The study explored the potential effects of country image and brand trust on Americans’ adoption and use of TikTok following the 2020 proposed TikTok ban. Although brand trust affected both the adoption and continuous use of TikTok among U.S. users, the perception of the Chinese government played a crucial role in their initial adoption while the perception of Chinese companies affected their continuous use of the app following the attempted ban. The study supported a multidimensional construct of country image and argued that the political aspects of country image involving Chinese products are becoming predominant with the intensifying rivalry between the two superpowers. The results suggested that Trump administration’s TikTok ban in 2020 may have a considerable impact on the issue and attribute salience of TikTok, resulting in different patterns of TikTok adoption and usage among Americans.
Key words: country image, brand trust, agenda setting, social media use, social media adoption.
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