From Lurker to Community Cultivator: Understanding the Identity Evolution Process through Cultural Product Consumption

This research explores how consumer identity evolves in the online setting. The digitalised world has transformed business structures and consumer consumption models. It has changed how consumers experience and consume cultural products such as Korean popular music, the empirical focus of this study. Through a netnographic study of global online communities, the findings reveal consumers undergo a seven-stage consumer identity evolution process articulated around three identity evolution phases. This research develops a theoretical framework of the identity evolution process. It contributes to the marketing literature by deepening understanding of the self, identity, and consumption in online contexts.