Consumer Behavior

Social Media Era Consumers' Identity Formation: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Consumer-Brand Identity Co-creation

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Abstract

In this conceptual research, we focus on the virtual space of social media to propose a theoretical understanding of the consumer-brand identity co-creation process. In doing such, we contribute and clarify preliminary discussions involving the consumer-brand identity co-creation construct by adopting and applying a symbolic interactionist perspective to social media branding and identity. This study is the first theorizing work to apply a symbolic interactionist approach in understanding how social media user generated content, utilized to express self-identity, mediates brand identity in a co-creation process. This contribution bridges the gap between social-psychological theory and the expansion of social media branding, contributing to the growing breadth of research regarding the brand identity co-creation construct. A novel conceptualization of this phenomenon is offered for future investigation, as the conjectured framework can be tested by further means to arrive at empirical conclusions.

Keywords: social media branding, consumer-brand identity, identity co-creation, symbolic interaction

How to Cite:

Ross, K. & Lee, Y., (2019) “Social Media Era Consumers' Identity Formation: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Consumer-Brand Identity Co-creation”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8790