Co-creating sustainable communities: a process-oriented framework for enhancing acceptance of wind energy projects

Introduction The purpose of this study is to explain how value co-creation among wind energy developers, non-governmental organizations, municipalities, local leaders, and residents strengthens community acceptance of onshore wind projects. Prior research commonly examines engagement, communication, participation, and benefit-sharing as separate interventions, offering limited explanation of how they interact throughout a project.Material and method A phenomenological qualitative design was applied to fourteen semi-structured interviews in Lithuania: four community representatives, three association or non-governmental organization representatives, and seven developers. Interview evidence was triangulated with project documents, community agreements, meeting materials, and stakeholder-workshop observations where available, then analyzed thematically through benefits, actors and roles, and co-creation mechanisms.Results Findings identify tangible value, including community-directed funding, infrastructure, cultural initiatives, and employment or service opportunities, alongside intangible value, including social cohesion, recognition, empowerment, knowledge, and local ownership. Five connected mechanisms explain how value emerges: involvement before key decisions are fixed, human-centered two-way communication, experiential education, consistent trust building, and proactive conflict management. These mechanisms improve cognitive acceptance through understanding, affective acceptance through trust and goodwill, and conative acceptance through willingness to cooperate with or support a project.Conclusion The study’s scientific novelty is a process-oriented framework connecting actors, mechanisms, value outcomes, and acceptance dimensions instead of treating engagement tools as isolated measures. Practically, it shows developers, municipalities, and civil-society organizations how to sequence participation and benefit allocation so local knowledge shapes decisions. Durable community acceptance therefore depends on early decision influence, credible relationships, and transparent alignment between locally valued outcomes and project governance.