shade ranges and campaigns. This paper concludes that the Black Lives Matter movement has influenced the beauty industry as it has increased the focus on, and consequently, demands for diversity and inclusivity and that it is evident on social media. Given these points, this paper suggests a list of managerial implications for brands wishing to reach Gen Z consumers. This list includes alignments between brand and consumer values, implementing authentic and genuine diversity and inclusivity initiatives, communicating honestly and authentically with consumers on social media, and investing resources into obtaining knowledge about Gen Z consumers, and the way they differ from previous generations.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ... 4
DELIMITATION ... 6
MOTIVATION FOR THE RESEARCH ... 7
STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER ... 8
SCIENTIFIC METHOD ... 9
EMPIRICAL METHOD ... 12
LIMITATIONS DUE TO THE COVID-19PANDEMIC ... 12
RESEARCH APPROACH:INDUCTIVE METHOD ... 12
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY DATA ... 13
MIXED-METHOD APPROACH:QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ... 14
INTERVIEWS ... 16
Structure and Design of the Interviews ... 16
The Interviewees ... 16
Conducting the Interviews Online ... 18
Transcription and Translation ... 18
Data Quality Issues ... 19
SURVEY ... 20
Structure and Design of the Survey ... 20
Distribution of the Survey ... 21
Purpose of the Survey ... 22
Validity of the Survey ... 23
Reliability of the Survey ... 24
Omitted Areas of Interest ... 26
OBSERVATIONS ... 26
Observation Approach ... 26
In-store Observations ... 27
Data Quality Issues ... 28
NETNOGRAPHY ... 28
The Approach of the Netnography ... 28
Purpose of the Netnography ... 29
Limitations of the Netnography ... 30
Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability ... 31
LITERATURE REVIEW ... 31
CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE USED IN THIS PAPER ... 33
CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE AUTHORS’BIASES ... 37
DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS ... 38
“CANCELING” ON SOCIAL MEDIA ... 38
DIVERSITY WASHING ... 39
DIVERSITY,INCLUSIVITY AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY ... 39
PERSON OF COLOR AND BLACK PERSON ... 39
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ... 40
INTRODUCTION TO GENERATION Z ... 40
Gen Z’s Values - Self-expression and Authenticity ... 40
Technology and Social Media ... 42
Generational Marketing to Gen Z ... 43
THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY ... 44
The Growing Beauty Industry ... 44
Black Lives Matter and the Beauty Industry ... 44
Brands and Diversity in the Beauty Industry ... 45
Colorism in the Beauty Industry ... 46
Gen Z’ers Demands in the Beauty Industry and on Social Media ... 47
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 48
THE PERSONALITY APPROACH ... 48
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF ... 49
CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS ... 50
CONSUMER MOTIVATIONS FOR BOYCOTT PARTICIPATION ... 50
IDENTITY AND THE NEED FOR BELONGINGNESS ... 52
ANALYSIS ... 53
LACK OF ETHNIC DIVERSITY ... 53
ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN DANISH STORES ... 56
Comparing Sephora and Matas ... 58
BLM AND DIVERSITY WASHING ... 59
THE PERSONALITY APPROACH ... 62
POSSESSIONS AND THE EXTENDED SELF ... 64
CONSUMER ATTITUDE ... 65
Values vs. Behavior ... 67
Gen Z Consumers of Color ... 69
IDENTITY ... 73
DEMANDS FOR ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN THE DANISH BEAUTY INDUSTRY ... 75
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ... 78
COLORISM,RACISM, OR IGNORANCE? ... 79
The Phenomenon of an Easily-Offended Culture ... 81
NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF NOT VALUING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY ... 83
The Challenge of Doing Diversity and Inclusivity Right ... 85
POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF VALUING DIVERSITY ... 88
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS ... 89
1-ALIGN BRAND VALUES WITH CONSUMER VALUES ... 90
2-IMPLEMENT AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY INITIATIVES ... 91
3-COMMUNICATE HONESTLY WITH GEN Z ON SOCIAL MEDIA ... 92
4-INVEST RESOURCES TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE ... 92
DISCUSSION ... 93
DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATIONS ... 93
Gen Z Demands or General Consumer Demands? ... 93
Diversity and Inclusivity in Beauty: The New Standard or Just a Phase? ... 96
DISCUSSION OF FUTURE RESEARCH ... 99
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ... 102
Validity ... 102
Analytical Generalization ... 103
CONCLUSION ... 105
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 109
APPENDICES ... 121
APPENDIX 1:MAJA FABECH INTERVIEW ... 121
APPENDIX 2:MICHELE NDUTA INTERVIEW ... 126
APPENDIX 3:SURVEY ... 130
APPENDIX 4:OBSERVATIONS IN MATAS ... 152
APPENDIX 5:BRANDS FOUNDED ON ETHNIC DIVERSITY ... 154
APPENDIX 6:POSITIVE REACTIONS TO INCLUSIVE SHADE RANGE ... 155
APPENDIX 7:CONTROVERSY SHADE RANGES ... 156
APPENDIX 8:OBSERVATIONS IN SEPHORA ... 157
APPENDIX 9:CAMPAIGNS ... 158
APPENDIX 10:ESTEE LAUDER SHADE RANGE ... 159
APPENDIX 11:DEMAND FOR DIVERSITY ON MATAS’SOME PLATFORMS ... 160
APPENDIX 12:MAYBELLINE’S STATEMENT ON BLM ... 161
APPENDIX 13:L’ORÉAL PARIS’STATEMENT ON BLM ... 162
APPENDIX 14:POSITIVE RESPONSE TO SHADE RANGE ... 163
APPENDIX 15:INTERVIEW GUIDES ... 164
Interview guide - Michele Nduta ... 164
Interview guide - Maja Fabech ... 165
Introduction
The beauty industry is in continuous growth. In 2019, the Beauty & Personal Care market generated total revenue of US$504.5 billion worldwide (Statista, 2020a). The rise in consumer spending on cosmetics and beauty products is partly due to the growing influence of social media channels that have been one of the key drivers of the market (Statista, 2020a). Especially Generation Z, also known as Gen Z, has increased their discretionary spending on cosmetics (Statista, 2020a). According to Saunter and Shin (2019), Gen Z will define beauty for the next decade. Gen Z stands out from previous generations in many aspects, including their demands.
