Prelims

Creativity 360 Degrees

Creativity 360 Degrees: Exploring the Dynamics of the Creative Industries in Southeast Europe

Edited by

Mirela Holy

VERN' University, Croatia

Jelena Budak

The Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia

And

Rino Medić

VERN' University, Croatia

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Publishing Limited

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First edition 2025

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Individual chapters © 2025 The authors.

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ISBN: 978-1-83662-085-3 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83662-084-6 (Online)

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Mirela Holy is a Professor of ethnology and comparative literature. After political career of the minister of environmental and nature protection and of the member of Croatian parliament, she works at the VERN’ University in Zagreb as Head of the studies. She has published six books and many articles about environment, human rights and communication. She received the Miko Tripalo award for outstanding contribution to the society democratisation and promotion of human rights in 2012. She was elected to the European Parliament in the 2014 election, but she did not serve her mandate. Mirela Holy was a member of the EU Mission Board on Adaptation to Climate Change and Societal Transformation.

Jelena Budak is a Scientific Advisor with tenure with the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia. She was awarded doctorate in economics by the University J.J. Strossmayer in Osijek. Her research interests include institutions and public sector policies, the quality of public governance and corruption and privacy in an online environment. She published over 70 scientific papers and book chapters, and her most recent publications are attitudinal studies on informality and on consumer resilience to privacy violation online. As a principal investigator, she successfully led projects funded by Croatian Science Foundation and was a project lead and team member at more than 50 research projects and expert studies commissioned by Croatian and foreign organisations.

Rino Medić earned his PhD at the Faculty of Economics in Osijek, Croatia, with a dissertation on ‘The role of volunteering in remote communities’ under the mentorship of Professor Dan Ebener, PhD, from St Ambrose University, USA. Rino was leading various projects including many business and scientific conferences. Rino started and leading the project ‘What can we do for children’ which aims to educate and support teachers in elementary and high schools in Croatia. Also, he is a founder and member of the international association Šipan Academy. Rino is an author of several scientific articles and chapters in books as well as an editor of five international proceedings.

Anca Anton is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania, where she teaches marketing communications, media marketing, (corporate) public relations, business communication and digital writing. Her research interests cover several fields: the intersection of communication and democratised forms of diplomacy, with a focus on public diplomacy, civil society diplomacy and digital diplomacy; the transformation of the PR/comms profession and industry and their intersection with digital and social media; marketing communication; digital governmental communication. She is a member of several academic associations: EUPRERA, ICA, ECREA, EMMA. In EUPRERA, she is a member of the Board and co-leader of the Education Network.

Davor Ćosić earned his bachelor's degree in public relations and media last year, and he is currently pursuing a master's degree in human resource management at the University of VERN’. He balances academic life with his role as a PR Specialist at Bruketa&Žinić&Grey. Simultaneously, he volunteers at the Croatian Leukemia and Lymphoma Association, showcasing his dedication to community service. In his leisure time, Davor immerses himself in media, interpersonal dynamics and the music scene, reflecting his diverse interests and passions.

Teodora Doroftei is a young communication professional and graduate of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, University of Bucharest, Romania. She holds a BA in Public Relations and Communications and an MA in Advertising & Digital Communication from the same university, with papers addressing CSR and place attachment. During her MA, she completed an Erasmus+ semester at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. She is currently working in the PR industry in Romania and is interested in topics such as quality of life, sustainable development, behavioural psychology, multiculturalism and intergovernmental communications.

Mirko Duić is an Associate Professor at the Department of Information Sciences, University of Zadar. He got a PhD in 2015, the topic was ‘Film collections in Croatian public libraries’. In the period from 2009 to 2022, he taught a number of full-time and part-time courses at the Department of Information Sciences in Zadar, where he currently teaches courses in the field of digital libraries, information organisation, digital multimedia, cultural studies and film heritage. He is the (co-) author of more than 25 scientific papers and has presented his research in a number of domestic and international conferences. Some of his research and teaching interests are film and multimedia in library activities, building library and digital collections, cultural heritage within information institutions and digital libraries, information behaviour of scientists related to literature sources, availability and cultural diversity of literature.

