Balancing continuity and relevance: Innovation–nostalgia configurations in time-honored brand revitalization

Purpose This study examines how Time-Honored Brands balance continuity and relevance through innovation and nostalgia, and whether firms and consumers differ. Design/Methodology/Approach Data from 404 firm-side respondents across 76 enterprises and 536 consumers in Southwestern China were analyzed using PLS-SEM and fsQCA. Findings Innovation and nostalgia interacted positively only in the firm model. Both showed positive consumer-side effects, with nostalgia being stronger. FsQCA identified multiple overlapping configurations and three balancing logics. Conclusions Balance is stakeholder-dependent and configurational. Managers should identify continuity anchors, target renewal, coordinate implementation, and test consumer responses. Originality/Value This study frames heritage brand revitalization as a multi-actor balancing process, distinguishes organizational realization from consumer validation, and integrates ambidexterity, S–O–R, and configurational reasoning through complementary analyses.