They demand diversity and inclusivity, as they are the most ethnically diverse generation in history, and they hold their favorite brands accountable to reach the same standards (Fromm &
Read, 2018).
Over the last few years, the beauty industry has seen a push for more inclusivity and diversity (Segran, 2020). Especially when the Black Lives Matter movement gained attention in 2020, diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry became a topic of discussion. Due to this attention, there was an increased focus on the lack of diversity in the beauty industry, specifically regarding ethnic diversity. In fact, over the past three years, models with dark skin tones have appeared in only 13% of 70 top beauty brands’ Instagram content, but in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, there was a 122% spike in content featuring models with dark skin tones (Segran, 2020). Moreover, several beauty brands expressed their support for the movement and claimed to do better in regard to diversity (Bauknecht, 2020). This ties in with a report by Retail Institute Scandinavia (2021), which states that a shift is happening in the Danish beauty industry. As a response to and a criticism of the industry’s previous beauty ideals, there is a shift towards being more diverse and inclusive, and brands taking a stand on political and societal issues, which is especially vocalized by Gen Z.
This subject is highly relevant given the topical nature of the research area, both due to the recent flare-up of the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the fact that Gen Z will become the next big consumer base by 2026 (NCR, 2020).
Based on this argued recent shift within the beauty industry, coupled with the initial knowledge of Gen Z and their demands, it is thus interesting to investigate the following research area:
How are Gen Z’s demands regarding ethnic diversity and inclusivity reflected in the beauty industry, and how can brands successfully accommodate this?
● To what extent can it be argued that there is a lack of diversity in the beauty industry?
● How can it be argued that Black Lives Matter had an effect on the beauty industry?
● Who is Gen Z and how do they use consumption as a means of self-expression and as a part of their identity?
● How are Gen Z’s values expressed through their consumer behavior?
● How can a demand for diversity and inclusivity be seen in the Danish beauty industry?
● What negative consequences can brands experience by not implementing diversity and inclusivity initiatives?
● What positive outcomes can brands potentially gain from implementing diversity and inclusivity initiatives?
This paper will apply The Personality Approach by Heding et. al. (2016) and Belk’s (1988) theory of The Extended Self to examine how Gen Z consumers use consumption as value signaling and self-expression, as well as the significance of value alignment between brands and consumers, and the outcome this has in terms of consumer behavior. Theory by Solomon (2020) will be applied to this paper to examine the relationship between consumer attitude and consumer behavior. Gen Z’ers’ use of consumption as a means of self-expression will be further analyzed by applying elements of Maslow (1949) and Baumeister and Leary (1995), in order to illustrate consumers’ need for belongingness.
Klein et. al.’s (2004) theory of Consumer Motivations for Boycotting will be employed in an effort to illustrate possible negative outcomes that brands might experience if they do not accommodate Gen Z’s demands for diversity and inclusivity.
Furthermore, the analysis of this paper will form the basis for a list of managerial implications, which this paper suggests are relevant for brands to follow, if they wish to reach Gen Z consumers.
This paper will be examining the research area by way of the social constructivist philosophy and approach, given the complexity of the topic. Thus, this paper does not seek to present an objective truth or definitive conclusion, rather the aim of this paper is to present a possible explanation to a complex phenomenon.
Delimitation
Diversity and inclusivity have become a focus area across many different industries, however, the authors of this paper have chosen to delimit its research area to the beauty industry.
Moreover, the research area of this paper has been delimited to concern mainly ethnic diversity and inclusivity. Ethnic diversity will be defined in the definition of concepts. This paper had an initial proposal to research diversity regarding both race and gender, however, to delimit the scope, it was chosen to deselect the research of gender and focus fully on ethnic diversity.
Although some findings of this research can relate to both ethnic diversity and diversity in general, ethnic diversity has been chosen to be the main research area when conducting empirical research due to the limited extent of this paper.
As this paper seeks to investigate specifically Gen Z and their demands regarding diversity and inclusivity, the empirical quantitative research of this paper has been delimited to examine this generation. However, there is no one definite distinction of when the Millennial generation ends, and Gen Z begins; it varies from book to book and demographer to demographer. Thus, for the sake of this paper, this paper defines Gen Z as the birth years 1995-2012. It is important to note that as in its examination of Gen Z, this paper includes different data in which the birth years vary. However, this paper still argues that all data used, regardless of varying birth year distinctions, can be included for the purposes of this paper without compromising the findings.
Furthermore, the empirical research has been delimited to analyze the demands of Danish Gen Z consumers, the diversity in cosmetic stores in Denmark, and the perspectives of Danish experts of the beauty industry. Thus, Denmark has been the main empirical research area.
However, some aspects of the empirical research, such as netnography, allow this paper to analyze and compare international opinions and demands online with the findings of Danish tendencies. Finally, this paper has delimited its theoretical framework to focus on the consumers’ behavior and the consumers’ demands. This paper has selected theories and
frameworks within consumer attitude and behavior as well as a specific area of consumer psychology and an approach to brand management. The research area has been delimited to take on the perspective of Gen Z consumers in order to contribute to how brands can accommodate this generation.
