The Impact of TikTok UGC Videos on Online Purchase Intention: Mediating Role of Cognitive States

Abstract

Background: User-Generated Content (UGC) videos have received considerable attention in recent years thanks to their great potential for buyers and sellers. However, the effect of this content on consumer behavior remains unclear, especially in the context of developing countries (e.g., Vietnam). By applying the Stimulus-Organism-Response model (S-O-R model), this paper examines the effect of UGC videos on online purchase intention. Moreover, the mediating role of cognitive responses, consisting of perceived credibility, perceived diagnosticity, and mental imagery, is also examined to offer valuable insights to businesses, enabling them to leverage and effectively promote the trends of UGC videos.Method: A convenience sampling method was employed to collect the data. A total of 318 valid respondents participated in this survey. The data was analyzed with the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling method (PLS-SEM).Results: The findings show that UGC videos have a direct impact on online purchase intention. This paper also verified that cognitive states mediate the relationship between stimuli and subsequent behavioral intentions. Conclusion: Our research findings enrich the literature on consumer’s online purchase intentions by applying the S-O-R framework by highlighting the role of cognitive responses, and improving generalizability by contributing additional consumer behavior findings in developing Asian nations. Moreover, this paper offers businesses insights into the formation of customers' purchase intentions while watching UGC videos. Based on that, this paper raises practical recommendations regarding promoting the UGC video trend and creating UGC videos effectively to improve the cognitive states perceived by customers, including credibility, diagnostic value, and mental imagery.