MOBILE GREEN COMMUNITIES: A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL IDENTITY AND PURCHASE INTENTION

The use of technology has been widely used to influence conscious consumption, especially in the formation of communities in the virtual context. The present study aimed to analyze the relationships between cognitive involvement (CI), affective involvement (AI), social identity (SI) and flow (FL) with purchase intention (PI). Therefore, a survey was conducted with 152 participants in a mobile community (m-community) connected to green consumption. For the theoretical model, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Results showed the positive relationship for social identity and purchase intention and for social identity and flow, in addition to the positive influence of the cognitive involvement for the formation of the social identity of the community members. The results contribute to understanding that participation in such communities starts with utilitarian elements and that the purchase would be in a flow state after identity formation. The study contributes to the literature by proposing a relationship of participation in green communities related to the identity of the participants.