Digital Public Services in Smart Cities \u2013 an Empirical Analysis of Lead User Preferences

Bernd W Wirtz,Florian W Schmidt,Wilhelm M Müller

doi:10.1007/s11115-020-00492-3

Bernd W Wirtz, Florian W Schmidt + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11115-020-00492-3

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Abstract

Smart cities (SC) attract constant criticism due their technocratic conceptualization. To solve this issue, scholars call for a citizen-centric approach aligning the SC agenda to the citizens’ needs and preferences. However, examining SC user preferences is still in its infancy and only few studies provide empirical insights. By surveying 105 lead users, this article is able to predict the preferred type of SC services, the preferred channels for accessing smart services and the factors fostering SC service usage. In doing so, the study states a preliminary assessment of SC user preferences setting the scientific groundwork for citizen-centric SC concepts.

Highlights

In recent years, municipalities changed their policies and programs in favor of administering their city in a smart manner (Cardullo and Kitchin 2019; Woetzel et al 2018)
This study aims to determine the spectrum of public services that, from the lead users’ point of view, form the nucleus of a smart city’ (SC) initiative
The results show that the perceived quality of life associates with the prospective range of choices following the accessibility of public services, the individual allocation of time, and social interactivity

Summary

Introduction

Municipalities changed their policies and programs in favor of administering their city in a smart manner (Cardullo and Kitchin 2019; Woetzel et al 2018). Such ‘smart city’ (SC) approaches use information and communication technology (ICT) via a city-wide network of interconnected sensors to augment the services provided by the municipality with regard to their accuracy, efficiency and effectiveness. 796), these ‘lead users’ “have real-life experience with novel product or process concepts [ ...] and so are in a position to provide accurate data on needs related to such future conditions”. By adopting a lead-user approach, the study at hand is able to investigate prospective citizen needs “years before the bulk [of SC users] encounters them” (Von Hippel 1986, p. 796)

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