The Effect of Sense of Belonging to an Influencer’s Account on Purchase Intention: The Mediating Roles of Well-Being and Problematic Engagement

This study examines the impact of followers' sense of belonging to a social media influencer’s account on purchase intention through hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and problematic engagement. In addition, the study tests whether the frequency of interaction with the influencer moderates these mediating relationships. Survey data were collected from 409 active social media users who follow influencers across multiple platforms. Hypotheses were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling and the Hayes PROCESS Macro (Model 4 and Model 7). The findings show that the sense of belonging has a significant direct effect on purchase intention and significant indirect effects through hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, and problematic engagement. However, the frequency of interaction with the influencer does not significantly affect either the direct effects or the conditional indirect effects. In conclusion, the study highlights belonging as a central psychological mechanism in influencer marketing and suggests that fundamental psychological processes can operate largely independently of follower interaction frequency. Furthermore, by addressing both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being dimensions together, it fills an important gap that has been limited in the literature. Additionally, including problematic engagement in the model provides an empirical response to the increasingly emphasized “dark side†discussions in influencer research.