Sara Đurković completed her undergraduate studies in Entrepreneurship Economics at VERN' University. Currently, she is pursuing a master's degree in Business Communication at VERN' University. In February 2023, she was awarded the Rector's Award at VERN' University for her outstanding academic achievements. In September 2023, she presented her thesis titled ‘Behavior of Young Consumers When Buying Branded Clothes' at the Creative Future Insights 2023 conference, alongside professors Jadranka Ivanković and Diana Plantić Tadić. She is proficient in English and skilled in using programs such as MS Word, MS Excel and MS PowerPoint. Besides her studies, she works at VERN' University in the Office for Lifelong Education, Projects and Public Procurement. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with friends.

Marina Funduk, PhD, is a Research Associate at the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) from Zagreb. She holds a master's degree in Political Science (2005), an Advance Master of European Studies (2008) and a PhD in Comparative Politics (2015), all from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb. She has worked as a Researcher at the IRMO Department for Resource Economics, Environmental Protection and Regional Development since 2008 and has 15 years of professional experience as a Political Scientist in environmental protection. Her research interests include environmental policy, sustainable development, regional development, nature protection, water management, bioeconomy and marine litter management. She is a member of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA), Croatia, since 2010.

Marija Geiger Zeman (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Croatia) is a Scientific Adviser in Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar in Zagreb (Croatia). Geiger Zeman is the author of many papers and conference presentations focused on gender issues, media (COVID-19, fake news, etc.) and age issues. Her empirical work is based on qualitative methodology. In 2010, Geiger Zeman received Annual Science Award by the Croatian Parliament in the field of social sciences.

Dino Giergia completed his undergraduate and graduate studies in management at the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka in 2011. In 2017, he successfully defended his doctoral dissertation. Since 2009, he has been working in various positions at Dea Flores d.o.o., while in 2014, he became a member of the company's management board. He is responsible for the development of the company's strategy, the development of new products and the management of the finance and sales sectors. He lectures at various universities in Croatia, such as the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of the North and the Edward Bernays University of Applied Science. He teaches the courses ‘International Business’, ‘Leadership’ and ‘Marketing Strategies’ at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is the author of several scientific papers in management in the country and abroad.

Petja Grafenauer, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Theory, University of Ljubljana, Academy of Fine Arts and Design (ALUO). Her specialty is regional art after the Second World War. She participated in the research projects Models and Practices of Global Cultural Exchange and Non-Aligned Movement: Research in the Spatio-Temporal Cultural Dynamics and Protests, Art Practices and Culture of Memory in the Post-Yugoslav Context, both financed by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS). She regularly publishes in scholarly, professional and general media, including the academic journals Third Text and the International Journal for Cultural Policy. She is the author and the editor of several publications on visual art, including a study on Pop Art in Slovenia, i.e. Slovenia and Non-Aligned Pop (2017), a collection of Zdenka Badovinac's articles titled Avtentični interes [Authentic Interest] (2010) and a monograph on the painter Aleksij Kobal (2008).

Ana Gudelj has master's degrees in English Language and Literature and Italian Language and Literature from the University of Zadar. She is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Literature and Cultural Identity at the Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek. She fosters love and passion for Italian language and culture and English language and culture. Besides Italian and English language literature, her research and teaching interests include theatre, femininity, culture and identity.

Jadranka Ivanković is an Assistant Professor at VERN’ University. Her areas of expertise are Marketing, Management, Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is teaching different courses such as Marketing, Marketing Communication, Brand Strategy, Management, Strategic Management and International Management on undergraduate and graduate level. Before she joined University, she had gained rich business experience from FMCG sector. She held various managerial positions in one of the biggest international food and pharmaceutical company with HQ in Croatia, where she was in charge for marketing and brand strategy, research and development and business internationalisation. Among other functions, she was a member of the Management Board, a Manager of Strategic Business Unit and a Director of Marketing. She published more than 30 articles in the field of Marketing, Customer Relationship Management, Corporate Social Responsibility, Management and Entrepreneurship.

