Presenting the smart city business model: qualitative and quantitative indicators for energy services

Abstract

This article introduces a theoretical framework for the analysis of business models that involve public actors and city governments in particular, in the value network. It starts from an established business model framework and expands it to include an additional set of indicators required to successfully perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the business models of new services offered by cities. It then applies this framework to several divergent cases from the energy services sector in which city governments are involved as part of their efforts in becoming “smarter cities”. Hence, in order to understand the existing challenges and to recommend some effective solutions for smart cities facing business models and necessary indices in the field of energy, it is necessary to study and examine business models in smart cities with the approach of qualitative and quantitative indices in the field of energy, especially in the industries related to electricity. The present study was aimed to identify and present business models for smart cities together with emphasizing qualitative and quantitative indices in the field of energy in order to realized the importance of the present subject through studies and to take steps to determine necessary indices. The pattern of the present study was theoretical-basic and an analytic-descriptive method with past views was used to explain it. Moreover, library and attributive resources were employed in order to collect data.