Transcending borders: conceptualising and empirically grasping individual readiness in cross-border collaboration in the Dutch–German borderland

This study examines individual readiness for cross-border collaboration (CBC) in the Dutch–German borderland. CBC can reduce regional disparities and promote European integration, yet often fails due to administrative, institutional, legal and cultural barriers according to studies in economic geography and socio-cultural studies. By studying the role of individual readiness (beliefs, feelings and intentions toward collaboration), this study explores how mindset may help to overcome these barriers. Data from focus groups and interviews with successful cross-border collaborators in the Dutch–German borderland allow us to conceptualise individual collaboration readiness, introducing a novel, individual-level and mental readiness perspective into CBC analysis.