The Resilience Capabilities of Yumcha Restaurants in Shaping the Sustainability of Yumcha Culture

Abstract

This study investigates the sustainability of food heritage in the modern world. The city of Guangzhou in Guangdong province has quickly changed to become a large metropolis within 40 years after China’s opening policy. Using Guangzhou’s Yumcha heritage as the case, we propose that Yumcha restaurants’ resilience has enhanced Yumcha heritage sustainability, and their dynamic capabilities have had a positive influence on both Yumcha restaurants’ resilience and the sustainability of Yumcha heritage. The study focuses on (1) the influence of social–cultural changes on the sustainability of Yumcha culture, (2) the influence of restaurant dynamic capabilities on Yumcha heritage sustainability, (3) Yumcha restaurants’ resilience-mediating effect, and (4) the moderating effects of social-cultural changes. The findings contribute to our understanding from four aspects: (1) Social–cultural changes negatively impact on Yumcha heritage; (2) the dynamic capability of Yumcha restaurants has a direct positive impact on Yumcha heritage; (3) the dynamic capabilities of Yumcha restaurants and social–cultural changes enable Yumcha heritage to become more resilient and improve the sustainability of Yumcha heritage; and (4) social–cultural changes moderate the indirect effects of proactive behavior on Yumcha heritage sustainability via Yumcha restaurant resilience.

Recognising, Safeguarding, and Promoting Food Heritage: Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Sustainable Food Systems

“…As reported by some scholars [9,15,16,33], sustainable development assumes that all stakeholders should benefit from intervention projects aimed at safeguarding and promoting food and food-related resources. In this respect, the literature analysis shows that the valorisation of food heritage may clash with social sustainability objectives, bringing to the forefront issues of sovereignty, inclusion, and access and fair distribution of the benefits of this activity.…”

“…According to several authors, the relationships that develop in the globalised postmodern society are one of the main factors behind the recognition of food as cultural heritage [4,49]. Some of the possible drivers of this phenomenon include the erosion of biological, cultural, and culinary diversity, and a decrease in the presence and change in the role of food and gastronomic resources [15,58]. These dynamics can stem from changes triggered by the industrialisation of the food system and some underlying effects such as the standardisation and homogenisation of foodscapes [40,59], as well as the introduction of regulations that undermine the survival of traditional production systems [44,60].…”

“…The current discussion explores how the elevation of food to the status of heritage can enhance the sustainability of the food system while safeguarding traditional food resources through the active participation of local communi-ties [8][9][10][11][12][13]. More recently, there has been increasing attention to the relationship between food heritage and socio-cultural sustainability [14][15][16][17].…”

“…Given the intrinsic link between this and the other pillars of sustainability (i.e., economic, social, and environmental), the promotion of cultural resources can contribute to the achievement of broader goals, such as improvements in the quality of life and well-being of society in general [21,22]. In this context, the promotion of food heritage can foster the development of inclusive processes to improve the socio-economic and health conditions of rural communities, while enabling the conservation of traditional food and cultural elements embedded in specific places [10,15]. Kapelari et al [16] suggested that food heritage should play a central role in the design and implementation of sustainable development policies aimed at ensuring food security and sovereignty for the global population.…”

The Relationship between Intangible Cultural Heritage and Urban Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Concerning the role of cultural resilience in the face of urban sustainability and climate change, and the aim of overcoming its challenges, cultural heritage is often presented as a very valuable resource. Additionally, other topics, such as food heritage [46,56] and ecosystem services [57][58][59], are studied as tools for urban public health improvement, achieved by giving more attention to the specific environmental characteristics of heritage cities and its impact on local residents [60].…”