What is Value generation

The rapid advance in the technology sector in the last decades has ignited smart city initiatives all over the world, which aim to provide solutions to current urban problems related to energy, waste management, traffic, and security, among others. However, although smart territories have been studied from different approaches, there seems to be a gap in the relationship between smart cities and businesses. Private entities have the knowledge, experience and in most cases, the resources to contribute to the synergy between governmental agencies and entrepreneurs. Three case studies from successful smart cities are presented together with an additional case study using original research in order to study the smart city under a business model framework, where each actor generates and captures value. Results indicate that private organizations play a key role in the innovation ecosystem, and they are crucial for collaboration with universities to encourage civil society participation in the smart city.