Creative territories are geographic spaces of collaboration between different social actors, driving innovations and requiring regulatory mechanisms for sustainability and growth. This paper aims to synthesize available evidence on creative territories through a systematic literature review to analyze the significant actors in creative territories, the type of partnerships between them, the kind of innovations in creative territories, and the regulatory mechanisms for supporting these territories. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed to ensure a transparent and systematic approach. A comprehensive search in the Scopus database, employing predefined search terms and inclusion criteria, included 86 articles. The findings revealed several key topics within the existing academic literature on creative territories, including i) the individual social players in creative territories and partnerships and collaborations among them, ii) the various innovations in these territories and sectors, iii) the regulatory mechanisms applied by government and non-government actors. These topics or aspects were further analyzed and categorized to provide a comprehensive overview of the research landscape. The discussion section presents a critical analysis and synthesis of the findings, highlighting that the government supports creative territories through 16 regulatory mechanisms, while the literature highlights at least 5 levels of government intervention. Additionally, private social actors can positively impact creative territories through various regulatory mechanisms, including firm self-regulation, industry self-regulation, and civil regulation, with at least 21 social actors classified into 5 groups collaborating through six types/forms of collaboration. Furthermore, several circumstances and factors should be available to prosper in a particular partnership/collaboration like a clear definition of responsibilities, well-defined rules, mutual benefits, equal collaboration, and solid authority. The findings underscore the importance of creative territories and serve as a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, offering insights and directions for future research endeavors.