Motivation for the Research
The motivation for this paper began with the authors’ personal and professional interest and engagement in the beauty industry. The authors consider themselves a part of Gen Z, strengthening the motivation and interest for the research area in order to investigate if the authors’ views about their own generation are consistent with the findings. Moreover, the authors noticed how the Black Lives Matter movement provoked many discussions and debates internationally, both online and offline, on how beauty brands’ stance should be regarding diversity and inclusivity. Through these discussions, the authors began to wonder how Gen Z’s demands are reflected in the beauty industry, what effect Black Lives Matter had on the beauty industry, and what brands, consequently, should do to live up to these demands. Thus, the authors found this particular area interesting to research due to their personal motivation, resulting in the earlier mentioned problem statement and sub-questions.
Additionally, the motivation of this research was enhanced due to an academic discovery of a research gap in this arguably topical research area. Thus, this wonder laid the foundation of the academic motivation to contribute to the research area, and to, possibly, assist in solving a practical and theoretical problem. This paper seeks to propose a new understanding of the research area to be investigated further in future research studies. Moreover, this paper seeks to contribute to a new understanding of specifically ethnic diversity in the beauty industry, as well as the demands of Gen Z’ers.
Structure of the Paper
Scientific Method
This paper will now account and argue for the choice to apply the social constructivist philosophy and approach to examine and answer the problem statement, along with exploring the research area. Furthermore, it will be stated how this approach has enabled the analysis and how the findings should be interpreted through the lens of social constructivism.
This paper takes its point of reference in the social constructivist paradigm. This paradigm is centered on social relations and verbalization around a given phenomenon rather than the phenomenon in itself (Brier, 2017, p. 333). Arguably, the research area of this paper has a high level of complexity, given that it seeks to understand consumer attitudes about a given phenomenon, in this case, diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry. The complexity lies within the attempt to understand the phenomenon of diversity and inclusivity from the perspective of those who are experiencing it, and how it influences their attitude and perception of a brand. Arguably, according to the philosophy of social constructivism, the terms
“diversity” and “inclusivity” in themselves are social constructs, as well as the ways in which they relate to the beauty industry. Given the fact that individual consumers have individual opinions on the phenomenon of diversity and inclusivity, as well as its argued lack of or existence in the beauty industry, what this paper can present is an interpretation of one aspect of a social construct. Furthermore, since part of what this paper seeks to analyze is consumer identity and the need to have one’s identity represented, it cannot be argued that this paper’s findings are definitive and objectively true. In using the social constructivist approach, it is acknowledged that the term “identity” in itself is relative and dynamic (Brier, 2017, p. 334), and thereby, what this paper documents, in terms of this, are to be considered only as one possible depiction of an aspect of a complex reality, i.e. not a universal truth.
This paper discusses the argued importance of doing diversity the “right” way. However, doing something in a “right” or a “wrong” way arguably signifies the existence of a definitive truth of something being “right”, which is contradictory to the social constructivist stance. Thus, what this paper argues to be the “right” way of implementing diversity and inclusivity into the branding and practices of a given company, is only one perception of a social reality, and it is acknowledged that other social realities exist. Moreover, it should also be noted that there
not exist, and therefore, there lies a challenge in having to interpret in order to examine the phenomenon.
The social constructivist paradigm enables this paper to provide clarification of diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry, as well as examine the research area. In aiming to analyze and understand a topic of such complexity and relativity, it is challenging to apply a “formula”, i.e. theories and methods, to gain an understanding. Hence, this paper does not only aim to understand the research area through the theories and methods chosen, but also to understand it within the social context it appears. In line with this, it can be noted that, by the logic of social constructivism, the research area of this paper only “exists” because it has been put into words by someone. Social constructivism maintains that verbalization has a constructive power in society (Brier, 2017, p. 333). Thus, it is the way in which issues are being verbalized that makes them “visible” or solidifies their existence, and that makes people interpret them (Brier, 2017, p. 335). Thereby, the choice made to examine the phenomenon of diversity and inclusivity and the beauty industry, as well as its influence on consumer attitudes and identity creation, is in line with the social constructivist philosophy.
Making use of netnography enables this paper to examine different ways in which diversity and inclusivity are being verbalized on social media by consumers, arguably, corresponds with the philosophy of the social constructivist paradigm. Given that it exemplifies how language contributes to creating a construct for others to then interpret, verbalize and negotiate the existence of through e.g. sharing of opinions, is one way in which the social constructivist paradigm is beneficial for this paper to utilize. Furthermore, the interviews conducted in this paper are also illustrative of how the interviewees perceive the phenomenon, and how it appears in their social reality. The same can be said about the survey of this paper, as the respondents arguably are answering based on their perception of the social construct of diversity and inclusivity. Thereby, the social constructivist approach enables this paper to make use of its chosen theories, and determine how the findings can be interpreted, and what they might represent. It is argued that implementing the aforementioned methods, along with observations, enables this paper to perceive the research area in different ways, as observations are arguably visible ways in which the phenomenon of diversity and inclusivity occur. Hence, this is a way that this paper tries to connect a subjectivist and more objectivist view of the research area, as in line with the constructivist perception of knowledge (Rienecker & Jørgensen, 2017, p. 209).
As part of what this paper seeks to examine, concerns consumers’ perception of both a possible lack of diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry, as well as their perception of different brands’ implementation of diversity and inclusivity, the social constructivist paradigm application makes sense. It can be said that the evaluation of different brands’ campaigns and support for, and possibly lack of, diversity can be viewed as comparing the given cases with the “common opinion” or “common practice”, which is the accepted socially constructed way of viewing it, i.e. ‘the generalized other’ as presented by social constructivism (Brier, 2017, p.
