Sustainable business model for local council’s smart city initiatives: a systematic literature review

Background: Malaysia is embarking on sustainable, resilient, and prosperous living conditions initiatives. Malaysian cities are embracing the smart city aspiration through their respective local authorities. However, they face challenges regarding  funding allocation for smart city implementation. Local authorities primarily operate on a conventional business model. Based on their current business model, they are unlikely to sustain their smart city initiatives. A more financially sustainable business model is required by these local authorities to embark on smart city initiatives. This study presents a systematic review concerning the business models adopted by local authorities to implement smart cities. This paper also explores the applicability of frugal innovation towards developing a smart city business model. Methods: This article undertakes a systematic review based on combination sets of eight main keywords: smart city, business model, frugal innovation, local authorities, performance, inclusivity, technology and success factor. The search strategy includes journal articles and conference proceedings from five major online databases: Emerald, ProQuest, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and Springer Link between 2001-2021. The data is tabulated for clear expression of knowledge gaps. Results: A total of 17 articles from 300 articles on smart city business models matched the search on smart city business models for local authorities . The study revealed that hardly any in-depth research providing the crucial elements for a successful smart city business model for local authorities has been conducted. No research has linked frugal innovation to smart city business models. Conclusions: The study calls upon the research community to explore further, the possible linkage between frugal innovation and smart cities for local authorities.