This study use sociological theories of
generations to identify generational cohorts for
market segmentation. These theories are
predominantly used in the West, hence little is
known about their relevance in emerging
markets, such as Malaysia. Past studies have
mostly borrowed cohort labels from that of the
U.S. sources, and assumed that their
characteristics can be construed in the Malaysian
context. Given the exploratory nature of the
study, a qualitative approach by means of
personal interview was conducted to identify the
actual cohorts in Sarawak, a state in Malaysia.
Specifically, major societal and historical events
that Sarawakians could overtly recall due to their
attachment to them during formative years were
elicited. Accordingly forty-eight interviews were
recorded, transcribed and content-analysed. Five
cohorts were identified, and they were different
from that of the U.S. sources. They were
subsequently labelled as Neoteric-inheritors,
Prospective-pursuers, Social-strivers, Idealisticstrugglers
and Battling-lifers based on their
collective experience of the events. The results show the relevance of theories of generations for
market segmentation in emerging market
