How user-generated content advertising influences consumer attitudes, trust and purchase intention of products and services

Abstract

Due to the rapid advancement of new technologies in business, marketers’ dependency on usergeneratedcontent (UGC) is rising. This study therefore seeks to elucidate the importance of usergeneratedcontent in creating sales and establishing relationships with customers. Conveniencenon-probability sampling was adopted in selecting 330 participants. In addition, structuralequation modelling was used in testing proposed hypotheses. Findings reveal that there is apositive relationship between the use of UGC, brand trust and purchase intention. However, itis observed that subjective norms, information quality and source credibility affect the use ofUGC for decision making. The main recommendation is that it is imperative for marketers to becognisant of their online audience and engage with customers online. Overall, this study will aidmarketers in the comprehension of the factors associated with brand trust and purchase intentionin relation to UGC advertising.