Implementing citizen centric technology in developing smart cities: A model for predicting the acceptance of urban technologies

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.09.012Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Technology acceptance literature integrated with current smart cities literature to provide a citizen centric focus

  • Develops a technology acceptance model for implementing smart cities in emerging economies

  • Develops a tool to give decision-makers certainty that citizens are likely to accept technologies prior to roll-out.

  • Provides technology acceptance findings for selected developing cities.

Abstract

Local urban identity, culture and knowledge ecosystems continue to shape innovative capacity and technological acceptance despite global exchange in talent, trade and technology. This has important implications for the development and implementation of future smart cities. The last two decades of smart city research has presented smart cities as a generic, universal aspiration without taking into consideration such local cultural differences. Future smart cities have several tasks ahead of them. The first is selecting culturally appropriate technologies from the vast array of global technologies now on offer. The second task is adapting such technology and the third task is in managing the acceptance of such technology. The above process is not linear but must be iterative, with technology acceptance considered simultaneously alongside the selection and adoption of such technologies. This study integrates the substantial literature on Technology Acceptance Modelling into the smart city discourse to begin to address this need. It also further develops our understanding of technology acceptance using the Structural Equation Modelling Method. A new synthetic model is proposed consisting of twelve factors, which have been selected based on a targeted literature review. A survey-based method was used to develop and cross-validate the model sampling a diverse population from various Iranian cities. The result of the above process is a new model named the Urban Services Technology Acceptance Model (USTAM).

The validated model includes key factors related to technology such as Self-Efficacy, Operation, Work Facilitation, Relative Advantage and Compatibility. The USTAM is a useful tool for the prediction of technology acceptance in the implementation of smart cities. The final model is significant for various reasons. Firstly, it is significant for ensuring that selected technology is appropriate to local cultural contexts. Secondly it is significant to ensure that integration of technologies at metropolitan scales is managed effectively. The final significant reason is that it is well-suited to helping developing economies participate in the smart city boom in a resource efficient manner. The proposed model can potentially help cities achieve this by guiding them in the selection of appropriate technologies. The proposed model is developed with specific reference to Iran and Bangladesh. The authors suggest that the model is useful for cities of different cultural identities and characteristics, who wish to initiate their own distinctive smart city strategies.

Section snippets

Introduction: local identity as a source of value

Local identity and knowledge are fundamental source of value for cities and the practical base upon which smart city plans must engage (Yigitcanlar et al., 2018). Despite this, the smart city has been presented as a global phenomenon with little attention to local contexts (Söderström et al., 2014). Current smart city plans have tended to picture the city as a “blank canvas upon which powerful sophisticated technology can simply be overlain and made to work in straightforwardly useful, new

Background: the local imperative in smart city development

Local knowledge has largely been overlooked as a source of innovative potential for smart cities (Vanolo, 2016). Smart cities research has instead largely been aligned with the “placeless” approach proposed by Cairncross, 1997, Cairncross, 2001 almost two decades ago who suggested that geography would become increasingly irrelevant with the advent of internet and communications technologies. The “death-of-distance” has not in fact occurred. In contrast the importance of local identity to social

Developing the conceptual model

For citizen centric smart cities effective technology acceptance by users is critical (Lee and Lee, 2014; Saunders and Baeck, 2015). The technology acceptance model (TAM) and social cognitive theories (SCT) have been developed through research on information and communication systems, which make them robust theories for measuring individuals' perceptions on the use of a new technology (Schepers et al., 2005).

TAM is one of the most reliable models and has been used as the theoretical basis for

Research methods

This study employed a quantitative research approach and used a structured questionnaire as the only instrument to collect data (Table 3). The questionnaire covered 12 constructs as shown in Table 1, and included 51 measures to evaluate the proposed constructs. It used a five-point scale, from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Data was collected from citizens who were randomly selected at public urban locations within three selected Iranian cities 1.) Tabriz, 2.) Isfahan, 3.) Shiraz.

Data analysis and results

To evaluate the proposed model, the structural equation modelling was utilized using the SmartPLS 3.0 software program (Ringle et al., 2015). The paper presents the results of two tests of the measurement model; both validity and reliability. In this way the structure of the model is analyzed in relation to the variables. If the model passes all stages successfully, it shows the correctness of the selected constructs and their dependent terms. The following sections present the results of the

Discussion

The purpose of this research was to develop a model to predict technology acceptance in developing smart cities, considering local social, cultural and infrastructural conditions. This study is different from previous works in major ways. Firstly, previous studies focused on e-government technologies (Wangpipatwong et al., 2008; Abu-Shanab, 2017) and didn't cover the diverse technology-based services associated with Smart Cities contexts. Secondly, most relevant smart city studies focus on

Conclusion

This paper aimed to develop a more citizen centric approach to smart cities by understanding the local dimensions of technology acceptance. This study has revealed the potential for technology acceptance tools in facilitating smart city development. It provides both theoretical and empirical support to the project of implementing smart cities in developing countries through survey, analysis and the development of insights on technology acceptance. To date the proposed model is the most

Competing interests statement

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Acknowledgments

This work has been developed through collaboration made possible by the Smart Cities Research Cluster UNSW Sydney.

Samad Sepasgozar has considerable expertise in the science of technology acceptance and has published in this area previously. His research addresses the complex issues related to the practices of technology adoption in construction, and develop a uniform framework for understanding its process. His other interested themes are related to creating needs and applications for new technologies (Geo-ICT, Scanners, BIM and GIS, etc.) to solve problems in city, municipality, transportation,

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    Samad Sepasgozar has considerable expertise in the science of technology acceptance and has published in this area previously. His research addresses the complex issues related to the practices of technology adoption in construction, and develop a uniform framework for understanding its process. His other interested themes are related to creating needs and applications for new technologies (Geo-ICT, Scanners, BIM and GIS, etc.) to solve problems in city, municipality, transportation, construction and mining. He has worked in diverse research areas including green technologies, disaster management, and engineering education.

    Scott Hawken, is convener of the Smart Cities Cluster UNSW which provides leadership and collaborative opportunities in the smart cities space throughout the Asia Pacific region. He has recently completed editing a special issue on Smart Cities and Urban Innovation for City, Culture and Society Journal. He is currently editing a book on open data and cities due for publication in 2019. He has expertise in smart cities development in both developed and developing cities. In 2017 he led national workshops in India focused on the 100 smart cities mission in collaboration with national agency Niti Aayog. In 2018 he has focused on developing two international collaborations. The first focused on Big Data and Design with Beijing City Lab at Tsinghua University and the second focused on China's Sponge Cities program with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

    Sharifeh Sargolzaei is currently completing her doctorate in Art University of Isfahan. Her thesis is about the process of adopting new technologies for improving the quality of life in urban areas at both individual and organizational levels in developing countries. Other experiences include working on issues such as Smart Cities, urban planning, disaster management and rmergency accommodation.

    Mona Foroozanfar received her MASc from the Construction Project Management Group at the University of Tehran. She has published in the area of technology adoption in the construction industry. Also, she has conducted research in the field of green digital technologies, and sustainability.

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