• Information Systems Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.119-142
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• 2020

This study aims to examine the role of IT features as heuristic cues in choosing a content on YouTube. According to the heuristic-systematic model, people tend to rely on heuristic cues when they have to choose and process useful information quickly so that they could save time and reduce demands for thinking. Based on this line of reasoning, this study posits that YouTube users rely on certain IT features as heuristic cues in choosing contents before they actually watch them. Based on the prior literature and interviews with YouTube users, we develop a research model in which social endorsement, self-presentation, and interactivity are identified as potential determinants of users' attitude toward contents, which in turn influence their intention to watch them. To empirically test the research model, we conduct a laboratory experiment and a follow-up survey. The results of data analysis show that social endorsement for the content, YouTube creator's self-presentation, and interactivity have significant and positive effects on their attitude toward the content, leading to their intention to watch it. This study suggests that IT features on YouTube could be wisely utilized to increase the chance that users choose a particular content out of many competing contents when they search certain information on YouTube.