Abstract
The need for digitalization in companies and the public sector became very clear because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the article, we investigate the business value and challenges that digitalization creates for the municipalities. Next generation tele and data communications technologies such as 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) enable digitalization of working processes as well as interaction with customers and citizens. A comparative study of the EU countries (DESI index) shows that the Nordic region performs best in Europe in terms of digitalization, e.g., development of the 4G/5G grid, Internet use, ICT competence, and access to public digital services. A study of 60 Nordic (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland) municipalities (NDMI index) shows that the large municipalities score best on the scope and maturity of digital services and the management of academia and industry partners in smart ecosystems. An in-depth survey of eight large, medium, and small municipalities in Norway provides a detailed insight into the work of digitalization and the challenges facing the municipal management. The technical sector (water, sewerage, renovation), together with health and real estate sectors, streamlines working processes and interacts with citizens via Internet of Things (IoT) and other tele and data communications. Increased quality of service, improved living conditions for residents, and business development based on open access to data collected by the municipality are business values reported in these case studies. The small municipalities are active in inter-municipal cooperation to remedy challenges with a lack of ICT expertise and resources as well as the risk of vendor lock-in. In addition, they use digital services developed by the national association of local and regional authorities that increase standardization of the municipalities’ IT systems. Other challenges include inertia in adopting new processes in the municipalities and a lack of IoT standards and business models in cooperation with industry partners. Results are discussed and follow-ups survey studies are suggested in the end of the document.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
5G PPP. (2020). 5G empowering vertical industries. Retrieved from https://5g-ppp.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/BROCHURE_5PPP_BAT2_PL.pdf.
Analysis Mason. (2020). Nordic digital municipality index 2020. Retrieved from https://www.telenor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Nordic-Digital-Municipality-Index-2020.pdf.
Andersson, L., Mannikoff, A., Markendahl, J., & Deij, L. (2019). Nuläge, planer och förutsättningar för digitalisering av infrastruktur i mindre kommuner. Delrapport inom projektet ”Samverkande infrastruktur för smarta och hållbara mindre kommuner och städer”.
Áñez, V. (2016). Stakeholders_approach_to_smart_cities_a_survey_on_smart_city_definitions. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303706780.
Arthur D. Little. (2017). Connected things new digital ecosystems—Unlocking the. growth potential of IOT. Telia.
Calzada, I. (2020). Democratising smart cities? Penta -helix multi stakeholder socoial innovaiton framework. Smart cities, 3, 1145–1173.
Chan, B. (2018, January 24). Planning sustainable smart cities with the smart city ecosystem framework. Retrieved from https://strategyofthings.io/smart-city-ecosystem.
Chang, H., Mikalsen, K., Nesse, P., & Erdal, O. (2020). Digitalization of municipalities through ecosystem collaboration. Nordic and Baltic Journal of Information and Communications Technologies. https://www.journal.riverpublishers.com/index.php/Nbjict/article/view/1048/537.
Claesson, P., Mannikoff, A., Markendahl, J., & Deij, L. (2019). Effektiv ICT användning och utbyggnad av infrastruktur. Samverkan inom och mellan kommuner.
Deloitte. (2020). 5G smart citites white paper. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/cn/Documents/technology-media-telecommunications/deloitte-cn-tmt-empowering-smart-cities-with-5g-white-paper-en-200702.pdf.
DOGA. (2019). Roadmap for smart and sustainable cities and communities in Norway. Retrieved from https://doga.no/globalassets/pdf/smartby-veikart-19x23cm-eng-v1_delt.pdf.
Easton, G. (2010). Critical realism in case study research. Industrial Marketing Management, 39(1), 118–128.
Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550.
Ericsson. (2018). IoT accelerator—Turning really good concepts into concrete realities. Retrieved April 5, 2018, from Ericsson: https://www.ericsson.com/en/internet-of-things/solutions/iot-platform.
Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (2000). The dynamics of innovation: From National systems and ‘Mode’ 2 to a Triple Helix og univeristy-industry-government relations. Research Policy, 29, 109–123.
European Commision. (2020). The digital economy and societal index (DESI). Retrieved from https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/digital-economy-and-society-index-desi-2020.
European Commision. (n.d.). Smart cities. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/eu-regional-and-urban-development/topics/cities-and-urban-development/city-initiatives/smart-cities_en.
Francesco, S., Francesco, P., & Mancinia, D. (2019). Business model innovation for urban smartization. Technological forecasting and Social change, 210–219. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.10.028.
Gartner. (2017, August 2017). Top trends in the gartner hype cycle for emerging technologies, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2018, from https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/top-trends-in-the-gartner-hype-cycle-for-emerging-technologies-2017/.
Gawer, A. (2014). Bridging different perspectives on technological platforms: Toward an integrative framework. Research Policy, 43(7), 1239–1249.
Gawer, A., & Cusumano, M. A. (2002). Platform leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco drive industry innovation. Boston: Harvard Business School press.
Hallingby, H. K., & Do, T. v. (2013). Adaption of ecosystem analysis to sim and id management. Fornebu: Telenor.
