Heritage Associations of the Corporate Brand: Compensating Effect for Weakness in Brand Credibility

Firms increasingly employ heritage-related marketing activities to associate heritage to an individual or a corporate brand to enhance consumer support. However, establishing the heritage association demands much effort and costs despite the uncertainty of success, opening up when and how the benefits of heritage association are augmented. We suggest that the effect of heritage association on the consumer’s purchase behavior is more significant for a brand suffering a lower level of credibility. In a study conducted in the Korean context, we found that the effect of heritage association compensated for low brand credibility in increasing purchase intention. In another study conducted in the American context, we replicated the previous findings. Further, the compensatory effect of heritage association was indirect through the consumer’s self-identification with the corporate brand associated with heritage.