A Social Network Analysis of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities

This paper explores the relations of centrality and hierarchy between cities and firms implementing Smart City strategies in the context of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI). While the literature has usually focused on the global dimension of cities and firms networks, exploring a national...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2020-06, Vol.12 (12), p.5219
Main Authors: Serrano, Ivan, Calvet-Mir, Laura, Ribera-Fumaz, Ramon, Díaz, Isabel, March, Hug
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Capitalism
Cities
Commodification
Competition
Gateways
Globalization
Hierarchies
Innovations
Network analysis
Public policy
Rhetoric
Smart cities
Social networks
Social organization
Success
Sustainability
Transnationalism
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper explores the relations of centrality and hierarchy between cities and firms implementing Smart City strategies in the context of the Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI). While the literature has usually focused on the global dimension of cities and firms networks, exploring a national case offers interesting insights about the presence of multinational firms in these contexts and the role played by medium-sized cities in their market expansion. The analysis is based on a two-mode network of cities and firms participating in Smart City projects with the usual measures of betweenness, in-degree and closeness, as well as computing the Gini index for each of them to assess the levels of inequality. We then explore whether the structural advantages of participating in these networks have a leveling effect or rather reinforce existing hierarchies of cities. Second, we explore how firms are intertwined in Smart City projects and whether medium-sized local firms have a relevant presence. Our findings suggest these networks become a regional gateway for multinational firms to expand their presence in Smart City national markets, rather than empowering medium-sized cities and small national firms.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su12125219