Evolution of country emotions and their impact on brand engagement among foreign residents

Purpose This study investigates how foreign residents’ emotions towards local people, specifically affinity and animosity, develop throughout their residency and influence brand engagement in social media communities. It explores both linear and nonlinear emotional adaptation to offer a dynamic view of country emotions. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a survey of foreign residents in Japan. It employed structural equation modelling to examine the relationships among residency duration, affinity, animosity and brand engagement. Both linear and quadratic terms were included to capture curvilinear patterns and mediation effects were tested. Findings The results revealed that residency duration negatively influenced affinity, exhibiting a curvilinear (inverted U-shaped) relationship, with affinity increasing initially and then declining during moderate to longer stays. Meanwhile, animosity exhibited a U-shaped pattern, rebounding midway through the residency. Affinity positively predicted brand engagement, while animosity showed a weak positive effect. Affinity significantly mediated the effect of residency duration on brand engagement, with additional evidence of competing non-linear indirect effects through both emotions. Originality/value This study enhances international marketing research by expanding the country emotion literature to foreign residents, an overlooked group whose emotions arise from direct experiences rather than distant perceptions. It highlights the emotional complexity of adaptation using both linear and curvilinear modelling and introduces brand engagement in digital brand communities as a novel outcome variable shaped by emotional dynamics.