Daniela Angelina Jelinčić is a Senior Research Adviser/full Professor employed by the Institute for International Relations (IRMO), Croatia. Her specific research interests are in cultural tourism, cultural heritage management, cultural/creative industries, cultural policy, creativity, experience economy and social innovations. She was a Fulbright Visiting Researcher (2019/2020) at the University of Georgia. As an adjunct Professor, she teaches at the University of Zagreb, Zagreb School of Business, Edward Bernays University of Applied Sciences in Zagreb and occasionally at the Helsinki University of Arts and at the UNESCO Chair for Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Institute for Advanced Studies (iASK) in Köszeg, Hungary. She authored or edited several scientific books, articles, book chapters, studies and strategic documents, served as the Council of Europe expert for cultural tourism and coordinated or participated in a number of interdisciplinary research projects.

Jakub Kintler, currently works as a Vice-Rector for Development, Culture and Sport and an Associate Professor at the Department of Business Economics Faculty of Business Management University of Economics in Bratislava (FBM UEBA). Jakub has been a Lecturer and a Researcher at the Department of Business Economy, Faculty of Business Management at the University of Economics in Bratislava since 2008. Since then, he has been teaching subjects focused on the theory and practice of business. He teaches subjects oriented on the value-based pricing, corporate valuation and business management at the Department of Business Economy. In addition to the teaching, he is also a forensic expert in the field of accounting, finance, controlling and human resources. Since he has been at the university, he wrote 4 scientific monographs (3 foreign), 2 teaching books and 5 workbooks, 83 scientific works published in domestic and foreign journals and conference proceedings.

Maria Kmety Bartekova attained her doctoral degree in Management from Comenius University in Bratislava in 2018. Presently, she spearheads the OpenmusE research project under the Horizon Europe grant at the University of Economics in Bratislava, representing Slovakia in an international consortium. Her research focuses on the Creative Industries. Since 2023, she serves as a member of the Academic Senate at the Faculty of Business Management. Additionally, she has chaired sessions at various conferences including the ESD Conference in Rome, Italy; the 41st IBIMA Business Conference in Granada, Spain; the Global Business Conferences in Dubrovnik, Croatia (2022) and Zagreb, Croatia (2023); and the third Global Conference on Entrepreneurship and Economy in an Era of Uncertainty in Pattaya, Thailand (2023).

Vlaho Kovačevič (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia) currently works as an Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and external associate at the undergraduate and graduate independent study of Communication and Media at the University of Split. His areas of professional and scientific interest include contemporary sociological theories, sociology of culture, sociology of education, sociology of media and sociology of religion. He participated in the project ‘The European University of the Seas (SEA-EU)’ focused on the development of the Observatory for Migration and Human Rights within the project of European universities. He is a member of the board of the European Center for Migration Studies (ECMS), Croatian Sociological Association, Christian Academic Circle and the expert team in the SEA-EU project. He has published a number of scientific papers in both domestic and foreign scientific journals and presented his research at scientific conferences in Croatia and abroad.

Svend Erik Larsen, dr. phil., is Professor Emeritus, Comparative Literature, Aarhus University, Denmark, Yangtze River Distinguished Visiting Professor, Sichuan University, past Honorary Professor, University College London. He is the past editor of Orbis Litterarum, the past Board Member of EuroScience, the past Vice-President of Academia Europaea and the past General Treasurer of the International Comparative Literature Association. 12 books and 400+ articles. Recent book: Literature and the Experience of Globalization (2017). His recent articles are ‘Interdisciplinarity, History and Cultural Encounters’, European Review 26.2, 2018: 354–367; ‘Breaking the Silence. Cultural and Legal Encounters’, Chiara Battisti and Sidia Fidora, eds.: Law and the Humanities. Cultural Perspectives. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019: 349–369; ‘Narratives as cultural embedment’, Chinese Semiotic Studies 18.3, 2022: 413–425; ‘Between the Media: Media Relations in Literature and Art’, European Review 31 (Supplementum 1), 2023: 7–22. Co-author and co-editor of Landscapes of Realism 1–2. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2021–2022.

