The Formation Mechanism of Situational Consumer Animosity and Its Influence on Purchase Intention In the US-China Trade War

This study is the first to investigate the formation mechanism of situational consumer animosity (SCA) during the US-China trade war and its influence on consumer purchase intention (PI).Utilizing an offline questionnaire survey to assess 310 clients in five major Chinese cities. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) was employed.This study clarified the process behind situational consumer animosity, demonstrating that susceptibility to normative influence (SNI) affects perceived economic threat (PET), and then effects consumer ethnocentrism (CET), ultimately impacting situational consumer animosity (SCA).SCA and CET adversely influence Chinese consumers' purchase intention (PI) with American brands.Conversely, SNI enhances PI with the brands.This research is limited to China, and subsequent studies may broaden this framework to the United States.This study advances the theories of customer animosity and consumer behaviour.The study offers innovative tools for multinational corporations to implement their marketing strategies, mitigating the adverse effects of the SCA phenomenon on brand marketing in the Chinese market amid the escalating US-China trade conflict.