“We Go Together”: Understanding Social Cause-related Purchase Intentions of Young Adults

Building on social identity theory, this study sheds light on the interplay of social connections and emotion regulation in determining social cause-related purchase intentions. The focus of the study is on young adults, an age segment whose active role in solving social problems is appreciated today. We examine the context of three South-East European countries with varying levels of familiarity with social cause-related purchases and test the conceptual model using multi-group structural equation modeling. The results show that social connections are positively related to young adults’ social cause-related purchase intentions, while emotion regulation strengthens this relationship in countries where young adults have more opportunities for social cause-related purchases. The study has both theoretical and policy-related implications for multiple stakeholders, including managers, policy makers, and advocacy group representatives.