Silvija Londero Šimleša is the Director and Editor-in-Chief at Media Servis, Croatia’s largest radio news agency which produces news for 50 radio stations. She is also the President of the Croatian Radio Forum Association and the President of the Coordination of Commercial Radio Stations at Croatian Employers’ Association. She is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Applied Sciences VERN’, Algebra Bernays University, and Faculty of Political Science of Zagreb University, where she teaches radio journalism. Silvija completed journalist training and education for media trainers in Reuters London. She has a degree in Political Science and has completed postgraduate specialist study in Foreign Policy and Diplomacy at Faculty of Political Science of Zagreb University. She is now a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Doctoral School Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek.

Krunoslav Malenica (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Croatia) is currently employed as a title assistant at the Department of Sociology, the Department of Early and Preschool Education, the Teacher's Study and the undergraduate and graduate independent study of Communication and Media at the University of Split. His area of professional and scientific interest are contemporary sociological theories, sociology of culture, sociology of upbringing and education, sociology of religion and sociology of local development. He published one scientific monograph – #Selfiegeneration: a sociological view through the front camera – and number of scientific papers in domestic and foreign scientific journals and participated in numerous presentations at international and national scientific conferences. For many years, he has also been active in the civil sector, through which he was the project manager of a number of European and other projects related to culture, art and social entrepreneurship.

Arijana Marjanović has a master's degree in sociology, and she is a PhD candidate at the Catholic University of Croatia. Arijana is employed as a Human Resources Manager, and her previous work experience ties her to work in a non-governmental organisation – the Institute for the Development of Education, in the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and an internship in the European Parliament. She acquired numerous skills there, which is why she has a lot of practical experience. In a scientific context, she participated in numerous conferences and projects and had the opportunity to publish several papers. During her studies, she mostly researched the topic of migration and wrote her graduation thesis about it. Currently, her scientific focus is on the field of cyberspace and cyber violence, which is also the topic of her doctoral thesis. Arijana improved her research skills at the Institute for the Development of Education, where she was a co-author and a collaborator on the project. She also often conducted surveys, and, in the Parliament, she had the opportunity to write various articles and research on numerous social topics. In addition to the aforementioned, Arijana speaks fluently English, German and Russian, which is of great help to her for various scientific research.

Dunja Matić Benčić (1988) has acquired a master's degree in Cultural Studies at the University of Rijeka (2012). In 2013, she worked on the project ‘Hybrid Identities and Boarder Culture’ as an intern at the Department of Cultural Studies, University of Rijeka. She was one of the cofounders of the Subversive Film Festivals pilot project ‘School of Contemporary Humanistic’. In 2015, she returned to the Department of Cultural studies as an associate teaching assistant. From 2019 till the middle of 2020, she was engaged in the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture programme, as one of the coordinators of the flagship ‘27 Neighborhoods’, where she was working with local communities on different cultural and artistic projects. Since the fall of 2020, she has been working as a teaching assistant at the Department of Cultural Studies, on the courses: ‘Methodology Research in Culture’, ‘Introduction to Cultural Studies’ and ‘Introduction to sociology’.

Irena Medvešek, PhD, is a Professor of English Language and Literature and German Language and Literature. She has been teaching Business English, English for Tourism and Hospitality Industry, English for Public Relations and English for Information Technology at VERN’ University for the past 24 years. Her interest as well as research focus is on languages, communication and tourism. The main area of her scientific interest is research on the ways identity is constructed in popular genres generally and the role of tourist guidebooks in the presentation and branding of cultural and national identity specifically including linguistic landscaping. She has participated in a number of scientific conferences both as a presenter and a listener. She has also published a number of papers dealing with identity, culture and education. She is also a licensed tourist guide for the city of Zagreb in English and German language and actively participates in creation of blogs and websites that promote and brand tourism and Croatian cultural and national identity.

Geran-Marko Miletić (Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Croatia) is a Scientific Adviser at the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar (Zagreb, Croatia). He is a Sociologist, and his research interests are concerned with social aspects of spatial transformation as well as with dynamics of community development. As an author or a coauthor, he has published about 80 scientific and professional articles as well as three books. He has participated in 30 scientific research projects, and in seven of them, he was the principal investigator.

