A User-Centered Decision-Support Model for Sustainable Heritage-Based Design Innovation: An RTPB-ELM Approach

This study develops a user-centered decision-support model to facilitate sustainable futures for heritage-based design innovation using Minnan natural incense culture as an empirical case. Minnan natural incense culture faces significant challenges in sustainable transmission due to industrial substitutes, changing lifestyles, and declining engagement among younger generations. Although cultural tourism and creative industries offer revitalization opportunities, existing research lacks a systematic, user-centered framework that translates cognitive mechanisms into actionable design strategies. By integrating the revised theory of planned behavior (RTPB) and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), a hybrid RTPB–ELM framework is proposed to examine how user cognition, behavioral intention, and contextual design variables influence cultural recognition and decision-making outcomes in sustainability transitions. Based on 179 valid questionnaire responses and structural equation modeling (SmartPLS 3.0), results indicate that both internal perceived behavioral control (β = 0.196, p = 0.019) and external perceived behavioral control (β = 0.195, p = 0.013) significantly affect cultural recognition, with approximately 79–80% of the total effects of incense-related design variables (types, utensils, and usage scenarios) mediated through these control factors. Two distinct user groups—central-route and peripheral-route users—were identified, highlighting differentiated cognitive processing pathways. The findings validate a transferable RTPB–ELM model that links micro-level user cognition to macro-level cultural resilience and heritage innovation. This framework offers practical guidance for adaptive design strategies and supports evidence-based sustainability transitions in intangible cultural heritage contexts.