Impact of Online Content on Attitudes and Buying Intentions

User generated content (UGC) is an important source of information to consumers, yet prior research has not fully explored how certain aspects of the content, specifically the tone, perception of quality and source credibility influence attitudes and intentions to buy. This study investigates how the tone of UGC influences perceived content quality, source credibility, attitudes and consumer intentions to buy. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study also seeks to understand how consumer expertise moderates the impact of perceived content quality and perceived source credibility on attitudes and intentions to buy. Using a survey and vignette with 209 participants, the results of the study indicate that the tone of the content influences attitudes and intentions to buy; more importantly, consumer expertise moderates the impact of perceived source credibility and perceived content quality on attitudes. The results inform practice on what dimensions of UGC are salient to changes in attitudes.