  Much research has been conducted on how consumption is related to human
relations, for example, consumer communities organized around specific brands,
or the way people use products to define their own identity and transmit a
desired image. However, only a scarcity of research has examined the
consumption behaviour when the fundamental intention is to leverage group
belonging. The literature comprises a single theoretical framework that
describes this behaviour, a nascent proposition that has not been tested. This
study examines the transferability of that theoretical framework in a different
context than the one used for its proposal and its extent on the phenomenon of
consuming to leverage belonging. A qualitative deductive case study and a
pattern matching analysis technique were employed, followed by a structural
coding analysis of interview data. The findings revealed the model is
transferable, however its conceptual extent on the phenomenon it addresses
faces limitations. These findings allow the proposal of an alternative
framework, the Belonging-Oriented Consumption Model. This model provides a
theoretical basis for future research on consumer belonging behaviour.
