City Initiatives Research Articles

The Effect of Corporate Culture and Structure on Knowledge Sharing: The Case of Health and Beauty Retail Sector in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This research investigates the essence of the association between the three concepts, including corporate culture, corporate structure, and knowledge sharing. In this regard, more specifically, the goal of the paper is to determine the role that corporate culture and structure play in improving knowledge sharing in large health and beauty enterprises in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. The quantitative research obtains data from 273 eligible respondents who currently are employees of large-sized enterprises in the sector in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, such as Pharmacity, Guardian, Watsons, Hasaki, etc.; the collected data is then analyzed by the SPSS Statistics software. In findings, it is shown that factors such as ‘support and collaboration’, and ‘leadership commitment’ affect positively on knowledge sharing, yet ‘formalization’ and ‘centralization’ influence negatively on knowledge sharing. On a different note, it appears that the factor ‘learning and development’ does not impact knowledge sharing in this context.

Smart city development Models: A cross-cultural regional analysis from theory to practice

Based on the multiple definitions and cultural interpretations of smart cities, this study systematically compiled the components, standards, and development modes of smart cities in various regions of the world and proposed a new integration of smart city dimensions and operational framework based on the development process, aiming to provide a theoretical basis and practical orientation for the transition of future development of smart cities and the formulation of planning policies. The conclusions of study are as follows: (1) In the process of building smart cities, countries’ understanding of smart cities is guided by their indigenous cultures, presenting various perceptions of smart city definitions, components, and standards in different geographic regions; (2) Scholars have proposed various dimensions and combinations for the development of smart cities based on their regional cultural, technological conditions, and temporal contexts, aiming to explore how cities can become 'smart'. (3) With the accumulation of experience in the construction of smart cities, the individual-technology-culture (IndiTeCultural) dimension model, which is a combination of individuals, technology, and culture, demonstrates better alignment with the requirements of smart city development around the world. This establishes the foundation for the transition from theory to practice in crafting a future operational framework for smart cities. (4) On the basis of cross-cultural geographical analysis, drawing on the practical experiences of smart city initiatives in various countries and the rating levels of their progress, this study analyses the challenges and opportunities faced by smart city development and presents the problems that need to be solved urgently for more effective mechanisms for smart city development.

“The integration of Business Analytics in Smart Cities”

The integration of business analytics in smart cities represents a paradigm shift in urban development, leveraging data-driven insights to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life. This paper explores the significance of business analytics in the context of smart cities, aiming to understand its implications for urban planning, resource allocation, and decision-making processes. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and case studies, the paper examines the diverse applications of business analytics in smart city initiatives, ranging from optimizing transportation systems to improving public safety and infrastructure management. Despite the potential benefits, challenges such as data privacy concerns, skills gaps, and organizational barriers pose significant obstacles to effective implementation. By analysing successful integration strategies and identifying key lessons learned, this paper offers insights and recommendations for policymakers, urban planners, and other stakeholders to harness the full potential of business analytics in shaping the cities of tomorrow.

Analytical monitoring of milk production in Ukraine

Introduction. The dairy industry is socially oriented, and its products should provide Ukrainian consumers with high-quality and nutritious dairy food products. Together with the products of other processing branches of the agro-industrial complex, these are the basis of ensuring food security. Among the branches of the food industry, the dairy industry ranks fourth in terms of the volume of industrial products sold. The population's well-being depends not only on the effective development of the dairy industry but also on reducing social tensions. The article aims to analyze the state of milk production by category of farms in Ukraine. The research process applied the methods of comparison, analysis, theoretical generalization, and logical generalization. The dialectical research method became the methodological basis. The article analyzes the dynamics of milk production in all categories of farms and finds out that there was a significant decrease in it due to military operations, the deterioration of the state of cattle feeding, the increase in the cost of raw material production due to the increase in prices for electricity, fuel, and logistics services was established. The main problems of the dairy industry are substantiated by the low level of technological equipment of dairies, outdated equipment, underdevelopment of the market infrastructure, low level of supply of raw materials and capacity utilization, low quality of final products of dairy industry enterprises; limitation of the possibility of broad differentiation of the assortment due to the low quality of raw materials; decrease in demand for processing products due to the low purchasing power of the population of the region, in particular rural areas; high level of competition from powerful enterprises equipped with modern equipment and technologies. In the raw materials market, district-scale enterprises face significant competition from leading enterprises in large cities, which can offer higher purchase prices to agricultural producers. Conditions for increasing the volume of milk production in modern conditions are proposed and substantiated. Keywords: production indicators, milk, dairy industry, annual yield, cattle.

