Datis Khajeheian

(Aalborg University, Denmark)

 

 

Abstract: This research investigates the effect of social media peers on the social identity of consumers. The critical perspective of this research is based on the consumer socialization theory research framework. This framework consists of three levels-the global, national and local peers-and their impact on two constructs, namely the global and local social identity. Adopting the ethnographic approach and a complementary phase of interviews, this study explores the influence of social media peers on consumers’ identity and consumption patterns. The findings show that the influence of “consumer socialization of peers” on the social identity of consumers is overestimated. Rather, the main influence comes from peers in the real world. The influence of this real world peer on consumption patterns is much higher than social media peers. Though social media is used for communication of real world peers aimed at consumption.

 

 

Key words: social identity; critical studies; ethnography; social media; ethnomethodology; consumer

socialization theory; online consumer behavior

 

 

JEL codes: M300, Z130