Brand Revitalization of Heritage Enterprises for Cultural Sustainability in the Digital Era: A Case Study in China

Abstract

Many heritage enterprises have been struggling with severely declining brands in the digital era and are in desperate need of brand revitalization. Resolving the decline of heritage brands is not only a commercial issue but also a cultural sustainability issue because a living heritage brand can be considered an example of the preservation and even inheritance of a certain culture or history. While the prior literature has largely overlooked the cultural dimension of sustainability and the management of heritage enterprises from a brand revitalization perspective, this study investigates how a heritage enterprise achieves brand revitalization for cultural sustainability in the digital era. Using a Chinese heritage enterprise as a case organization, we identify three key processes of brand revitalization (i.e., redefining the heritage brand, communicating the updated image to consumers, and reconstructing the market boundaries of the heritage brand) for achieving cultural sustainability and examine the detailed mechanisms of each process. Our findings suggest that many brand revitalization efforts rely heavily on the use of various digital technologies. Theoretical and practical contributions are also discussed.

A study on China's time-honored catering brands: Achieving new inheritance of traditional brands

“…The theoretical process highlights the core driver of brand authenticity and the accelerator of creative performance. Although many scholars have emphasized the unique historical and cultural value of traditional catering brands ( Tian et al, 2018 ), to date, few studies have focused on addressing the brand decline and constructing a theoretical path of traditional catering brand inheritance, especially in remodeling from a new customer perspective rather than an enterprise perspective ( Li et al, 2019 ; He, 2008 ). Importantly, the critical leading factor of brand authenticity is placed in the present and the future, not just historical period ( Lu et al, 2015 ; Sims, 2009 ).…”

“…Around the world, many traditional brands are struggling with their own decline ( Li et al, 2019 ). Similarly, in China, the time-honored brand is the best surviving centuries of business and handicraft competition after generations of inheritance, showing irreplaceable value.…”

“…Unfortunately, most traditional brands won in history but have lost today. A survey by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China showed that the number of China time-honored brands dropped from approximately 16,000 in 1949 to 1128 in 2016 ( Li et al, 2019 ). Only 10% are thriving, and many time-honored brands' survival and growth are at serious risk.…”

The Influence of Traditional Cultural Resources (TCRs) on the Communication of Clothing Brands

“…Although it is widely agreed that culture provides potentially productive areas for brand development, researchers have suggested that most research is yet to address this historical culture's importance in brand development [38]. However, there have been discussions in the literature, like those of Li et al, (2019), that emphasize the discussion of cultural heritage on brand revitalization for traditional enterprises from the perspective of market management [42]. Further, some research does show that historical and cultural resources can provide new perspectives of understanding and can represent national culture in order to affect audience behavior [43].…”

What Killed HTC and Kept Apple Alive? Brand Sustainability Comparison of Two Asian Countries

“…Considering the dynamic notion of competitive business settings, besides competitive offerings, it is prevalent that consumer's perception of the value changes over time. Therefore, given the importance of managing and developing BE, on sustainable performance of companies, in particular, brand sustainability of products [36,37], the present study will examine three key sub-dimensions of brand equity: Brand awareness, perceived quality, and prestige value to better understand the consequences of brand equity as one of the most valuable assets from consumers viewpoint.…”