Relationship Between Job Embeddedness Factors with Job Engagement and Intentions to Stay of Employees: Research at Small and Medium Enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City

This study was conducted at small and medium-sized enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to provide additional insight into job embeddedness factors that affect employee engagement. with the job and the intention to stay and work at the enterprise. With the underlying theory of Mitchell et al. (2001), the authors conducted a direct employee survey at businesses and collected a valid survey of n=300 tables. The software used is SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0 to process data. The result is that the factors of Job Embeddedness all have a direct impact on work engagement, with the strongest order being Sacrifice organization (SO) with beta = 0.384. The second is Organizational Fit (FO) with beta = 0.369. Third is Organizational links (OL) with beta=0.335. Sacrifice when leaving the organization directly impacts the intention to stay with the organization, with a regression coefficient of 0.126, this influence is quite low and almost insignificant. The standardized regression coefficient between job engagement and intention to stay with the organization is 0.597. The solutions proposed by the authors are intended to help business leaders gain insight into the current situation in the business and make appropriate decisions for operations, in order to improve and enhance employee engagement with business.

Exploring the Roles, Future Impacts, and Strategic Integration of Artificial Intelligence in the Optimization of Smart City—From Systematic Literature Review to Conceptual Model

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the science fields with huge potential to create a cognitive and tech-leaping type of future smart city design/development. However, extant studies lag behind recent applications, potential growth areas, and the challenges associated with AI implementation. This study examines AI’s current role, trend, and future potential impacts in enhancing smart city drivers. The methodology entails conducting a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of publications from 2022 onwards. The approach involves qualitative deductive coding methods, descriptive statistical analysis, and thematic analysis. The findings revealed the impacts of AI in (i) public services and connectivity, (ii) improving accessibility and efficiency, (iii) quality healthcare, (iv) education, and (v) public safety. Likewise, strategies, such as collaborative ecosystems, digital infrastructure, capacity building, and clear guidelines and ethical framework, were proposed for fostering the integration of AI in potential future smart cities. This research fills a notable gap in the current understanding of AI’s specific contributions to smart cities, offering insights for stakeholders in urban planning, computer science, sociology, economics, environmental science, and smart city initiatives. It serves as a strategic guideline and scholarly research output for enhancing smart city design. It also underscores the potential of AI in creating dynamic, sustainable, and efficient urban environments.

Factors influencing the content of Smart City initiatives(particularly based on institutional theories of organization)

Objectives This paper aims to consider the factors shaping the smart city structures from the perspective of institutional organizational theories and in context of sustainable development. Prior work The previous findings have revealed significant lack of attention to factors impacting the smart city concept. Approach The paper applies literature reviews and survey analysis involving the experts in the field of smart cities. Results The paper applies literature reviews and survey analysis involving the experts in the field of smart cities. Implications The study provides the perspective useful for local and regional authorities as well as other parties involved in smart city implementation and development. Value The paper proposes the extended multi-factor smart city model approach encompassing the factors from different theories.

Ignorance As Political Instrument? Integration Discourses on Migrant Welfare Recipients in Switzerland

ABSTRACT Agnotology, the study of doubt and ignorance in areas where knowledge can be possessed, altered, hidden, and reclaimed, offers multiple insights into the working of states. This article explores the role of ‘ignoring’ as an active strategy of ignorance; a practice used by local governments to disregard certain knowledge and the production of alternative framings. Studying the intersection of welfare and migration policy based on an example of policy making and implementation in Switzerland, this work shows how resistance can be built by not paying attention, thus ignoring certain rules and policies, while actively shaping alternative frameworks to increase migrants’ rights. The cases build on the newly introduced Federal Act on Foreign Nationals and Integration, in which integration requirements exclude social assistance reception for foreign nationals in case they intend to retain or stabilise their residence status. Any financial dependence will thus cause a potential loss of residence or settlement permit. Focusing on the deficit of migrants individually and as a collective, therefore allows governments to exclude them, making ‘knowledge production’ and ‘ignoring’ fruitful concepts to explore such bordering processes. Yet, two city initiatives contested these restrictions, developing alternative financial support for foreign nationals, even if one of them was ruled unlawful. The examples show how authorities create sanctuary policies and choose to circumvent laws through an active ignoring of national policy intentions, reframing them on the local level. Linking ignorance to such local scales and their sanctuary support provides an asset in understanding local and practical endeavours of municipalities to secure political autonomy and increase resistance strategies. Hence, a restrictive understanding of integration at the national level foregrounds a one-sided view of non-citizens as costly and potential abusers of allegedly generous welfare support. Migration and social policy laws support such a one-sided perspective by allowing assessments to consider mainly economic integration, thereby excluding those who are not active in the labour market. However, local responses can challenge this one-sidedness by choosing to ignore an overly restrictive framework and try out potentials to resist.

