Since time-honored brand businesses (laozihao) in China usually have obtained their laozihao status through the official process of verifying, it appears that their community bases do not receive enough attention. Meanwhile, existing studies in this area tend to see the community base of laozihao business as something taken-for-granted. To have a better understanding of how and why some laozihao businesses build up and enhance their community bases in the process of socioeconomic change, this paper will use the cases of laozihao businesses in Guangzhou and Hong Kong to explore the formation and development of community bases. This paper argues that community bases of laozihao businesses have strong connections with their integration with local culture, engagement with local community life and willingness to meet local consumer needs. Since time-honored brand businesses (laozihao) in China usually have obtained their laozihao status through the official process of verifying, it appears that their community bases do not receive enough attention. Meanwhile, existing studies in this area tend to see the community base of laozihao business as something taken-for-granted. To have a better understanding of how and why some laozihao businesses build up and enhance their community bases in the process of socioeconomic change, this paper will use the cases of laozihao businesses in Guangzhou and Hong Kong to explore the formation and development of community bases. This paper argues that community bases of laozihao businesses have strong connections with their integration with local culture, engagement with local community life and willingness to meet local consumer needs.
