This study, based on Generational Cohort Theory, investigated Germans price perception by comparing the transitional (East) and long-standing market (West) economies, and examined the influence of social values on these price perceptions. The study investigated whether young adult consumer behavior during the transitional period has converged between former East and former West German consumers. Collective self-esteem and social connectedness were proposed as social values that differentially affect young German consumers' price perceptions. As Generational Cohort Theory (Inglehart, 1976, 2000) explains, a significant national event results in a new generational cohort. This study applies Generational Cohort Theory to the cohorts from the former East and West Germany that emerged following German reunification. The generation that has grown up over the approximately twenty year-long transitional period is now a significant consumer group. Although the young consumer cohort in the Eastern region grew up in the transitional economy, they have been influenced by their parents who exposed them in their formative years to a set of values associated with the former East Germany's socialist economic system , while at the same time being exposed to their Western counterparts. This newly emerged cohort is now becoming a main consumer group, along with their post-reunification Western counterparts. The findings of this study indicated that collective self-esteem associated with social connectedness operates differently for the East and West German cohorts, in turn influencing their price perceptions differently. In the Eastern region, Germans who have high collective-self-esteem are less likely to prefer prestigious brands, instead valuing the functional aspects of products. This finding does not mean that they are merely looking for low prices. Rather, they consider the quality of a product in tandem with the price of that product, and consequently are willing to pay a slightly higher price for a product if its quality is high. At the same time, the results of this study indicate that young adult consumers in the Eastern region tend to use coupons to take advantage of sales. These findings imply that they care about the quality and price of a product, as mentioned above, but that they are also trying to be practical and focus on the functional aspects of products. On the other hand, West Germans who have high collective self-esteem, but do not share price information with others. This study made a significant contribution to the literature regarding the Generational Cohort Theory, social values, such as regional social connectedness and regional collective self-esteem, and price perception, specifically in the case of (reunified) Germany. This study also yielded implications for marketing, i.e. for developing marketing strategies in the transitional and long-standing market economies, which are discussed in the concluding chapter.
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