338). Thereby the shift in consumer demands for diversity, that this paper argues to be characteristic of Gen Z, or possibly characteristic of today's consumers, can be argued to be a new construction of “the generalized other”, as it is arguably a new perception of what consumers are deeming appropriate and acceptable practice.
In relating this philosophy of science to the research of this paper, it cannot be said that the methods will uncover the truth about the research area in a “truthful” way. The ontological assumption of social constructivism is focused on antiessentialism, meaning the assumption that everything is a construct, and thus, this philosophy of science maintains that there does not exist one singular “truth” and that what is “real” and “true” differs, depending on the culture, society, and verbalization in which said, “truth” or “reality” exists (Brier, 2017, p. 333).
Moreover, in viewing the research area through the lens of social constructivism, the epistemological assumption of this paper will be that of recognizing knowledge as being a social construct. Thereby, knowledge itself and that this paper claims and argues, is, in fact, a construct. Given the complexity of the research area, it is argued that social constructivism is relevant. Provided that, in using social constructivism as the point of departure, this paper does not claim that the findings presented in the conclusion, or any findings argued for in the analysis, are unambiguously true. On the contrary, this paper only seeks to present one possible version of the interpretation of the research area and data collected, while still acknowledging that other versions of possible interpretations exist.
Empirical Method
This paper will now account for, as well as argue for, its chosen methods. This will include a reflection on the advantages and disadvantages of the methods and their applicability to the given research area, as well as a reflection on the influence of the chosen methods in regard to this papers’ ability to examine its research area.
Limitations Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent restrictions that followed, the research approach of this paper had to be reconsidered. Thus, some empirical methods had to be omitted from this paper. The initial primary data collection methods chosen for this paper would, for instance, have included focus group interviews. As this was not a possibility due to COVID-19 restrictions, this paper opted for a netnographic study instead. Although online focus group interviews would technically have been possible, it was decided that this would not have encouraged a ‘free conversation’ between the selected interviewees, and thus, this could arguably also have had certain limitations in terms of applicability and value. It should therefore be noted that, given the appropriate external circumstances, the research methods were chosen for this paper, and consequently the findings would undoubtedly have looked different. It is acknowledged that there are other forms of primary data that, given the opportunity to include such data, could possibly have added value to this paper and ultimately strengthened its validity and reliability. However, this paper argues that the methods chosen as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions are still sufficient in order to examine the research area of this paper, and sequentially answer the problem statement.
Research Approach: Inductive Method
The research of this paper has been done according to the inductive method. According to Thomas (2006), the primary purpose of the inductive method is to let research findings emerge from the dominant themes inherent in the data. The research will begin by observing and collecting data on specific phenomena in the real world (Thomas, 2006). In this paper, the authors formulated the research questions based on initial insight. Afterward, the research questions are answered based on comparing and analyzing the collected data in the analysis.
Lastly, a general idea is derived from the collected data (Durst-Andersen, 2017). By analyzing,
discussing, and concluding on the collected data, this paper’s research approach is done according to the inductive method by starting in specific empirical research and ending with a generalization.
There are several strengths to the inductive approach. It is especially convenient and efficient when analyzing qualitative data (Thomas, 2006). Thus, this approach benefits this paper as much of the collected data is based on qualitative data. Another strength is that it can be used to generalize beyond the findings (Raths, 1967, p. 357). However, this strength can be a weakness as well, as an obvious limitation of the inductive method is that it cannot be used to prove anything (Raths, 1967). Data may only support, fail to support, or in some cases, discredit a generalization (Raths, 1967, p. 359).
Primary and Secondary Data
Both primary and secondary data are utilized in this paper to answer the research questions.
The primary data consist of collected data conducted for the purpose of this paper. These data will be explained in depth further in this paper. The secondary data is collected from multiple sources. One of the main types of secondary data is survey secondary data. Survey secondary data refers to existing data originally collected for some other purpose, and such data normally refer to organizations or people (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 342). This paper makes use of secondary surveys such as government censuses which refer to censuses carried out by governments or institutions (Saunders et al., 2019). This is done to collect statistical data on specific groups of ethnicities in Denmark and the U.S. Moreover, statistical secondary data conducted by companies specialized in market and consumer data is applied. The market data and reports are utilized in order to understand the size of the beauty industry in both Denmark and an international setting. These types of data are arguably supporting the validity and reliability of this paper. Furthermore, statistical secondary data are collected to gain insights into Gen Z’s behavior. This type of data is often related to a specific research or study, making the secondary data difficult to apply to another paper’s specific research, thus, challenging the validity of this research.
This paper makes use of secondary data, especially statistical data, from the US since much of the existing research on Gen Z has been conducted there. The statistical data is used to analyze
Gen Z consumers in Denmark. It is determined that it is possible to use US statistical data on Gen Z as the generation is argued to have similar behaviors all over the world. However, this paper acknowledges that there are big cultural differences between countries that can have an effect on how Gen Z behaves, thus making statistical data related to specific countries invalid to apply to other countries.
An advantage of using secondary data is the enormous saving in resources in particular time and money (Vartanian, 2011: Saunders et al., 2019, p. 351). This is crucial for this paper as it has a limited amount of resources available. Moreover, the usage of secondary data makes it possible to compare primary and secondary data, making this paper able to place its own findings within a more general context (Saunders et al., 2019). This contributes to the generalizability of the findings. Regarding disadvantages, collected secondary data may not be related specifically to this paper’s research area. However, this paper argues that secondary on Gen Z’s behavior can be used within this research scope. Moreover, the authors cannot control the data quality of the secondary data, forcing the authors to critically assess the sources.
