Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.

Numerous Chinese Time-Honored Brands are facing decline due to their limited ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments. This study identifies the core barrier as a lack of focus on developing Sustainable Marketing Capability (SMC) within the firms that own these brands. While prior research...

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Main Authors: Xiangyu Li, Danaikrit Inthurit, MaoChun Wu, Linjun Qiu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326329
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author Xiangyu Li
Danaikrit Inthurit
MaoChun Wu
Linjun Qiu
author_facet Xiangyu Li
Danaikrit Inthurit
MaoChun Wu
Linjun Qiu
author_sort Xiangyu Li
collection DOAJ
description Numerous Chinese Time-Honored Brands are facing decline due to their limited ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments. This study identifies the core barrier as a lack of focus on developing Sustainable Marketing Capability (SMC) within the firms that own these brands. While prior research has examined the link between general marketing capabilities and corporate performance, limited attention has been paid to SMC and its effects. To address this gap, we investigated both the antecedents and outcomes of SMC. Drawing on survey data from managers and selected employees at 47 heritage enterprises in Southwest China, all of which own China Time-Honored Brands, our findings reveal that ambidextrous marketing-comprising proactive marketing exploration and exploitation-significantly enhances SMC. In turn, SMC positively impacts corporate performance and mediates the relationship between ambidextrous marketing and performance by strengthening firms' responsiveness to market and policy conditions. This study provides actionable strategies for heritage enterprises seeking to build sustainable marketing capabilities and offers practical insights into maintaining competitiveness and achieving long-term success.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-58f486110f3b461694c1939f77c75c502025-08-20T03:29:53ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01206e032632910.1371/journal.pone.0326329Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.Xiangyu LiDanaikrit InthuritMaoChun WuLinjun QiuNumerous Chinese Time-Honored Brands are facing decline due to their limited ability to adapt to rapidly changing environments. This study identifies the core barrier as a lack of focus on developing Sustainable Marketing Capability (SMC) within the firms that own these brands. While prior research has examined the link between general marketing capabilities and corporate performance, limited attention has been paid to SMC and its effects. To address this gap, we investigated both the antecedents and outcomes of SMC. Drawing on survey data from managers and selected employees at 47 heritage enterprises in Southwest China, all of which own China Time-Honored Brands, our findings reveal that ambidextrous marketing-comprising proactive marketing exploration and exploitation-significantly enhances SMC. In turn, SMC positively impacts corporate performance and mediates the relationship between ambidextrous marketing and performance by strengthening firms' responsiveness to market and policy conditions. This study provides actionable strategies for heritage enterprises seeking to build sustainable marketing capabilities and offers practical insights into maintaining competitiveness and achieving long-term success.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326329
spellingShingle Xiangyu Li
Danaikrit Inthurit
MaoChun Wu
Linjun Qiu
Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
PLoS ONE
title Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
title_full Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
title_fullStr Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
title_full_unstemmed Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
title_short Breaking the deadlock: A study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of Chinese time-honored brands.
title_sort breaking the deadlock a study on the pathway and effects of reshaping the sustainable marketing capability of chinese time honored brands
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326329
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