Title: The Smart City as an opportunity for entrepreneurship

Authors: Chris Richter; Sascha Kraus; Pasi Syrjä

Addresses: School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, FI-53850 Lappeenranta, Finland ' Institute for Entrepreneurship, University of Liechtenstein, Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse, FL-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein ' School of Business, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Skinnarilankatu 34, FI-53850 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: The topic of Smart Cities as an approach for sustainable urban development with the application of ICT has become an intensely discussed field in the recent past. The notion of the term is inconsistent, and the label of a Smart City is misapplied by a growing number of cities. In this article, the authors define the decisive six characteristics of a Smart City by taking the relevant literature into account. They furthermore identify a research gap between the Smart City and entrepreneurship as one main characteristic of the concept. The focus on this topic is justified by a strong influence of the six characteristics of a Smart City on entrepreneurial activities. The further need for research on the interdependency of these two fields, as well as subareas (e.g., entrepreneurial marketing), concludes this paper.

Keywords: smart cities; definitions; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; opportunities; digital entrepreneurship; sustainable urban development; entrepreneurial activities; entrepreneurial marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEV.2015.071481

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Venturing, 2015 Vol.7 No.3, pp.211 - 226

Received: 31 Oct 2013
Accepted: 17 Feb 2014

Published online: 30 Aug 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article