Consumers experience exclusion in everyday life, from not receiving the special presale invitation to realizing they do not align with a brand’s quintessential consumer profile. Social exclusion has been magnified in the digital age given the prevalence of cyber-ostracism on social media platforms. While existing research focuses on the negative consequences of social exclusion, this dissertation examines factors that influence consumers acts of kindness upon experiencing social exclusion. Drawing on uncertainty-identity theory, I examine the moderating role of peripheral membership when feeling socially excluded. I propose that excluded peripheral consumers exhibit a heightened need to belong when feeling excluded and display a higher likelihood to help others. A series of lab and field experimental studies (N = 1971) empirically tested the hypotheses in different contexts. A pattern emerged: peripheral consumers exhibited a higher willingness to help others when feeling excluded.

This dissertation integrates uncertainty-identity theory into the marketing literature and establishes the moderating role of peripheral membership in understanding consumer behavior. This dissertation fills a critical gap in the literature by looking into belongingness as the underlying mechanism of peripheral consumers' responses to social exclusion. This dissertation further contributes to the broader conversation around coping mechanisms in the face of social exclusion by understanding how kindness manifests in this context. This dissertation offers practical implications for marketers aiming to build strong connections and foster belongingness among peripheral and prototypical consumers of their brand.

Digital technologies of social media networks provide opportunities for individuals who are becoming key players in the socially constituted offline world. In three essays, this research explores the relationships between consumers defined as consumer ties in social media networks by specifically examining the meanings behind their everyday practices and patterns in their relationships through social media networks. The empirical analysis focuses on identifying the underlying structures of consumer ties. Through an ethnographic examination, three categories have emerged; motivating empowerment, friendly rivalry and train, trust, share. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of social networks revealed the effects of triads and a negative gender homophily on network formation. Hence, this dissertation provides a unique framework to explain the underlying mechanisms of consumer ties in social media.

This study examines fast food as an instance of everyday subtly disfavored consumption and its influence on consumer identity. Prior research has described how consumers construct identities by using consumption to categorize themselves and others. Prior work has also shown that consumption which evokes strong hedonic responses such as love or hate has significant use in identity and cultural capital processes while consumption which evokes low hedonic responses is less important to identity. This work suggests the importance of understanding consumption characterized by their consumers' subtle hedonic responses. This study applies an ethnoconsumerist framework and employs long interviews and grounded theory analysis to understand fast food culture's integration into lives of young adult American consumers. Findings suggest varied uses to consumer identity and the importance of understanding how such consumption is culturally embedded.