Should I suggest this YouTube clip? The impact of UGC source credibility on eWOM and purchase intention

Abstract

PurposeIn spite of the increasing organic and interactive marketing activities over social media, a general understanding of the source credibility of voluntary user-generated content (UGC) is still limited. In line with the social identity theory, this paper examines the effects of consumers' perceived source credibility of UGC in YouTube videos on their attitudes and behavioral intentions. Additionally, source homophily theory is included to predict the antecedent of source credibility.Design/methodology/approachThree hundred and seventy two Generation Y respondents were interviewed using snowball sampling. Data were analyzed with component-based structural equation modeling technique of partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsFindings confirmed that perceived source credibility indirectly affects purchase intention (PI) and electronic word-of-mouth via attitude toward UGC. Besides, perceived source credibility mediates the effect of perceived source homophily on attitude toward UGC.Practical implicationsSince today's consumers have begun to trust and rely more on UGC than company-generated content on social media when making purchase decisions, companies may reconsider democratizing certain aspects of their branding strategies. Firms may fine-tune their marketing communication budgets – not only just by sponsoring public figures and celebrities but also by nurturing coproductive engagements with independent content creators who are ordinary consumers. Endowed with their imposing credibility, these micro-influencers and prosumers have high potentials to be uplifted to brand ambassadors.Originality/valueWhile consumers' purchase outcome can be measured easily using metrics and analytics, the roles of source homophily in stages leading up to the purchase is still elusive. Drawing on the rich theoretical basis of source homophily may help researchers to understand not only how credibility and attitude are related to PI but also how this nexus generates positive word of mouth among UGC followers within the social media circles.

Observational learning: Influence of regulatory focus, knowledge, and summarized observable recommendations on consumer decision outcomes in an online environment

“…Specifically, social interactions like WOM and OL may often have components of interactivity, an aspect that has received limited attention in the literature. Additionally, as indicated earlier, extant literature has investigated the impact of source credibility and/or likability from the perspective of parasocial interaction (Chen et al., 2021; Muda & Hamzah, 2021; Tsai et al., 2021) on outcomes. Future research should comprehensively investigate if these effects extend to the OL context.…”

“…Lowes as these two are among the most popular e-tailers-recent investigations indicate that source credibility and parasocial likeability increase user engagement with the context, even without active interactions (Chen et al, 2021;Muda & Hamzah, 2021;Tsai et al, 2021). Please refer to Appendix A in Supporting Information for additional details on Study 1.…”

“…Specifically, social interactions like WOM and OL may often have components of interactivity, an aspect that has received limited attention in the literature. Additionally, as indicated earlier, extant literature has investigated the impact of source credibility and/or likability from the perspective of parasocial interaction (Chen et al, 2021;Muda & Hamzah, 2021;Tsai et al, 2021) undertaking SEM, concerns of endogenous independent variables in the structural models is generally not deemed important by consumer researchers. In contrast, endogeneity concerns and addressing endogeneity have always been important for econometricians.…”

“…These corresponded to one of the following four conditions: High‐SOR, Mixed‐SOR, Low‐SOR, or control (i.e., no access to review summaries) across two e‐tailers (https://www.homedepot.com/ and https://www.lowes.com/). We intentionally chose Home Depot and Lowes as these two are among the most popular e‐tailers—recent investigations indicate that source credibility and parasocial likeability increase user engagement with the context, even without active interactions (Chen et al., 2021; Muda & Hamzah, 2021; Tsai et al., 2021). Please refer to Appendix in Supporting Information for additional details on Study 1.…”

Narrative of Young YouTubers From the Andean Community and Their Media Competence

“…The management of a huge amount of content created by the users, followers, or fans themselves, the so-called "user generated content," promotes the adaptation of these creators towards collaborative strategies of management, modification, and dissemination of content (Castillo-Abdul et al, 2020). This paradigm suggests a preference for personal experiences, emotionality, passion, and closeness, which together with the "call to action," (CTA) figure as protagonists of the videos (Muda & Hamzah, 2021;Wang, 2021).…”