Revitalizing a time-honored brand requires continuity of identity alongside present-day relevance. The study analyzed 404 firm-side respondents from 76 enterprises and 536 consumers in Southwestern China using PLS-SEM and fsQCA. Innovation and nostalgia interacted positively only in the firm model; both were positively associated on the consumer side, where nostalgia was stronger. Set-theoretic analysis identified overlapping configurations and three balancing logics, framing revitalization as a multi-actor process rather than a universal formula.
Key findings
- Innovation and nostalgia interacted positively in the firm model, but the same interaction was not reported in the consumer model.
- On the consumer side, innovation and nostalgia both had positive effects, with nostalgia stronger.
- fsQCA identified multiple overlapping configurations and three balancing logics, arguing against a single recipe for every heritage brand.
- Managerial implications are to identify continuity anchors, target renewal, coordinate implementation, and test consumer responses.
Why this matters globally
The framework helps heritage-brand organizations distinguish internal realization of innovation from consumer validation and test configurations rather than treating old and new as a binary choice. Associations from Southwestern China should not be turned into a universal recipe without replication across industries, countries, generations, and levels of brand familiarity.
Thai researcher contribution
All four authors are affiliated with Maejo University: Xiangyu Li, Danaikrit Inthurit, Surachai Kungwon, and Nirote Sinnarong; Xiangyu Li also lists Chuxiong Normal University in China. The Thai institution anchors this Thailand-China quantitative and configurational study, although public metadata do not specify individual author tasks.
Limitations to consider
The setting is Southwestern China and a specific class of time-honored brands, limiting transfer to other markets. The 404 firm-side responses are clustered within 76 enterprises, making dependence and multilevel handling important, yet the abstract gives no detail. Firm and consumer samples may not be matched, and surveys can carry common-method and social-desirability bias. PLS-SEM and fsQCA identify associations and compatible configurations, not causal recipes or guaranteed managerial outcomes.