Institutions complement diffusion but reconfigure enablers on the road to triple transition: evidence from Creative Europe projects
Turegeldinova A. Amralinova B. Fodor M.M. Eraliyeva A. Dayou C. Joldassov A.
2025Frontiers Media SA
Frontiers in Communication
2025#10
Introduction: European policy promotes a “triple transition” integrating digital innovation, ecological sustainability, and social inclusion. Creative industries are well positioned to contribute given their societal role beyond production and their capacity to shape responses to shared challenges. This study examines how a policy mandate interacts with organic innovation dynamics in achieving simultaneous integration of all three pillars in publicly funded projects. Methods: We analyze 5,601 initiatives supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe program (2013 -2025). Beginning in 2021, calls for proposals encouraged inclusion of all three pillars, creating a policy shift we use as a natural experiment to compare pre_ and post_2021 patterns. We identify “triple_pillar” projects, i.e. those explicitly targeting digital, green, and social aims and examine the predictors of their prevalence, including partnership scope (single_ vs. multi_country) and financial scale (project budgets and grant amounts). Results: The share of triple_pillar projects rose steadily even before 2021 and continued increasing afterward. However, the mandate substituted for other catalysts like international collaboration. Pre-2021, multi-country partnerships significantly predicted triple-focus within projects. Post-2021 however, this link vanished as even local projects complied with Creative Europe’s suggestions. Instead, larger project budgets and grants emerged as key enablers, indicating a trade-off in cost efficiency. Mandated comprehensiveness required greater resources for implementation. Discussion: Policy cues can amplify initiatives already emerging from project participants, but they also reshape implementation. In this analytical framework, away from international collaboration as a catalyst and toward financing capacity. This could potentially disadvantage smaller actors. To maximize impact and cost efficiency, mandates should be paired with proportionate funding and flexible pathways. Copyright
Creative Europe , creative industries , digital transformation , environmental sustainability , international collaboration , project funding , social inclusion , triple transition
Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи
E. Turkebayev Institute for Project Management, Department of Management and Mathematical Economics, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Impactonomix Ltd., East Grinstead, United Kingdom
Satbayev Business School, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
CNPC – International Aktobe Petroleum, Aktobe, Kazakhstan
Department of Scientific Project Support and Postgraduate Education, Satbayev University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
E. Turkebayev Institute for Project Management
Impactonomix Ltd.
Satbayev Business School
CNPC – International Aktobe Petroleum
Department of Scientific Project Support and Postgraduate Education
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026