The low-carbon city initiative and urban inbound tourism economy: a spatial difference-in-differences analysis

The low-carbon city initiative and urban inbound tourism economy: a spatial difference-in-differences analysis

An Effective Model for Selecting the Best Cloud Platform for Smart Farming in Smart Cities: A Case Study

Cloud computing has become an essential technology for various industries, including smart farming and smart city initiatives. Integrating smart farming into smart city initiatives can bring numerous benefits, such as increased food production, resource efficiency, environmental sustainability, and improved quality of life for urban residents. Smart cities and smart farming are two interconnected concepts that aim to improve the efficiency and sustainability of urban areas. Smart cities use technology and data to optimize infrastructure, services, and resources, while smart farming applies these same principles to agriculture. Smart farming with cloud computing involves the use of cloud computing technologies to optimize agricultural processes and improve crop yields. By using cloud computing technologies, farmers can collect, store, and analyze large amounts of data, access advanced analytics and machine learning tools, collaborate with agricultural experts, and benefit from scalability and flexibility. In this paper, we propose a novel MEREC-MAIRCA method to select the best cloud platform that helps decision-makers use smart farming in smart cities. By leveraging technology and data, smart farming can enable new business models, create new jobs, and foster social connections around food production and consumption.

A Novel Approach of Traffic Congestion and Anomaly Detection with Prediction Using Deep Learning

Traffic congestion and anomalies present significant challenges to urban mobility, impacting economic activity and quality of life. Traditional traffic management systems often fall short in accurately predicting and mitigating these issues due to their reliance on static models and limited data sources. This study introduces a novel deep learning framework designed to enhance traffic congestion and anomaly detection and provide accurate traffic flow predictions. Leveraging a comprehensive dataset encompassing various traffic patterns and conditions, we employ a convolutional neural network (CNN) model, renowned for its efficacy in handling spatial data, combined with long short-term memory (LSTM) networks to capture temporal dependencies. Our approach distinguishes itself by incorporating real-time data and employing advanced feature extraction techniques, enabling the dynamic adjustment of traffic management strategies. The methodology section outlines the data preprocessing steps, model architecture, training process, and evaluation metrics employed. Experimental results demonstrate the model's superior performance over existing methods in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, and computational efficiency. The discussion elaborates on the model's practical implications for smart city initiatives and its potential to revolutionize traffic management systems. This study not only addresses the gaps identified in the literature review but also opens avenues for future research in applying deep learning to urban traffic challenges.

Exploring theoretical constructs of smart cities and ICT infrastructure: Comparative analysis of development strategies in Africa-US Urban areas

This review paper explores smart cities' theoretical constructs and comparative development strategies, focusing on the juxtaposition between African and US urban areas. It delves into the evolution of smart city concepts, highlighting how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure serves as the cornerstone for enhancing urban management and service delivery. Through a comparative analysis, the paper reveals divergent strategic approaches, innovation ecosystems, and the prioritization of sustainability and inclusivity in smart city initiatives across the two regions. It underscores the significance of tailoring smart city development to local contexts, ensuring equitable access to technology, and the pivotal role of public-private partnerships. The paper concludes with implications for urban planners, policymakers, and technology developers, suggesting future research directions to bridge existing gaps and address emerging smart city trends.

