Purpose As tangible carriers of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), ICH souvenirs are critical for boosting the tourism economy and facilitating ICH inheritance. Based on the heuristic-systematic model (HSM), this study explores how ICH souvenirs' storytelling marketing and product design shape tourists' purchase and destination cultural preservation intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on two cases of specific Chinese ICH souvenirs, and 563 valid questionnaires were collected. To gain deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms, a dual-stage analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Findings PLS-SEM revealed that both storytelling marketing (heuristic cues) and product design (systematic cues) significantly and positively influenced tourists' behavioral intentions (purchase and cultural preservation intentions), with systematic cues having a stronger impact than heuristic cues. Cultural interest exhibited a stronger mediating effect than aesthetic pleasure. Creative performance negatively moderated the relationship between storytelling marketing and cultural interest; however, its moderating effect on the relationship between product design and aesthetic pleasure was not significant. Additionally, fsQCA indicates that high behavioral intentions are driven by multiple factor combinations with diverse formation paths. Originality/value By introducing the HSM, this study clarifies the mechanism driving the effects of ICH souvenirs' storytelling marketing and product design on tourists' behavioral intentions, thereby enriching the theoretical system of ICH souvenir marketing research. Practically, the findings provide a reference for increasing tourism revenue and promoting the cultural inheritance of destinations.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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