Generative AI Capability and Culturally Grounded Visual Innovation in Intangible Cultural Heritage Design with Implications for Cultural Sustainability

Cultural sustainability in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) design requires contemporary visual innovation to retain cultural meaning and involve heritage holders. This study examines how generative AI capability relates to culturally grounded innovation using cross-sectional data from 542 matched designer–inheritor dyads in Guangyuan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling, multi-group analysis, necessary-condition analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis were applied. Generative AI-enabled visual design capability was positively associated with ICH visual design innovation, directly and indirectly through heritage knowledge integration, cultural visual translation and the theoretically ordered knowledge integration–visual translation pathway. Higher designer–inheritor collaboration quality was associated with stronger relationships between AI capability and both knowledge integration and visual translation. Point estimates followed the proposed heritage-context differences, but the group contrasts were not statistically supported. Necessary-condition and configurational analyses identified combinations of technological, cultural and relational capabilities, with limited configurational coverage and sensitivity to calibration. Integrating the dynamic capabilities and knowledge-boundary perspectives, the study distinguishes knowledge interpretation from visual enactment and locates collaboration quality within these capability relationships. The findings inform culturally sustainable use of GenAI by connecting visual exploration with verified heritage knowledge, continued inheritor participation and cultural-boundary governance. Design teams should document cultural sources and permissions, involve inheritors in interpretation and review, and assess cultural recognizability alongside novelty. These project-level associations identify capabilities relevant to cultural sustainability; long-term heritage transmission and safeguarding outcomes require further investigation.