“The Citizen” as a Ghost Subject in Co-Producing Smart Sustainable Cities: An Intersectional Approach

The importance and benefits of engaging citizens as co-producers of urban transformation have been increasingly recognised. However, the mere implementation of citizen co-production does not guarantee more legitimate or inclusive policy decisions and outcomes, especially when power inequalities that shape local decision-making remain unaddressed. This article examines the transformative potential of citizen co-production in smart sustainable city initiatives using two successive citizen panels in Trondheim, Norway, as cases. The study aimed to understand the role of citizen co-production in these panels, and the notion of “the citizen” within their frameworks. Three challenges with co-production were identified. Firstly, the ad-hoc nature of citizen engagement emphasised individual participation rather than facilitating collective spaces from which political agency could emerge. Secondly, citizens’ viewpoints were perceived as uninformed preferences that could be transformed through professional guidance. This, coupled with the closed nature of the initiatives, raises questions about the transformative potential of the processes, particularly in challenging the underlying premises of citizen co-production shaped by a neoliberal discourse of smart sustainable cities. The article concludes with a call to analyse citizen co-production spaces through an intersectional lens that attends to relational understandings of power dynamics and identities. This analysis should not only consider who participates, but also how “the citizen” as a subject is conceptualised and mobilised, how citizens’ interests and knowledge are taken into account, and the political significance of their involvement.

Community Education and its Role in Promoting Smart Cities within a Rapidly Changing Technological Environment

This study explores the role of community education in smart city development within the Indonesian context. The purpose is to understand urban residents' perceptions, attitudes, and barriers toward technology and smart city initiatives and evaluate the effectiveness of current community education programs. A cross-sectional research design was employed, involving surveys and interviews with residents from cities participating in Indonesia's 'Towards 100 Smart Cities' initiative. Thematic and statistical analyses were conducted to analyze the data collected. The findings reveal a mix of optimism and concerns among respondents regarding technology and smart city initiatives, highlighting the importance of addressing privacy, security, and inclusivity issues. While current community education programs effectively raise awareness about smart city concepts, gaps in accessibility and inclusivity persist, suggesting the need for targeted interventions. The study's novelty lies in its contextualized approach to understanding smart city development within Indonesia's diverse urban landscape. It provides practical insights for policymakers and urban planners, emphasizing the importance of community education in promoting inclusive and participatory smart city development. The study contributes to the growing literature on smart city development by offering valuable insights and recommendations for advancing sustainable and equitable urban development in Indonesia and beyond.

Open strategizing for developing smart city food system: Stakeholder inclusion in practice

The positive impact of stakeholder engagement (SE) in smart city development initiatives has received notable scholarly attention over the past decade. Researchers of stakeholder engagement have investigated various aspects of the engagement process from different theoretical perspectives, yet the complexity and dynamism of inclusion, especially at the societal level and in the context of smart city development, continue to inspire more research. Drawing from the intersection of open strategy (OS) and SE, we seek to enhance understanding of the open strategizing process by elucidating stakeholder inclusion practices in a smart city initiative, focusing on food systems in Da Nang, Vietnam. Our participatory action research draws on 114 semi-structured interviews and four stakeholder workshops to analyze the way stakeholder inclusion practices unfold in the strategic decision-making process of a smart city initiative. Our analysis reveals that stakeholder inclusion is complex and involves four interdependent practices at different stages of the strategizing process. These practices are trust formation, common language creation, role transformation, and expectation alignment. Together, they culminate in the creation of an interactive social space for the strategy-making process. The proposed analytical framework highlights the interdependencies among practices and their outcomes at different stages of the open strategizing process and could serve as a guideline in a context in which stakeholder inclusion at the planning phase is necessary to achieve systemic change.

The Impact of a State-Level, Place-Based Economic Development Program: A Difference-in-Differences Approach

This analysis uses a difference-in-differences approach to examine the impact of the Regional Cities Initiative (RCI) on economic development outcomes in counties that participated in the program relative to those that did not participate. The RCI was a place-based economic development program that was implemented in Indiana beginning in 2015. Through a competitive process, this program provided funding for projects meant to improve the quality of life in three regions of the state. The results indicate that participating counties had higher gross domestic product growth and higher employment growth than nonparticipating counties. There is limited evidence that the program had a positive impact on population growth. There were no discernable effects on house prices or earnings.

The impact of artificial intelligence application on enterprise environmental performance: Evidence from microenterprises

The progress of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is an important way to solve the problem of global sustainable development. This paper discusses how AI, as a new scientific force, affects the pollution reduction of enterprises from a micro perspective. In this paper, the robot data provided by the International Federation of Robotics and pollution data of industrial enterprises in China are used for empirical analysis to test the effect of AI on pollution performance of enterprises. The results show that the application of AI can reduce enterprise emissions through technological innovation effect and labor substitution effect, and this result remains robust after sample substitution and variable substitution. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that AI has a more significant impact on enterprises in big cities and southern cities, as well as large enterprises, old enterprises and non-technology-intensive enterprises. The research results of this paper provide an effective reference for solving how to achieve green and sustainable development of artificial intelligence applications.

