Shopping to belong: Qualitative testing and advancement of a theoretical framework on consumer behaviour aimed to promote belonging

Much research has been conducted on how consumption is related to human relations, for example, consumer communities organized around specific brands or the way people use products to define their own personality and transmit a desired image. However, only a scarcity of research has examined the use of products or brands when the fundamental intention of their consumption is to leverage group belonging. The literature comprises a single theoretical framework that explains this consumption behaviour, a nascent proposition that has not been tested or reviewed in studies. In this study, the proposed theoretical framework’s transferability to encompass this phenomenon in a cultural context is examined. A qualitative deductive case study and a pattern matching analysis technique were employed. The findings revealed that the theoretical model is transferable to different cultural backgrounds, thus revealing its suitability for future research on consumer behaviour related to consumption oriented to promote belonging. The study also expands the framework with precisions on its conceptualization.