In this article, the purpose is to develop a consumer-focused understanding of authenticity within corporate heritage research. Our research question is as follows: “What makes a corporate heritage brand authentic for consumers?” We employ Peirce’s semiotic concepts of icon, index and symbol to analyse consumers’ perceptions of the Finnish corporate heritage brand Fazer, founded in 1891. Our study shows that childhood memories, consumer experiences and expectations as well as shared social conventions make the corporate heritage brand authentic for consumers. Thus, our research empirically advances the understanding of authenticity as socially constructed. Importantly, our study highlights the temporal dimension of this construction and advances the current knowledge on corporate heritage brands by showing that uniqueness, credibility and consistency over time are key dimensions of corporate heritage brand authenticity assessments. This understanding is fundamental for corporate heritage management practice, especially for developing the strategic positioning of corporate heritage brands in the markets by harnessing the assessments of authenticity.

在本文中，目的是在企业遗产研究中发展以消费者为中心的对真实性的理解。我们的研究问题如下：“是什么让企业传统品牌对消费者来说是真实的？” 我们采用 Peirce 的图标、索引和符号的符号学概念来分析消费者对芬兰企业传统品牌 Fazer 的看法，成立于 1891 年。我们的研究表明，童年记忆、消费者体验和期望以及共同的社会习俗使企业传统品牌对消费者来说是真实的。因此，我们的研究凭经验推进了对社会建构的真实性的理解。重要的是，我们的研究强调了这种结构的时间维度，并通过表明独特性、可信度和随时间的一致性是企业传统品牌真实性评估的关键维度，从而推进了对企业传统品牌的当前知识。这种理解是企业遗产管理实践的基础，尤其是通过利用真实性评估来制定企业遗产品牌在市场中的战略定位。