Prolegomena to a Description Language for GenAI Tools in Cities

The potential of generative AI has been recently demonstrated through different applications. The open government and smart city initiatives can leverage this potential to produce innovations that improve government workflows and the lives of citizens. This commentary makes the case for a description language enabling the structured documentation of these upcoming innovations. The description language would facilitate the communication between governments, citizens and innovators. The key elements of the description language are briefly sketched and its usefulness is shown by the generation of ideas for GenAI tools related to interactive maps in cities.

SUSTAINABLE SMART CITIES: THE ROLE OF FINTECH IN PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable smart cities are at the forefront of urban development, striving to balance economic prosperity with environmental sustainability. This Review delves into the critical role played by Financial Technology (Fintech) in advancing environmental sustainability within smart city initiatives. Fintech innovations are instrumental in optimizing resource management, enhancing citizen engagement, and fostering collaborative governance models, thereby contributing to the overarching goal of creating sustainable urban ecosystems. Through a historical perspective, this Review traces the evolution of sustainable smart cities, highlighting the transformative impact of technological advancements and the integration of Fintech solutions. From early urban planning concepts to the emergence of smart technologies in the 21st century, the evolution of sustainable smart cities underscores the importance of leveraging innovation to address urban challenges. The rise of Fintech has further accelerated this evolution, offering innovative financial services tailored to support green finance, renewable energy investment, and sustainable infrastructure development. Fintech platforms enable efficient allocation of resources, facilitate transparent and secure transactions, and empower citizens to participate in sustainable initiatives. By integrating Fintech solutions into urban development strategies, cities can unlock new opportunities for environmental sustainability while fostering economic growth and social equity. Looking ahead, the integration of sustainable smart cities and Fintech holds immense potential to address pressing environmental challenges such as climate change, pollution, and resource depletion. As cities continue to embrace digital transformation and adopt data-driven approaches, the role of Fintech in promoting environmental sustainability will become increasingly crucial. By leveraging historical insights and embracing emerging technologies, cities can chart a path towards a more resilient, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable future. This Review underscores the importance of collaboration among stakeholders, including governments, businesses, academia, and civil society, to drive collective action and accelerate the transition towards sustainable smart cities.
 Keywords: Sustainable, Smart Cities, Fintech, Promoting, Environmental.

Assessment of the epidemiological health risk of foundry contamination of small town soils

Introduction. The paper presents the results of the assessment of the risk to public health and the level of soil contamination with heavy metals and arsenic in a small town with a foundry.
 Materials and methods. The objects of the study are the morbidity of the population of the Melenkovsky district of the Vladimir region and the soil cover of the city of Melenki. The assessment of the probable risk of morbidity is based on the determination of epidemiological risk indicators, the obtained values of which were converted into values normalized by the marginal error of the background level (Δ). Soil samples were taken in the zone of industrial enterprises, highways, residential private sector, landscape, and recreational areas. The soil cover was examined by X-ray fluorescence method for the evaluationof the content of heavy metals and arsenic.
 Results. The study conducted to assess the probable risk allowed establishing in the Melenkovsky district, relative to the background regional values, children to have a very high risk for nine classes of diseases, adults to have a very high risk for 6 classes of diseases. There has been established the contamination of the soil of the city of Melenka with heavy metals and arsenic to be probably due to the specifics and duration of operation of the oldest enterprise in the city ‒ the foundry and mechanical plant. In the central part of the city, there have been identified local areas posing high health risks, which determines the need to manage permanent environmental and hygienic monitoring here. The greatest danger to public health is arsenic, whose concentrations in almost all sampling points exceed sanitary and hygienic standards.
 The limitations of the study are related to one-time sampling and a small number of reference sites, which limits the possibilities of a broader interpretation of the data obtained.
 Conclusion. It has been established that a city enterprise operating for a long time, due to soil contamination of the adjacent territory, can bear high risks to public health even during prolonged downtime or termination of its main activity. The chemical contamination of the soil in the territory adjacent to the foundry and mechanical plant, which is extremely dangerous in terms of the total indicator, requires special environmental measures to remove and further neutralize chemical elements. To reduce soil pollution in the city, there are required modernization of industrial enterprises and the creation of expanded sanitary protection zones around them.