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Psychosocial resources linking consumer identification and social well-being: Integrating the social identity approach with transformative service research

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Consumer identification has a positive association with social well-being. • Purpose and meaning, pro-group norms, and in-group trust serve as mediators. • In-group trust functions as the proximal predictor of social well-being. • The mediating effects of social support and relatedness are non-significant. This research integrates the social identity approach (SIA) to health and well-being with Transformative Service Research to explore how group-based psychosocial resources mediate the relationship between consumers’ identification with service organizations and their social well-being. Two studies with US and UK consumers of sport organizations found that purpose and meaning, perceived pro-group norms, and in-group trust functioned as mediators between consumer identification and social well-being. In addition, in-group trust served as an immediate mediator, transmitting the effects of purpose and meaning as well as perceived pro-group norms on social well-being. These findings contribute to Transformative Service Research by illustrating group-level psychological processes for promoting consumer well-being, activated through social identification with service organizations. This perspective advances current understanding of how service organizations engage consumers as in-group members to foster their well-being, extending the application of the SIA to health and well-being in business and service research.

Source: Journal of Business Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115361

Authors: Yuhei Inoue, Mikihiro Sato, Steve Swanson, Daniel Lock, James Du, Daniel C. Funk