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

Chenxi Li, Zhengyan Cui, Jing Chen and Ning Zhou
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Chenxi Li: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Zhengyan Cui: School of Business Administration, Henan University of Animal Husbandry & Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Jing Chen: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Ning Zhou: School of Economics and Management, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-14

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.

Keywords: brand revitalization; heritage enterprise; heritage brand; cultural sustainability; social media; case study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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