Heini, I., Petra, T., & Anssi, S. (2018). Value creation in the Internet of Things: Mapping business models and ecosystem roles. Technology Innovation Management Review, 61(5), 32–40.
Horizon 2020. (2015). 5G: A leadership vision for Europe. D2.2 report on community building and events. 5G: A leadership vision for Europe. Retrieved from https://wiki.techinc.nl/images/7/76/5G_A_Leadership_Vision_for_Europe.pdf.
Hsieh, H., & Shannon, S. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288.
Iansiti, M., & Levien, R. (2004). The keystone advantage. What the new dynamics of business ecosystems mean for strategy, innovation and sustainability. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
IoT analytics. (2020). Top 10 smart city use cases prioritized now. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from https://iot-analytics.com/top-10-smart-city-use-cases-prioritized-now/.
Ju, J., Kim, M.-S., & Ahn, J.-H. (2016). Prototyping business models for IoT service. Information Technology and Quantitative managment (ITQM). Elsevier Ltd, ScienceDirect.
KMD. (2019). One digital public sector—Digital strategy for the public sector 2019–2025. Retrieved from https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dokumenter/one-digital-public-sector/id2653874/?ch=1.
KMD. (2020). National strategy for artificial intelligence. Retrieved from https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/1febbbb2c4fd4b7d92c67ddd353b6ae8/en-gb/pdfs/ki-strategi_en.pdf.
Leminen, S., Rajahonka, M., Westerlund, M., & Wendelin, R. (2018). The future of the Internet of Things: Toward heterarchical ecosystems and business models. Journal of Business Industrial Marketing, 13(4), 749–767.
Lundberg, A. K., Bardal, K., Vangelsten, B., Brynildsen, M., Bjørkan, R., Bjørkan, M., & Richarson, T. (2020). Strekk i laget: En kartlegging av hovrdan FN's bærekraftsmål implementeres i region og kommunal planlegging. Nordlandsforskning. Retrieved October 9, 2020, from https://distriktssenteret.no/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/rapport_nf7_2020_strekk_i_laget.pdf.
Markendahl, J., Lundberg, S., Kordas, O., & Movin, S. (2017). On the role of potential of IoT in different industries. analysis of actor cooperation and challenges for introduction of new technology. CTTE. Copenhagen: IEEE.
Menon. (2018). Digitalisering av kommuner - hva er gevinstpotensialet? Retrieved from https://www.menon.no/wp-content/uploads/2018-73-Smarte-Kommuner.pdf.
Nesse, P., Hallingby, H. O. E., & Evjemo, B. (2020). Business ecosystems and IoT innovations—Learning from an experimental approach. In E. S. Lau (Ed.). (pp. 109–124). Springer. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-981-15-2906-1_8 (NSD Level 1).
Nesse, P., Lindtvedt, I., & Frøhaug, R. (2021). The municipality’s role in a smart Internet of Things ecosystem. International journal of Public administration in the Digital Age, 8(1), 1–15.
Norwegian Goverment. (2015). Stortingsmelding 27—Digital agenda for Norge. Retrieved from https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/fe3e34b866034b82b9c623c5cec39823/no/pdfs/stm201520160027000dddpdfs.pdf.
Papert, M., & Pflaum, A. (2017). Development of an ecosystem model for the realization of Internet of Things (ioT) services and supply chain management. Electronic Markets, 27(2), 175–189.
Peltoniemi, M. (2004). Cluster, value network and business ecosystem: Knowledge and innovation approach. Organisations, innovation and complexity: New perspectiveson the knowledge economy (pp. 1–9). Manchester: The Complexity Society and CRIC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition.
Rambøll Management Consulting. (2020). IKT i praksis 2018 - smarte byer og bærekraftige løsninger. Retrieved from https://no.ramboll.com/-/media/files/rno/publikasjoner/it-i-praksis-2018--smarte-og-brekraftige-byer.pdf?la=no.
Rand Europe. (2015). Mapping smart cities in the EU. Retrieved from https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/hlm/prgm/urbandevt/Measuring_Progress__Achieving_Smarter_Cities_/Presentations/Catriona_Manville.pdf.
Reve, T. (2017). Arbeidsplassene skapes i de nye vekstbedriftene - Sluttrapport fra MIT REAP South West Norway prosjektet. Oslo: Handelshøgskolen BI.
Rybalka, M., Røgeberg, O., & Dyngen, Ø. Å. (2019). Digitalisering i kommunene. En oversikt over situasjonen 2018. Oslo: SSB. Retrieved from https://www.ssb.no/teknologi-og-innovasjon/artikler-og-publikasjoner/_attachment/388777?_ts=16b457fdd00.
Statistica. (2021). Number of internet of things (IoT) connected devices worldwide in 2018, 2025 and 2030. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/802690/worldwide-connected-devices-by-access-technology/.
Tiwana, A. (2014). Platform ecosystems. Aligning architecture, governance and strategy. London: Elsevier.
United Nations. (n.d.). Sustainable development goals. Retrieved October 9, 2020, from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Nesse, P.J., Erdal, O.B. (2022). