The smart city as a hub for nourishing public-private partnerships

Taking into consideration the complexity of planning and implementing an urban strategy, this paper studies the influence of potential stakeholders on the implementation of smart city projects. As a network of different organizations, a city provides the ground for multidisciplinary actors with different agendas and resources to interact and cooperate. By forming strategic partnerships, municipalities can better design and implement a smart city strategy adjusted to the needs of their community. Along these lines, this research tries to capture the dynamics behind the municipality's role in the formulated partnerships. By using a unique, tailor-made questionnaire and advanced statistical techniques, the paper identifies and analyses the direct and indirect effects of different stakeholders in the strategic design and implementation of smart initiatives. The main findings underline the public and private organizations' critical role in supporting a smart strategy. A systematic analysis of partnerships may help public authorities and citizens to formulate an effective smart city strategy, overcome potential challenges in smart initiatives and achieve sustainability and growth.