The value of cultural and regional identity: an exploratory study of the viewpoints of funders and cultural and creative entrepreneurs

In recent years, local cultural ecosystems have emerged as a new way to conceive the cultural and creative sector in relation to its territory (Holden, 2015; Bonet & Donato, 2011). The criteria that could lead to establish successful cultural ecosystems have been identified in different tangible and intangible assets among which are the cultural identity and values of the territory (Borin & Donato, 2015). The creation and enhancement of local cultural values and identity could lead the members of the ecosystem to establish successful collaborations and to support the development of specific categories of participants (Borin, 2017). This paper aims to explore the potential of the creation of value and enhancement of local identity in ensuring a special type of support, financial resource allocation, to a particular type of ecosystem members, cultural and creative enterprises. The research is carried out through a preliminary empirical investigation in a French region, using mixed research methods.