A strategic view on smart city technology: The case of IBM Smarter Cities during a recession

Could smart city technology be considered as a strategic option for firms, especially in recession conditions? Most prior smart city studies focus on the nature and impact of technological systems adopted in the context of particular urban conditions. At the same time, studies about recessions examine primarily their reasons and consequences. Currently, there is no research examining the role of city technology as a strategic option for firms in a recession environment. To address this gap we develop a conceptual framework from studies of recessions and examine the case study of the IBM Smarter Cities initiative against this framework. Our case builds on interview and archival data. Our study offers two contributions. First, we offer an empirical examination of city technology from the perspective of stakeholders and actors who are tasked with the role to create and disseminate these technologies instead of the perspective of cities that use the technology. Second, we propose a strategic view to city technology and showcase the distinctive theoretical and empirical insights that future studies can develop by shifting the attention on the processes and practices inside the ICT organisations creating and disseminating these city technologies.