Why do cities go smart? Investigating the determinants of local engagement with smart cities technologies

The study develops and tests a theoretical framework for the determinants of local engagement with smart cities technologies (SCT). It asserts that the challenges that smart cities solve cannot be fixed by one government alone. In the U.S., all local governments are nested within states that are part of the U.S. federation, which collaboratively address subnational challenges. Using data from ICMA's 2016 Smart Cities Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau, and OLS regressions, the study reveals that horizontal collaborations with the public sector, the private sector, and peers for funding and procurement as well as larger local governments that contribute to cultural diversity and innovation, influence local engagement with SCT. The article identifies policy and managerial implications and offers recommendations for effective public management. • Public-private partnerships contribute to adopting smart cities technologies. • Interlocal collaboration facilitates adopting smart cities technologies. • Collaborative procurement enhances adopting smart cities technologies. • Barriers to technology adoption impede adopting smart cities technologies.