According to Saunders et. al (2019), secondary data that are not completely reliable are better than no data at all (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 369. Thus, this paper finds it crucial to collect secondary data, despite a lack of quality, to be able to put findings into context and to gain insights into empirical data that was not possible to collect for this research, hence, the secondary supports the primary data and vice-versa.
Mixed-Method Approach: Qualitative and Quantitative
This paper makes use of mixed-method research. Mixed methods research draws from the characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative research (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 182).
According to Saunders et al. (2019), this creates a dynamic approach to the research process.
This paper makes use of concurrent mixed-method research where the methods are used simultaneously (Saunders et al., 2019). As this paper collects qualitative and quantitative data in the same phase of the research in order to compare how these data support one another, this paper uses a concurrent triangulation design (Saunders et al., 2019). This method approach provides rich data that are shorter in timescale as well as practical to undertake (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 182). Thus, as this paper has a limited timescale, the authors determine it to be the most efficient method approach.
The quantitative method is characterized by having many respondents in a structured setting.
This paper makes use of the quantitative method by conducting a survey. An advantage of the quantitative method is to gain clarity and an overview of the subject and the segment that the researchers are investigating (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 93). A weakness of the method is that the research lacks nuance and depth (Lungholt & Metelmann, 2013, p. 93). Moreover, it is difficult to determine whether or not the survey is understood by the respondents as intended by the researchers. The qualitative method, however, is not based on standardized data as in a survey. Instead, the qualitative method provides deeper insights into the areas interested in (Brier, 2017). The goal is to reach an understanding of the researched phenomena (Brier, 2017, p. 349). Nevertheless, this paper is aware of limitations to the qualitative method.
The method requires more resources and is more time-consuming (JHN, n.d.). It can be difficult to put the data into a system, and the collected data cannot be argued to be solely representative (JHN, n.d.). These are some of the reasons why this paper chose to use mixed-method research.
In this paper, the qualitative method has been used when conducting observations, internet- mediated observations, also known as netnographic study, and interviews. Observations can be conducted and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively (Metodeguiden, n.d.). A qualitative approach will often include an analysis of certain themes (Metodeguiden, n.d.). A netnographic study adapts the common observation procedures (Kozinets, 2010, p. 58). This type of observation seeks to collect qualitative data and analyze deeper context within a specific research area. The qualitative research interview is a purposeful conversation between two or more people. By engaging in these insightful conversations, the interviewer will be able to explore points of interest (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 434). The use of research interviews can help to gather valid and reliable data that are relevant to the research questions and objectives (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 435). Interviews allow the subjects to convey to others their situation from their perspective and in their own words (Kvale, 2007). The qualitative interview is best understood when coupled with the quantitative method (Brinkmann, 2014).
The quantitative method seeks to research general conditions whereas the qualitative method seeks to understand a deeper context of a specific area (Kvale, 2014). Thus, the use of mixed methods arguably benefits this paper as it strengthens the research approach in an effort to answer the problem statement and sub-questions.
Interviews
Having established the types of methods applied to this paper, this section will go in-depth with a primary source of data, the conducted interviews. This section will elaborate on the structure of the interviews, the chosen interviewees, and their biases as well as data quality issues related to validity and reliability.
Structure and Design of the Interviews
The qualitative research interviews of this paper consist of two semi-structured interviews. In semi-structured interviews, the interviewer begins with a list of predetermined themes and possibly key questions related to these themes to guide the conduct of each interview (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 437). Preparation prior to the interview is key to a successful interview (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 452). Thus, interview guides were conducted before the interviews to follow a semi-structured interview (Appendix 15). The interview guides were constructed to gain insights into the interviewees’ personal experience on being an ethnic minority in the Danish beauty industry, as well as their professional insights into how retailers and stores behave regarding diversity. An advantage of the semi-structured interview is that it enables comparison between answers as some of the same questions are repeated in the interview guides (Saunders et al., 2019). In a research study, the semi-structured research interview is useful in an inductive approach as it helps to explore, explain and evaluate behaviors or phenomena (Saunders et al., 2019). Moreover, the semi-structured interviews allowed the interviews to go in any direction set by the interviewee, making the interviews more flexible to gain insights on subjects that were not considered in the first place by the interviewers. According to Saunders et al. (2019), formulating appropriate questions to explore areas in which the researcher is interested, is crucial in achieving success in semi-structured interviews (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 458). Thus, the questions in this paper’s interview guides consist of a combination of open questions, probing questions, and questions to follow up on statements and claims.
The Interviewees
To shed light on the research area from different angles, two interviewees were contacted and chosen for the interviews (Table 1). Both interviewees were chosen due to their expertise and knowledge within their area of the beauty industry as well as their ethnic origin.
Michele Nduta is a makeup artist, influencer, and entrepreneur, and is of African descent while Maja Fabech is Head of Social Media and Content at Matas, and is of Asian descent. Their ethnic origin is crucial for this paper to gain qualitative insights into being a minority in the Danish beauty industry. The insight from a consumer of color or Asian ethnic minority is important to gain to compensate for the majority of the survey respondents identifying as being light to fair skin-colored of European descent. Moreover, the interviewees each have their own experiences from working professionally in the Danish beauty industry, hence, they provide different perspectives from within the beauty industry. The two interviewees were chosen due to the authors’ knowledge of them. The authors of this paper knew of Michele Nduta being a prominent figure in the Danish beauty industry in terms of advocating for ethnic diversity, while Maja Fabech has a professional connection with one of the authors and has reflected on diversity in the beauty industry on her private social media platforms as well. Her professional connection with one of the authors has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage can be argued to be that it did not feel like an interview but rather as a conversation with a colleague which could contribute to the natural flow of the interview. However, a disadvantage could be that Maja Fabech maybe has a bias of wishing to help a colleague and, therefore, answered in a certain way. The authors perceive all these factors to possibly have influenced the interview to a certain degree. It is difficult to determine this to be true or not, however, it is important to recognize it. Thus, these two interviewees were carefully chosen to gain insights on the Danish beauty industry, Gen Z’ demands, and trends as well as personal opinions on ethnic diversity in the beauty industry.
