Purpose Collective motives for alcohol consumption represent a nascent field, with individual-level attributes, peer pressure and broad-level environmental elements being at the forefront of research. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of friendships in the context of alcohol consumption and determine what group-level motives exist for alcohol consumption.

Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants aged 18–30, these discussed the role the participant’s friendship group played in alcohol consumption and helped to elucidate what collective and group-level motives existed.

Findings Group-level motives can steer a collective’s alcohol consumption by either endorsing it or degrading it, the findings revealed four group-level motives: these were, competition, conformity, hedonism, with opportunity cost receptiveness acting as a buffer.

Research limitations/implications The small sample and qualitative nature of the study means external validity still needs to be established to generalize the research to other audiences.

Practical implications By unpacking group-level motives researchers can develop group-level strategies and match specialized interventions with the right priority group.

Originality/value This paper is the first to address group-level motives for alcohol consumption and makes an important contribution to understanding how group-level factors can impact individuals.