Consumer brand engagement in the US-China trade war

Purpose This study examines whether consumer brand engagement (CBE) can mitigate the negative effects of economic animosity (EA) on purchase intention (PI) and strengthen the positive effect of country-of-origin (COO) on PI. Design/methodology/approach Using questionnaires distributed to 372 young Chinese adults, the study collected PI data for US products in the Chinese market. Partial least square structural equation modeling was adopted. Findings This study found a positive relationship between COO and CBE and a negative relationship between EA and CBE. CBE exhibits a partial mediating effect in the relationship between COO and PI and a full suppression effect on EA toward PI. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to China; future research could extend this framework to the United States. Practical implications This study contributes to relationship marketing knowledge. Furthermore, it provides new tools for multinational corporations to deploy their marketing strategies and avoid negative consequences stemming from the EA effect in the Chinese market following the US-China trade war. Originality/value This study is the first to extend COO and EA research to CBE discipline.