A vision of social media in the Spanish smartest cities

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyse whether it is the Spanish urban environments that can be considered smart cities that are making the greatest efforts to ensure that citizens have better access to city information and, thus, participate to a greater degree in its governance. Design/methodology/approach – This analysis of the use made of social networks, as an integral part of democratisation, is divided into two phases: first, a descriptive study was made of the cities’ use of their social networks; we then examined, by multiple linear regression analysis, whether the urban areas classed as smart cities are those that make more or less use or application of social networks. Findings – Although, in general terms, the “smartest” smart cities are those which obtain the best overall results in terms of social networks, further improvements are needed, especially in the field of activity and interaction with citizens via these networks. Originality/value – The impact made by social media is one of the emerging research themes in the domain of smart cities, e-government and their information policies. Nevertheless, few studies have examined whether the smart cities are also those whose governments have achieved a greater degree of citizen participation through social networks. Therefore, this study contributes to our understanding of the importance of social media in the local government context, by establishing a relationship between democratic participation, through Facebook and Twitter, and the development of smart cities.

Looking for friends and followers: a global investigation of governmental social media use

“…Both factors can be found in "Informational World Cities" (Stock, 2011) or "Smart Cities" (Shapiro, 2006), representing prototypical cities of the knowledge society (such as Singapore, New York or Hong Kong). Moreover, on a country level, Sáez-Martin et al (2014) found a direct relation between the "smartness" of a city and the social media adoption of its government. In Spain, "the 'smartest' smart cities are those which obtain the best overall results in terms of social networks" (Sáez-Martin et al, 2014, p. 521).…”

Non-Financial Information versus Financial as a Key to the Stakeholder Engagement: A Higher Education Perspective

“…Based on these theories and previous literature, several factors have been traditionally considered: organizational size [28,71]; reputation [72]; location [73,74]; transparency and online activity [29], or communication and public participation [75]. This paper examines the most suitable factors related to the private and public sector as well as other aspects that are specific to the university sector: "Funding", "Size", "Transparency", and "Reputation".…”

Regionų transformacijos į sumaniuosius konceptualus modelis

“…Nenuostabu, kad šiame kontekste vis stipresnes pozicijas užima sumanumo koncepcijos vystymo ir praktinio panaudojimo reikšmė. Pastaroji koncepcija itin aktyviai plėtojama kalbant apie sumanius miestus, bendruomenę, ekonomiką, politiką, vyriausybę ir valdymą bei kitas sritis, neužmirštant ir sumanių regionų (Sáez-Martín, 2014;Iacobucci, 2014;Wolnicki, 2009;OECD report, 2013). Nors sumanumas sietinas su mokslo pažanga ir žiniomis grindžiamu valdymu, inovatyvumu, lankstumu, įtraukumu bei kitomis su konkurencingumu sietinomis charakteristikomis, remiantis A. S. Akopov ir G. L. Beklaryan (2014) galima pastebėti, kad būtent didelis skaičius sudėtingų tiesioginių ir grįžtamųjų ryšių tarp skirtingų regiono charakteristikų ir lemia sumanaus regiono koncepcijos apibrėžimo sudėtingumą ir valdymo komplikuotumą.…”