European Capitals of Culture: Gain or Loss Framing. A Systematic Literature Review

This article helps to raise awareness towards the complexity of communication approaches to European Capitals of Culture cities, in academic research. Moreover, it responds to the need of creating a context for future researchers who need a starting point in analyzing the way European Capitals of Culture is communicated. The aim of the article is to provide a theoretical overview on the way the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) project is tackled upon in the scientific studies within the communication domain. The sample is formed of scientific articles retrieved from Web of Science and DOAJ databases. The systematic literature review focuses on the methodological designs used in the articles under analysis. I will associate each article with either with an advantage/ gain frame or with a disadvantage/ loss frame. This overview highlighted a polarized approach to the ECoC project. Whereas some articles present ECoC as a Europeanized way of communication, other studies lay an emphasis on the ECoC cities as a way of communication that promotes local specificity. The analysis will show that these choices are not arbitrary and differ from one city to another, depending on their interests and background.