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Social media platforms are changing the way consumers and celebrities engage. This research aims to better understand how and why consumers use social media to engage with celebrities, and identify the potential antecedents and outcomes, which may result from these online connections.

Both qualitative (two focus groups) and quantitative (survey) methods were used to explore consumer engagement with celebrities on social media. A structural model from the survey data was developed and analyzed.

Textual analysis of the focus groups revealed that consumers follow celebrities on social media to obtain career and personal information about the celebrity. Further, authenticity and emotional attachment were identified as favorable aspects of following celebrities on social media. An empirical study confirmed that the constructs of authenticity and emotional attachment positively influence the outcomes of word-of-mouth and purchase likelihood.

The study was limited by the self-identification of a favorite celebrity and social media site. Future research should include empirical testing of specific celebrities featured on a specific social media site and the development of the constructs identified in the focus groups.

This research sheds light on the antecedents and outcomes associated with consumer–celebrity engagement on social media. The implications for marketers and advertisers include a better understanding of how celebrities transform themselves and engage with consumers on social media.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study authenticity and emotional attachment as they relate to celebrities and consumers’ engagements on social media.

Social media enables consumers to regularly express themselves in a variety of ways. Selfie-postings are the new tool for self-presentation, particularly among millennials. The purpose of this paper is to identify the motivations associated with selfie-postings among female millennials.

The exploratory study consisted of 15 in-depth interviews with women who were 19-30 years of age. The analysis of data was facilitated by an iterative constant comparison method between data, emerging concepts and extant literature.

Textual analysis reveals impression management to be pivotal in understanding the consumer selfie-posting process. Other sub-themes include happiness and physical appearance. In addition, self-esteem was revealed as a motivator and an outcome.

The study was limited to females who were 19-30 years of age. Future research should include males and a wider age group and focus on empirical testing of the identified themes.

This research sheds light on the motivation and outcomes associated with selfie-postings. Implications for marketers and advertisers include a better understanding of how to engage consumers to post content in the form of selfies with brands and products.

This paper fulfils an identified need to explore the growing trend of selfie-postings and contributes to academic literature in consumer behavior by identifying the motivations of selfie-postings.

Purpose: This study examines the experiences and struggles of young women with breast cancer as they navigate the intersectionality of their illness and gender identity. Specifically, the research explores the construction and expression of gender identity as a core part of who they were prior to diagnosis and who they desire to be in the future.

Design and methodology: A phenomenological approach was used to investigate how women with breast cancer experience changes related to gender identity. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with young women who have been diagnosed within the last five years.

Findings: Young women undergo gender identity disruptions and shifts as the result of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Informants expressed feelings that their resultant identities do not conform to cultural normative representations of gender, which profoundly impact their perceptions of the physical self, gender roles, and intimate relationships. At this acute stage, they struggled with the loss of important body markers of femininity (breasts, hair, etc.) and attempted through consumption to find alternative ways to enact gender expressions.

Originality and value: This research explores consumer experiences when bodies do not conform to idealized body images and cultural representations of gender. Informants revealed a complex portrait of women who experience the early, invasive stages of illness and body transformation.