ENVY TOWARDS THE GIRL-NEXT-DOOR: PURCHASE INTENTION FUELLED BY ENVY TOWARDS FRIENDS OR INFLUENCERS ON INSTAGRAM

Abstract

In light of the growing popularity of Instagram among users and businesses attempting to use it as a marketing platform, this study sheds light into the role of envy towards friends or influencers on Instagram as a mediator of Instagram use and purchase intentions, and the role of social comparison as a moderator of Instagram use and envy. An online quantitative survey was disseminated among a sample of 216 respondents aged 21-37, and findings showed that both envy towards friends and envy towards influencers were partial mediators of Instagram use and purchase intentions. Instagram use was positively associated with both types of envy, and both types of envy were also positively associated with purchase intentions of users. Social comparison, however, exerted insignificant moderating effects.