Building Consumer Trust Through Brand-Generated Short-Form Videos: Evidence from Generation Z in the Premium Motorcycle Salon Industry

Abstract

Abstract—The rapid growth of short-form video marketing has transformed how brands engage Generation Z consumers. However, despite the widespread adoption of Brand-Generated Content (BGC), little is known about which content characteristics effectively build consumer trust and stimulate purchase intention among this highly skeptical demographic. This study investigates the effects of credibility, informativeness, and entertainment on consumer trust and purchase intention using a stimulus-based survey of 157 Generation Z motorcycle users in the Greater Jakarta area. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that credibility and entertainment significantly enhance both consumer trust and purchase intention, with consumer trust acting as a partial mediator of these relationships, as both dimensions retain significant direct effects on purchase intention alongside their indirect effects through trust. In contrast, informativeness shows no significant effect on either outcome. One plausible, though tentative, explanation is an information overload dynamic, in which excessive functional detail in short-form BGC may disrupt the format's persuasive appeal; however, this study did not directly measure cognitive load, and the interpretation should be treated as exploratory. These findings suggest that informativeness should not be assumed ineffective, but may instead be more suitable for later stages of the customer journey through a content funneling approach that aligns information depth with consumers' evolving needs. This study contributes to the growing literature on short-form video marketing by extending the understanding of trust formation among Generation Z and offering actionable implications for digital marketing strategy, while acknowledging the limitations posed by its purposive sample and single-stimulus design.

Keywords—Brand-Generated Short Video Content, Consumer Trust, Purchase Intention, Generation Z, Motorcycle Salon.