Identity Paradigm in Transition: Sustainability Between Aspiration and Reality Among Companies and Generation Z

This article offers a critical conceptual analysis of the notion of “Generation Z” and examines how artificial intelligence (AI) contributes to simplified and potentially distorted representations of this cohort. Focusing on Generation Z’s own perspectives, it highlights a growing tension between proclaimed corporate sustainability commitments and their observable implementation in organizational practice. Although sustainability has become a familiar and widely accepted reference point for this generation, it is increasingly approached with critical distance and skepticism. The article situates this tension at the intersection of media-historical developments and normative transformations in sustainability discourse, thereby questioning the analytical robustness of established generational frameworks. Rather than treating Generation Z as a passive audience of corporate and technological change, the analysis conceptualizes this cohort as an active participant in an ongoing paradigm shift shaped by digital transformation, corporate identity formation, and evolving ethical expectations. By linking sustainability communication to broader processes of identity construction, the article demonstrates how demands for transparency, credibility, and substantive commitment expose a persistent gap between normative claims and empirical realities. On this basis, it argues for the development of an interdisciplinary theoretical framework that moves beyond conventional target-group perspectives and recognizes Generation Z as a significant intellectual and normative driver of socio-economic transformation in the twenty-first century.