Consumer Perceived Brand Innovativeness and Authenticity of Chinese Time-Honored Brand Restaurants: The Moderated Mediation Effect of Personal Traits

PURPOSE: Numerous time-honored brand restaurants are gradually losing their authenticity in the development process. Brand authenticity serves as a symbol of China’s unique culinary culture, and consistency lies at the core of preserving its authenticity. Failure to integrate innovative elements into the original components can potentially erode the brand’s consistent image, leading to a negative impact on perceived authenticity and purchase intention (PI). However, existing research has largely neglected to investigate the influence of consumer perceived brand innovativeness (CPBI) and consumer perceived brand authenticity (CPBA) specifically within the context of time-honored brand restaurants. Additionally, there is a lack of research examining the individual differences of consumers and how these intersect with time-honored brands. Therefore, our research aims to address these research gaps. METHODS: The list of Chinese time-honored brands issued by the Ministry of Commerce of China served as the basis for the study’s choice of time-honored restaurant brands. 689 relevant consumers were obtained through convenience sampling within China and the self-report method was adopted for data collection. Using the partial least squares structural equation modeling method and the SmartPLS software, the data was analyzed and the hypotheses were tested. RESULTS: CPBI positively influences PI. CPBA mediates the relationship between CPBI and PI. In contrast to personal innovativeness, which positively moderates the mediating relationship between CPBI and CPBA, nostalgia proneness moderates this relationship negatively. CONCLUSION: Our results revealed that both CPBI and CPBA have a positive impact on PI within the domain of consumption in Chinese time-honored brand restaurants. This study addresses the research gap in brand innovativeness and authenticity in these restaurants. Furthermore, we identified the influence of consumer traits in this context. Our results can assist time-honored brand restaurants to effectively innovate and preserve their traditions, which will ultimately contribute to a more authentic service experience.