Different levels of Smart Cities' construction in developing vs. developed countries. An empirical research about e-participation tools

Divergent conceptions of smart cities (SCs) could lead to a different SCs construction, especially in developed vs. developing countries. Therefore, this paper contributes to the debate of the different use of ICTs in the SCs... [ view full abstract ]

Divergent conceptions of smart cities (SCs) could lead to a different SCs construction, especially in developed vs. developing countries. Therefore, this paper contributes to the debate of the different use of ICTs in the SCs construction in these countries, examining the use of ICTs for creating collaborative environments in a sample of SCs in these different settings. To achieve this aim, this paper examines the use of ICTs for creating collaborative environments in a sample of SCs in developed versus developing countries, seeking to identify differences in the objectives pursued by city governments with the use of these technologies. Findings demonstrate differences in SCs construction, which is not only shown from the offer side, but also from the demand side in the use of official apps into the sample SCs. This confirms different meanings of the SC concept in the different cultural and economic settings analysed into this paper.