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The influence of company-produced and user-generated instructional videos on perceived credibility and usability

Homburg, R.R. (2017) The influence of company-produced and user-generated instructional videos on perceived credibility and usability.

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Abstract:The traditional paper manual is losing our attention, while the amount of online instructional videos grows rapidly. Many companies notice this change and produce their own online instructional videos. At the same time, users themselves are making and sharing their own instructional videos on online social platforms such as YouTube. This user-generated content (UGC) is a popular source of information for other users. A combination of the two types of instructional videos also exists: companies co-operating with users through sponsoring. The idea behind this is that users helping users could be more effective than companies helping users. People’s perception of source credibility could play a role in this, as no companies with ulterior motives are involved. This study investigates the differences in people’s perception of source credibility of instructional videos by different sources, and tries to determine the role of trustworthiness, competence, and goodwill as determinants. It also looks into the effect of the sources on perceived usability of the product and the instructional video. Data was gathered in an experiment with three types of software tutorial videos. Results of the study indicate that there are generally no differences in the outcomes of users’ credibility or usability assessments when the source differs, but the content of the instructions is equal. This shows that letting users provide the instructions could still be as effective a letting professionals do so. The only exception is the component goodwill: users do perceive sources of the two user-generated videos as more caring than the company as a source, with the independently produced user-generated video scoring higher on goodwill than the sponsored user-generated video. The outcomes can help organizations in the design process of instructions: they can benefit from co-operation with users, as long as they make sure that the instructional design is sufficient.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/72074
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