Interviewee Position Ethnic
origin
Interview length
Appendix no.
Maja Fabech Head of Social Media and Content, Matas
Asian 25:39 1
Michele Nduta
Makeup artist, influencer, entrepreneur, and owner of Slay Beauty
African 46:41 2
Table 1 – Overview of interviews
Conducting the Interviews Online
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown of Denmark at the time of conducting interviews, it was not possible to conduct interviews in person responsibly. Therefore, the two interviews were internet-mediated, as defined by Saunders et al. (2019), conducted online via Microsoft Teams. The authors of this paper sat together on one screen while interviewing the interviewee online. The interviews began with introducing the interviewers as well as the research area. Moreover, the authors made sure they had permission to record the interviews for research purposes. This paper acknowledges that the location of an interview can have an importance on the data collected. It can be argued that internet-mediated interviews make it possible for the interviewee to locate themselves in a comfortable space. However, this paper is aware that there are limitations to conducting internet-mediated interviews. According to Saunders et al., (2019), non-verbal behavior influences the interviews, therefore, it can be argued to be difficult to read facial expressions as the interviewees have the possibility of turning the camera off. This was the case with the interview with Maja Fabech. Moreover, it can still be difficult to establish eye contact with the camera turned on, making the interviews less personal. It is arguably difficult to perform and be aware of non-verbal communication online due to the physical barrier between interviewee and interviewers and the limits of showing body language. To show the respondents that the interviewers were listening, a few non-verbal cues such as nodding, and smiling were frequently done. Verbal cues such as short verbal affirmations were also done. Moreover, technical issues such as a bad internet connection can result in the interviewer and interviewee misunderstanding or interrupting each other. However, there were no significant technical issues while conducting the two interviews.
Transcription and Translation
As both interviewees are Danish, it was chosen to conduct the interviews in Danish. This was done to prevent any language barrier from standing in the way of gaining useful insights for this paper. By conducting the interviews in Danish, it can be argued to be more comfortable for both the interviewees and interviewers, and there are fewer misunderstandings between the two. Moreover, each interview has been transcribed. To transcribe means to transform, to change from one form to another (Kvale, 1996). Thus, this paper has transformed the oral language into written words in order to make use of the insights in the analysis. The transcriptions have elements of the spoken language as this paper chose to keep much of the
oral language to maintain the meaning behind it, although making some sentences difficult to read individually. When using the transcriptions in the analysis, this paper has translated the used quotations into English. It was determined that it was not necessary to translate the whole transcriptions, but only the used quotations. Some of the quotations that contain idioms have been translated according to meaning to get the full understanding of it in both Danish and English.
Data Quality Issues
Semi-structured interviews can achieve a high level of validity when conducted carefully using clarifying questions, probing questions, and by exploring responses from a variety of angles or perspectives (Saunders et. al., 2019). This is argued to be true about the interviews of this paper as there was a mix of these types of questions, and responses from the interviewees were thoroughly analyzed with other collected data. Prior to conducting the interviews, the interviewees were informed about the themes of the interview. This was done to help promote validity and reliability, and it provides them an opportunity to prepare for them (Saunders et al., 2019).
According to Saunders et al. (2019), there are data quality issues related to semi-structured interviews. Interviewer bias is where comments, tone, or non-verbal behavior of the interviewer creates a bias in the way that interviewees respond to the questions asked (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 447). It cannot be eliminated that the authors of this paper possibly were interviewer biased based on the initial conceptions and research of lack of diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry. Moreover, the authors have a personal interest in the subject, making it arguably influenced by bias, although the authors sought to remain objective. This can affect the reliability of the interviews. According to Saunders et al. (2019), there is a lack of standardization in semi-structured interviews, leading to concerns about reliability. This can be argued to be valid for this paper as the interviewees had the freedom to let the conversation go in any direction, making standardization complicated to obtain. Moreover, the interviewees shared much of their personal experiences and opinions, making it difficult to collect similar information in other research studies. Although some argue that semi-structured interviews are not meant for replicas as it reflects reality at the time they were collected, it can be realistic for researchers to replicate (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 449). By including the choice of method
approach and how the data have been obtained and analyzed in this paper, it helps to show how the findings are reliable.
Survey
One of the kinds of primary data collected for this paper is a survey, which is included in Appendix 3. This arguably both has advantages and disadvantages, which this paper will now elaborate on, as well as the structure and design of the survey, underlying thoughts behind the setup of the survey and its distribution, and lastly, the validity and reliability of the survey.
Structure and Design of the Survey
This paper was able to collect data from 325 survey respondents. The survey had 20 questions and the tool used was Qualtrics. The survey type is a self-completed web questionnaire, as defined by Saunders et. al. (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 440).
The survey was written in English, as this paper argues that the vast majority of Gen Z understands English well, or at least to a sufficient level enough for it to not be an issue.
Moreover, the choice of language was also done in order to ensure the most validity, as the questions would not have to be translated subsequently when responses were collected.
Arguably, a translation of the questions and possible choices in the survey could potentially distort the data, as respondents could have interpreted the question or answer choices differently than when translated. Therefore, this paper argues that conducting the survey in English would increase the validity of the findings and minimize the risk of misrepresentation of data. This way it can be argued to have increased the possibility that the questions and possible answers were interpreted the same way by all respondents.
