Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/327996 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IU Discussion Papers - Business & Management No. 11 (September 2025)
Publisher: 
IU Internationale Hochschule, Erfurt
Abstract: 
This study proposes a comprehensive theoretical framework for regional identity formation across 95 European regions integrating Social Identity Theory, constructivist approaches, and nested identity theory. Using virtual snowball sampling from 2019 to 2024, participants selected their region's most salient characteristic among language, history, culture, societal norms, political autonomy, and economic independence. Findings show culture as the dominant identifier in 64% of regions, history in 26%, with notable language prominence in Spanish regions and varied autonomy emphasis in microstates and small European territories. Demographic correlations reveal stronger cultural identification among younger and economically vulnerable groups, whereas older participants favoured societal norms. These results support social identity and constructivist models, highlighting cultural identity's role as a stable bridge between local and supranational attachments and suggesting policy implications for fostering territorial cohesion within European integration.
Subjects: 
Regional Identity Formation
Social Identity Theory
Cultural Identity
Nested Identity
European Integration
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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