The concept of communities and the interaction between people are not new concepts. People have always gathered around common conditions shared by those in the group such as shared emotions, interests, beliefs and needs. It is however the way we interact, with whom we interact, and when and where these meetings take place which has changed. This has been a direct result of the development of the internet and exacerbated with the move to the second phase of internet development. This second phase of internet development provides users with real-time functionality enabling interaction with global users in a virtual environment. This interaction is termed online social networking and takes place in online communities.Online communities present opportunities for marketers as they give rise to a virtually unlimited number of different consumers, structured around finer consumption and marketing interests. Research indicates that online community users are market-oriented and therefore online communities provide a meaningful medium of exchange for these users. The challenge for companies today has been trying to develop ways to capitalise on this trend and raise their competitive advantage. However, in order to effectively understand these users, an understanding of their characteristics is fundamental to the development of any tailored marketing campaign. This thesis therefore aims to shed an insight into a segmentation model designed for online communities - firstly by empirically testing it and secondly, by enriching the data with a typology of online buying behaviour characterised by psychographic and behaviour variables. Therefore the research question posed is “Can online community users be classified by their online buying behaviours so that they are useful to marketers?”.The empirical data was gathered quantitatively through an online questionnaire designed to classify the respondents into meaningful segments and clusters. The report reflects a social constructionist methodology where the results have been interpreted and given meaning. The report is based on the segmentation models presented by Kozinets’ ‘virtual communities of consumption’ and Barnes et al. typology on online buying behaviour. This report combines the two models in order to enrich the segmentation model presented by Kozinets’ with attributes of online buying behaviour in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of online community users. The results indicated that the four online user profiles defined in Kozinets’ model did not show differences in their online purchasing behaviour. Rather all online community users could be categorised by Barnes et al’s three clusters of online buying behaviour.

Background:  The comfort of buying online satisfies consumers more than the traditional way of shopping in stores. Buying fashion online is highly influenced by consumers' fashion consciousness and their personal values which enhances the willingness and dependence to buy new products. Emotional needs come from moral emotions and can be felt frequently by consumers in the thought of purchasing, and can interfere with the sustainability aspects.    Purpose: The purpose of this study to understand how moral emotions can shape the consumers decision making in regards to consumption of fashion. Since sustainability awareness is increasing, the study further aims to investigate whether or not this aspect will further have an effect. Methods:  The research is a qualitative study, which is made by semi-structured interviews of different consumers with different buying behaviour. It is analysed with a deductive and inductive approach to thematically analyse and enable an interpretative method to find differences, themes and new experiences.  Conclusion: There is evidence on moral emotions affecting the decision-making of fashion purchases. It does not necessarily shape a sustainable consumer behaviour but rather find obstacles for the consumers to act according to their own ethical obligations.

Abstract Purpose - The purpose of this master thesis is to research the Generation Y’s online purchase intention for fashion items while creating and using a customised avatar. Overall, the objective is to create a better understanding of this technology’s potential, formulate managerial implications for fashion businesses and strengthen business viability. Design/Methodology/Approach - The research approach of this study is deductive, whereby hypotheses derive from the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour. After secondary data is reviewed, a single quantitative data collection is applied, thus following a mono-method. This primary data is gathered virtually through a self-administered online questionnaire. A total number of 205 qualified responses from the Generation Y are statistically analysed using a structural equation modelling. This descriptive research design is chosen to conduct the relationships between the latent variables and the behavioural intention. Findings - The empirical findings reveal, that the attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control significantly and positively influence the Generation Y’s online purchase intention to create and use a customised avatar. While the attitude, with the behavioural belief of perceived usefulness specifically, shows the strongest influence on the behavioural intention, the research sample also sees a fit to all technology facilitating conditions, affecting the perceived behavioural control. In comparison to this, the subjective norm influences the behavioural intention in a weaker manner, whereby the research sample is influenced more by external than interpersonal factors. Implications - To enlarge the Generation Y’s online fashion purchase intention while creating and using a customised avatar, fashion marketers are advised to highlight and improve the usefulness of the technology. Fashion businesses are recommended to implement interactive digital platforms, by employing influencer marketing, in order to endorse and promote the brand awareness in regard to the technology. Originality/Value - This master thesis addresses the online purchase intention for fashion items while creating and using a customised avatar from a commercial perspective. Where prior literature findings lack the link to managerial implications, this study examines the Generation Y’s behavioural intention towards this technology. The Generation Y has an immense and increasing purchasing power, which is accompanied with technical skills, thus making them crucial for the market success of online fashion businesses. Therefore, the authors examine the technology's commercial potential and encompass the whole fashion industry.