The questions in the survey were closed-ended questions, which provided several alternative answers for respondents to choose from (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 452). This was done for the data to be more easily comparable. It must be noted that it could potentially also have added value to the survey if some questions were open-ended and allowed respondents to share their thoughts in writing. One could argue that the choice to only include closed-ended questions could have caused this paper to disregard any potential new and relevant points brought up by respondents. The survey included a mix of rating questions, list questions, and category
questions. Rating questions were used to examine the respondents’ opinion towards certain topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement being used as branding (Appendix 3, Q19), and how important diversity in the beauty industry was to them (Appendix 3, Q13) and the importance of value alignment between their personal values and brand values (Appendix 3, Q17). The answer choices in these questions ranged from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” and “extremely important” to “not at all important”.
Category questions were used to collect data about the respondents’ behavior and attributes, such as skin color (Appendix 3, Q8,), purchasing of beauty products (Appendix 3, Q10), and frequency of social media use (Appendix 3, Q11). Listing questions were used to collect demographic data in questions 2, 3 and to determine e.g. gender, age, and area of residence.
Distribution of the Survey
To increase the likelihood for a large sample size of respondents, the survey was distributed and shared on multiple platforms, such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This enabled the survey to potentially reach many respondents within the target range of respondents. More specifically, the survey was distributed on each of the author’s personal Facebook pages and LinkedIn profiles, as well as on several different relevant Facebook groups, such as “Smuk og Skønhed”,
“Makeup og Tips”, “Black Hipster”, and “Makeup for Afro-Danes”. These Facebook groups were selected based on the potential to reach a wider selection of respondents, in an effort to increase the validity and reliability of the findings, due to the arguable greater variety of respondents. Moreover, these Facebook groups had many members that fell into this paper’s definition of Gen Z consumers, as well as members of color which this paper also needed to increase validity.
The authors acknowledge that the data collected survey is influenced by the social media pages on which the survey was shared, as many of the respondents might be acquaintances of the authors. Moreover, as was also evident by the reports of the survey, most of the respondents were based in the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area. Arguably, this somewhat decreases the validity and reliability of the findings from the survey, as it is not representative of the entirety of Danish Gen Z consumers, but only a handful of those mostly residing in the greater Copenhagen region. Furthermore, reaching respondents of color proved to be challenging, which is also reflected in the data collection of the survey, as the majority of respondents
identify as white. Moreover, the authors also recognize that the vast majority of respondents are from the older part of Gen Z, which once again, challenges the validity of the findings as it makes it not representative of the totality of the age group of Danish Gen Z consumers.
Purpose of the Survey
The purpose of the survey was for this paper to be able to gain insight into Danish Gen Z consumers and their opinions about diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry. Given that there is no universal definition of which age groups fall under Gen Z, and that the line between what constitutes Gen Z’ers and Millennials differs depending on the source, this paper had to choose which age groups would be included in the survey. Thus, this paper’s definition of Gen Z, and consequently, the age group included in the survey, is those born between 1995-2012, as that seemed to be a somewhat conventional and accepted age group definition based on the research of this paper.
An online survey is an efficient way to obtain quantitative data about Danish Gen Z consumers, as each respondent answers the same set of questions, making it possible for this paper to collect responses from a large number of respondents to be processed in a quantitative analysis throughout this paper. It was relevant for this paper to conduct a survey in order to specifically gain insight into Danish Gen Z consumers, as much of the existing research and secondary data available regards international or U.S. Gen Z consumers. Furthermore, the survey was also relevant for this paper to be able to determine whether or not findings about international or U.S. Gen Z consumers could be applied to Danish Gen Z consumers. Although this type of survey is not good e.g. exploratory research, it was useful for this paper to be able to do descriptive and explanatory research, as respondents were asked about attitudes and opinions.
This allowed for this paper to be able to identify and describe variability in phenomena, as was the case in e.g. question 15 and question 18, this paper found certain correlations between different variables and attitudes expressed, which will be elaborated on in the analysis of this paper.
Validity of the Survey
In order to increase the validity of the data collected from the survey, the design of the survey was carefully thought out. Firstly, the survey included an explanation of the purpose of the survey. This had two purposes: 1) To tune the respondents into the ‘mindset’ of the topic of the survey so they had an idea of the research area of the survey, and 2) to eliminate the possibility of people that were not the intended respondents answering. As this paper strictly is interested in Gen Z’ers who consume beauty products in one way or another, it would arguably be irrelevant to collect responses from people who were not consumers of any beauty products.
This paper further prevented this from happening, by applying a ‘display logic’ that caused respondents to be taken directly to the end of the survey if they answered ‘No’ to purchasing or using any beauty products (Appendix 3, Q9). As the survey was anonymous, it was not possible to identify respondents or return to collect additional information, which is arguably a disadvantage of this type of primary data.
As argued by Saunders et. al. (2016), there are four stages that must occur if the question is to be valid and reliable (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 450). This paper argues that questions were clearly stated, although there is always the possibility that some respondents might not have decoded the questions as was intended, or moreover, that the authors decode an answer in the way it was intended. Needless to say, this does challenge the validity of the questions and answers in the survey.
In terms of internal validity, as defined by Saunders et. al., (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 450), this paper argues that the survey was able to measure what it was intended to measure to a certain extent. Given the limitations caused by the sample size of respondents, as discussed earlier, it can be argued that rather than examining Danish Gen Z consumers, the reality represented by the data of the survey might be more about mostly Danish consumers in their late teens to mid-
’20s, who live in the Greater Copenhagen Area and belong to the lighter side of the skin tone spectrum. Therefore, in order to increase the validity of the overall findings of the paper, the data from the survey will be sustained by and compared to various secondary data about Gen Z consumers.
