The Dynamic Formation of a Successful Smart City Roadmap

This research tries to capture the dynamics behind the municipality’s strategic design and implementation of smart initiatives. There are different types of municipalities in Greece, which translates to different needs motivating each to invest in smart initiatives. In parallel, cities always try to position their smart transformation in comparison with others. Along these lines, this research aims at mapping the adaptation process of a smart city strategy. The comparison is based on the unique characteristics the municipalities have. By using a unique, tailor-made questionnaire and advanced statistical techniques, PLS-SEM, the chapter identifies and analyses the unique characteristics of each type of municipality in different thematic areas of action during the strategic design and implementation of smart initiatives. Results show that most cities have embedded various forms of smart projects in their strategies with rather a partial implementation. Furthermore, we identify the characteristics of the variations in the implementation of a strategy, thus helping form policies and more efficient strategies. By mapping the crucial factors, it may open to successful mechanisms in developing smart strategies and help municipalities speed their smart transformation.