Time in corporate images: introducing image heritage and image‐in‐use

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of inputs from consumers' past experiences of a company on their current image‐construction processes, in the context of non‐food retailing. Design/methodology/approach – Research data were collected by a multi‐method combination of several different qualitative research methods from individuals selected by the theoretical sampling procedure. Analysis and interpretation conformed to a classic grounded theory approach. Findings – It was found that consumer images generated by relevant past experience are a direct and influential input into real‐time corporate image formation. Two new theoretical concepts were identified, “image heritage” and “image‐in‐use”, respectively, distinguishing consumers' past‐based images from those they construct in real time. Image heritage is moderated by three principal variables: timespan of awareness, content of earlier experiences, and key temporal focus. Research limitations/implications – This study focused on the corporate image of non‐food retailers. Future research should broaden the context, to enhance understanding of image heritage and image‐in‐use, and yield useful conceptual generalisations. Practical implications – Given that the consumer's view of the company's past plays an important role in their interpretation of its present corporate brand, branding strategy should be informed by a systematic effort to identify the probable components of that historical perception. Originality/value – This study is the first to focus on the influence of the past on consumers' current corporate images. The constructs identified and the terminology novel, offering a radically new dimension to corporate image research.