Effects of users' social identity on intention to purchase a brand: The mediating roles of social media use, eWOM and brand loyalty

Jalilvand, Mohammad Reza

doi:10.22059/jcss.2025.403217.1184

Effects of users' social identity on intention to purchase a brand: The mediating roles of social media use, eWOM and brand loyalty

Document Type : Original article

Author

Mohammad Reza Jalilvand

Department of Business Management and Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jcss.2025.403217.1184

Abstract

Background: Social identity theory suggests that individuals define themselves partly through their membership in social groups, and these identities shape attitudes and behaviors, including consumption choices. Brands increasingly function as social symbols, allowing users to express group belonging, self-concept, and shared values through brand affiliation. Consequently, users’ social identities can significantly influence their intention to purchase a brand by strengthening emotional attachment, perceived congruence, and loyalty toward brands that represent their in-group.
Aims: Consumers like to associate themselves with different brands to represent their social identity. This study suggests a social identity perspective of customer-brand relationship and integrates brand identity with social media usage, electronic WOM (eWOM) and brand loyalty in predicting brand purchase intention in an online environment.
Methodology: Data were collected through a questionnaire-based survey among a sample of higher education students in a public university in Iran. A sample of 423 respondents was selected through a convenience sampling technique. Data were then analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to provide a prediction-oriented model assessment by LISREL 8.54. Sobel mediation tests were performed to test the mediating effects of social media use, eWOM and brand loyalty on the relationship between social identity and brand purchase intention.
Findings: The findings indicated that social identity (affective, cognitive, and evaluative) of users/consumers has a significant impact on: (a) social media use, (b) eWOM about brand, and (c) brand loyalty. Social media use and brand loyalty were found to be the determinants of eWOM about brand. Finally, this research found that all three variables of: (a) social media use, (b) eWOM about brand, and (c) brand loyalty are the main determinants of intention to purchase a certain brand.
Conclusion: This research suggests that social identity perspective can be integrated with other perspectives to model the consumer's psychological path to brand purchase intentions. This study confirms the critical role of social identification of users in the reaction towards a given brand and stresses the mediation effects of social media use, brand loyalty and eWOM on the effects of social identity on the path to brand purchase intention.

Keywords

Main Subjects

business & economics

Main Object: Business & Economics

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