Pathways for Value Chains to Strengthen Sustainable Development in Mountain Regions: A European Cross‐Case Analysis Based on Stakeholders' Perceptions

Mountain areas are hotspots of high natural and cultural value, but they face sustainability challenges. This research offers a quantitative cross‐case analysis of 21 case studies from mountain regions across 14 European countries, examining how local stakeholders perceive the contribution of mountain value chains to sustainable development. Using a cocreation process, seven objectives were defined and ranked via best–worst scaling choice experiments. A latent class model revealed four distinct development pathways: Ecological prioritisation , focusing on resilience and local assets; Social prioritisation , emphasising well‐being, cooperation, and human capital; Cooperative sustainability, valuing cooperation and sustainable use of local assets; and Balanced sustainability, assigning similar importance to all the objectives. For all pathways, inclusiveness was rated as the least important objective. These results demonstrate that stakeholder priorities vary significantly, suggesting that ‘one‐size‐fits‐all’ policies are ineffective. Our findings support the design of context‐specific governance mechanisms to enhance the sustainability of European mountain regions through more targeted and stakeholder‐aligned interventions.