Diana Plantić Tadić has worked at VERN' for more than 20 years as a Marketing and Quality Management Professor, as well as the Head of Market Research Centre since 2013. She has lectured at numerous workshops and conducted many research projects for several leading companies in Croatia (Coca Cola Croatia, Croatian Telecom, Association of Croatian Travel Agencies, PBZ Card). Diana is also a Professional Associate of Croatian Agency for Science and Higher Education. She has published over 60 articles and presented a significant number of scientific/professional papers on the topic of marketing communication, branding, market research, as well as quality management. Diana holds Charter Award for Outstanding Contribution in Developing and Promoting Quality in Science and Practice.

Frano Plišić, PhD, after finishing high school, in 2012, entered the Faculty of Economics & Business of the University of Zagreb and graduated with highest honours in 2017. He worked in Hotel Tamaris in Baška on the island of Krk, in operations management until the beginning of 2023. During the development of his professional career, he engaged in research work and obtained a doctorate in the interdisciplinary field of science on the topic related to development possibilities of Croatia as a tourist destination of the European Union. Today, he works as a business consultant for the company RRiF plus and is also one of the editors of one of the most successful professional magazines for business practice in Croatia, RRiF. Frano Plišić's fundamental research interests are the sustainable development of tourism in the European framework, business and trends in the hospitality industry, as well as the possibilities of financing and supporting tourism development by adjusting the institutional framework. In his spare time, he likes to play tennis or football and reads a lot.

Edo Rajh is a Scientific Advisor with tenure with the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia. He received his PhD at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business. His primary research areas are consumer behaviour, market research methodology and measurement scales development. Recent publications are related to his work on survey-based research projects.

Katarina Remenova since 2010 has been with the Department of Management, Faculty of Business Management, University of Economics, in Bratislava (FBM UEBA), where she currently holds the position of an Associate Professor. As a Senior Researcher, she is professionally engaged in the topic of data-driven decision-making in general, as well as in specific research area – pricing. In the project, she will apply her knowledge in the development of an innovative concept of data-driven culture in order to provide the need for different data types for the decision-making process. She has led two projects at the university. As a co-investigator, she has participated in seven VEGA projects so far. She is the co-author of 3 scientific foreign monographs and 12 scientific papers in foreign academic journals indexed in Web of Science and SCOPUS databases.

Mira Mileusnić Škrtić graduated from the Department of Mathematics (Information Science and Mathematical Statistics) at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in 1983. In 2003, she obtained a Master of Science degree in Information Sciences from the Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varaždin, University of Zagreb, Croatia, as part of a postgraduate doctoral study in Social Sciences. In 1997, Škrtić assumed the position of Head of the Information Technology Centre at the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO). Later, in 2005, she became the Head of the Department of Informatics and Statistics at the same institute. Between 2010 and 2021, Škrtić held the position of advisor at the Centre for Research Project Support. She also holds teaching positions at the University of Applied Health Sciences, the University of Zagreb and VERN' University.

Marija Slijepčević works as a Senior Lecturer at VERN’ University in Zagreb and as an executive editor of scientific journal Contemporary Issues. She lectures on subjects as Media Relations, Public Relation Basics, Specialised Journalism, Media Literacy and fact-checking. She defended her doctorate in the field of Communication Studies at the University of Osijek on topic of disinformation and fact-checkers, which is her special area of interest. She graduated journalism from the Faculty of Political Sciences and postgraduated organisation and management from the Faculty of Economics, both University of Zagreb. She is the author of 15 scientific and professional papers and works as a PR consultant in her spare time.

Daša Tepina, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of cultural history and a Researcher at the School of Humanities, University of Nova Gorica. Her main research interests are social movements, autonomy, art, communities and utopias. She participated in the research projects Models and Practices of Global Cultural Exchange and Non-Aligned Movement: Research in the Spatio-Temporal Cultural Dynamics and Protests, Art Practices and Culture of Memory in the Post-Yugoslav Context, both financed by the Slovenian research agency (ARRS). She regularly publishes articles on social movements, art, utopias, cultural exchanges and non-alignment, including in the international academic journal Third Text and the International Journal for Cultural Policy. Her monograph Revolucionarne utopije [Revolutionary Utopias] was published by Aristej in 2022.

