Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project
A large number of smart city logistics projects fail to scale up, remaining a local experimental exercise. This lack of scalability is, in fact, commonly recognized as a major problem. This study aims to determine the key success factors related to the scalability of smart city logistics projects. T...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Smart Cities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/4/4/71 |
| _version_ | 1827669599987957760 |
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| author | Eleonora Sista Pietro De Giovanni |
| author_facet | Eleonora Sista Pietro De Giovanni |
| author_sort | Eleonora Sista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A large number of smart city logistics projects fail to scale up, remaining a local experimental exercise. This lack of scalability is, in fact, commonly recognized as a major problem. This study aims to determine the key success factors related to the scalability of smart city logistics projects. The process of scaling up, which is articulated as expansion, roll-out, and replication, is defined as the ability of a system to improve its scale by aiming to meet the increasing volume demand. Specifically, this study investigates the scalability intended to be used as expansion and roll-out. A qualitative case study was conducted to fulfill the research purpose. The chosen case study is SMOOTh, a pilot project currently underway in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, involving a diverse group of companies including Volvo Group and DHL. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven of the project’s stakeholders. Through a thematic analysis, four categories and the respective success factors were identified. These were represented by a business model, as well as technical, stakeholder and regulatory factors. The paper concludes with observations and recommendations aimed at the pilot initiatives, adding new perspectives to the upscaling debate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-256758a098674b5186b9be5cbfe36931 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-6511 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:05:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Smart Cities |
| spelling | doaj.art-256758a098674b5186b9be5cbfe369312023-11-23T10:33:19ZengMDPI AGSmart Cities2624-65112021-10-01441337136510.3390/smartcities4040071Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth ProjectEleonora Sista0Pietro De Giovanni1Department of Business and Management, Luiss University, 00197 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Business and Management, Luiss University, 00197 Rome, ItalyA large number of smart city logistics projects fail to scale up, remaining a local experimental exercise. This lack of scalability is, in fact, commonly recognized as a major problem. This study aims to determine the key success factors related to the scalability of smart city logistics projects. The process of scaling up, which is articulated as expansion, roll-out, and replication, is defined as the ability of a system to improve its scale by aiming to meet the increasing volume demand. Specifically, this study investigates the scalability intended to be used as expansion and roll-out. A qualitative case study was conducted to fulfill the research purpose. The chosen case study is SMOOTh, a pilot project currently underway in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, involving a diverse group of companies including Volvo Group and DHL. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven of the project’s stakeholders. Through a thematic analysis, four categories and the respective success factors were identified. These were represented by a business model, as well as technical, stakeholder and regulatory factors. The paper concludes with observations and recommendations aimed at the pilot initiatives, adding new perspectives to the upscaling debate.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/4/4/71smart logisticssmart city projectpilot projectscale upkey factors |
| spellingShingle | Eleonora Sista Pietro De Giovanni Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project Smart Cities smart logistics smart city project pilot project scale up key factors |
| title | Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project |
| title_full | Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project |
| title_fullStr | Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project |
| title_short | Scaling Up Smart City Logistics Projects: The Case of the Smooth Project |
| title_sort | scaling up smart city logistics projects the case of the smooth project |
| topic | smart logistics smart city project pilot project scale up key factors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/4/4/71 |
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