Based on research done before the preparation of the survey, this paper describes the Black Lives Matter movement and its influence on the beauty industry as an area of interest, as well as the possibility of a lack of diversity and inclusivity. Therefore, respondents were asked about their opinion about this in questions 13, 15, 18, and 19 (Appendix 3). The authors acknowledge the possibility of respondents being biased by these questions, as it could potentially be topics that the respondents had not given any thought to prior to doing the survey. For instance, it is a possibility that some respondents had not considered diversity and inclusivity in the beauty industry beforehand, but when asked, ranked it as highly important even though it might not genuinely be important to them. As Saunders et. al. argue, respondents can be likely to be influenced by the context in which a question is asked (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 445). Thus, this further challenges the validity of the findings.
Another issue that challenges the validity of the survey, is the fact that this paper originally intended to examine Gen Z consumers’ demands for diversity and inclusivity both in terms of ethnicity and skin color and in terms of gender and sexuality. Thus many of the questions bear the evidence of this, making it impossible to discern between respondents who might have ranked diversity of high importance, while only considering e.g. gender diversity, from those who may have valued ethnic diversity higher than gender diversity. The way the survey is set up does not make it possible to separate the two aspects of diversity, and thus, it must be acknowledged that there is a possibility that the results of the survey are not entirely valid for the purpose that it ended up serving.
Reliability of the Survey
The authors recognize that while arguing for the validity of the survey to a certain extent, the reliability of the survey is open to discussion. As per Saunders et. al. (2016), reliability refers to consistency and whether or not the survey will produce consistent findings at different times and under different conditions (Saunders et. al., 2016, p. 451). As this paper argues that the data collected from the survey is influenced, to a high degree, by the sample of respondents, the reliability of the data is arguably questionable. It can be assumed that if the sample of respondents predominantly resides elsewhere in the country, their attitudes towards the topic might differ. Furthermore, it can also be assumed that the findings from the survey are highly affected by the percentage distribution of light-skinned respondents and respondents
identifying as what this paper refers to as being ‘of color’. With the majority of respondents, i.e., 76 %, identifying as being ‘pale to light’, ‘light to fair’ or ‘fair to light brown’ and European (70 %), it must be noted that the findings are characterized by this. It can be argued that if the distribution percentage had been 50/50 between respondents of color and light-skinned consumers, the data collected from the survey would be different. Similarly, it can also be argued that the findings are influenced by the age group of respondents, as 66 % of respondents were born between 1995 and 1997. Consequently, if the survey was to be re-sent out to respondents born between 1995 and 2012, as per this papers’ definition of Gen Z, there is a possibility that the break-down of age groups in respondents could differ, and thereby, the findings would be different.
As previously mentioned, there is a possibility that respondents might have interpreted questions in a different way than what was intended, and consequently, the findings from the survey might indicate something else than it strived to examine. Furthermore, some of the phrasing used in the survey is arguably subject to individual interpretation. For instance, in question 8 where respondents are asked to describe their skin color, it can be argued that what some might define as being e.g. ‘very dark brown to black’ or ‘pale white to light’ might be different from others’ definition of those categories. Moreover, differences in interpretation between the authors’ definition and respondents’ definition could also exist, thus, challenging both the reliability and validity of the data collected from the survey. The choice to describe skin colors on a scale ranging from pale white to black, instead of e.g. using a scale of numbers with 1 being equal to white and 10 being equal to black, was done in order to use regular terminology used in the beauty industry. It can be argued that this might have evoked a sense of familiarity with the target group of respondents, and it might be more descriptive and easier to understand. Thus, increasing the reliability and validity.
The reasoning behind inquiring about respondents’ skin color instead of, for instance, race or ethnicity is that it is more relevant for the research area of this paper to obtain data about skin color rather than race per se. This is because it arguably provides better insight into ethnic minorities and those who might be underrepresented in terms of the beauty industry, as e.g. the term “caucasian” has more than one meaning, which could cause confusion. “Caucasian” is commonly used to describe “white people”, but in actuality, the term accounts for both Europeans as well as certain parts of Asia and Africa (Dictionary, n.d.e.). Thus, this paper
argues that asking about the skin tone of respondents was the best way to go about the issue, although not without its limitations, as previously discussed.
Omitted Areas of Interest
As can be seen in the survey, this paper originally intended to examine and discuss two areas of interest pertaining to diversity and inclusivity: ethnic diversity and diversity in terms of gender and sexuality. Based on this, some of the questions included as well as the formulation of certain questions bear evidence of this intention. However, in the data collection and analysis phase of writing this paper, it was determined that covering both of these areas of interest would be too extensive to adequately analyze in an in-depth manner, while still keeping within the scope of this paper. Therefore, the area of the diversity regarding gender and sexuality was ultimately omitted from the final analysis of this paper, as it is estimated that this allows for a more in-depth analysis of diversity regarding ethnicity and skin color, which arguably would be preferable to a possibly superficial analysis of both aspects of diversity.
Observations
This section of the paper will now go in-depth with the observation approach, the chosen locations and data quality issues of these observations.
Observation Approach
The purpose of the observations was to obtain primary data by observing how ethnic diversity is reflected in cosmetic stores in Denmark. The observations were focused on products, campaigns, models, and product display stands. This paper argues to make use of a combination of structured and unstructured observations in stores. As the authors arguably had certain predetermined specific themes to observe, the observations cannot be categorized as being fully unstructured. On the other hand, there was no structural, coding approach to the observations, making observations less structural (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 382). Consequently, it is difficult to categorize the type of observation, arguably making the observations a combination of both, hence, semi-structured observations. Unstructured observations are likely to become more structured as they progress (Saunders et al., 2019, p. 382). This can be argued to be true about the observations conducted. After observing a few stores, the authors found a natural, semi- structured flow of how to conduct the observations without discussing it. However, it was