Martina Topić (University of Alabama, US) is a Behavioural Sociologist and a mass communication scholar. Currently, she is an Associate Professor in public relations leadership at the University of Alabama, College of Communication and Information Sciences, Department of Advertising and PR, USA. Previously, she worked at Leeds Beckett University, UK, in a number of roles, a GTA, a Lecturer in PR, a Senior Lecturer in PR and a Reader at Leeds Business School (2014–2023). She is an editor-in-chief of the Corporate Communications: An International Journal and Northern Lights journals and editor-in-chief of the book series, Women, Economics and the Labour Relations (Emerald). Since 2021, she has been leading the EUPERA research network, Women in PR (previously a research project, 2018–2021). She is an author of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Affairs in the British Press: An Ecofeminist Critique of Neoliberalism (Routledge, 2021) and Workplace Culture in Mass Communication Industries (Routledge, 2023). She is a member of the American Sociological Association, British Sociological Association, and EUPRERA. She is the author and the lead of the Comms Women advocacy initiative (https://www.commswomen.uk).

Martina Topić

The editors of the book on cultural and creative industries in Southeastern Europe, Creativity 360 Degrees: Exploring the Dynamics of the Creative Industries in Southeast Europe rightfully say that creative industries are important for cultural, economic and political strategies in the 21st century, and particularly for gig economies, entrepreneurship and fostering creativity. Since many freelancers are historically women, particularly working mothers (IPSE, 2022), understanding these industries is important from the perspective of gender equality too. In addition to that, the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly affected creative and cultural industries due to global lockdowns, which means that the usual benefit of cultural and creative industries as supporters and drivers of innovation, creativity, diversity and social cohesion has taken a backturn during the pandemic.

Since creative and cultural industries are globally acknowledged as contributors to tackling important issues such as social inequality and environmental crisis, it goes without saying that these industries are essential in creating a better world that will work for everyone. I have consistently argued in my work that equal societies are better for everyone, but equal societies cannot be created without tackling social class discrimination and poverty, which is exactly what these industries tackle because many small business owners and entrepreneurs come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. For example, in the United States, 18% of the population comprises minority businesses, and while this number is low since minorities comprise a total of 32% of the population, the number still shows significance for minorities (U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 2023). In addition, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) constitute 99% of businesses in OECD countries, and minority businesses constitute a considerable percentage of new start-ups and SMEs (Farmaki & Altinay, 2015).

Despite lockdowns and the devastating effect the pandemic has had on these industries, they have shown resilience and continue to thrive. However, some regions are more developed than others when it comes to creative and cultural industries, and according to some information, Southeastern Europe lags in the development of these important industries. Therefore, it is essential to tackle this lack of development, and for academic literature, it is essential to tackle this region to help expand these valuable industries that ultimately empower those who historically lacked the support they needed to thrive.

While lots of work has been done on creative industries and the gig economy in the Western world, not much is known about Southeast Europe. This lack of knowledge is a part of a wider trend of Westernisation of research, and due to the competitiveness of academic publications and the proliferation of research driven by various metrics in Western countries, there is simply no room for all. Sadly, this means that some countries get an advantage in publishing their perspectives and developments, whereas others are left behind. In the case of the editors of this book, who are based in Croatia, the Government in Croatia introduced open access policies in 2012 when a Declaration on Open Access was introduced (Srce, 2022), and many other Southeastern European countries analysed in this book did the same. However, due to SEO issues and the paradox of Google algorithm and the way this algorithm classifies information, the most clicked information is on the top of the Google mountain. In academic terms, the more journal is read, the more likely articles from that journal will appear in searches; thus, authors from Southeastern Europe will face less online visibility even if they publish in English (and thus overcome the language barrier) and even if the Government invests in open access. It is a paradox and no-win situation for countries which are smaller and less influential in the global academic scene.

Therefore, this book – presented to an international audience through the Emerald and Emerald Insights platform – provides a valuable contribution to knowledge from a Southeastern European perspective, a perspective much needed but often lacking in research. Authors in the book shed light on the variety of practices in cultural and creative industries in the region and provide a platform for increasing understanding of these industries in Southeastern Europe and finding effective solution to foster further growth.