Factors affecting consumer attitudes and intentions toward user-generated product content on YouTube

The advent of social media has radically changed the communication landscape. They enabled consumers to interact with other consumers online and exchange information. The information which consumers generate and share on social media is called user generated content (UGC). Today consumers rely heavily on UGC in their purchase decisions. The current study assesses the effects of quantity of posts, views and reviews (QPVR) on perceived credibility (PC) and usefulness (PU) of product content which users generate on YouTube. It also examines the effects of PC and PU on consumer attitudes toward UGC and their intentions of using it in their purchase decisions. Data was collected from 231 university students from Islamabad, Pakistan. The results reveal that QPVR has a positive effect on both PC and PU of the product content which users generate on YouTube. They also show that PC and PU have a positive effect on consumer attitudes toward product content which other users generate on YouTube. Findings of the current study have significant implications for social media advertisers.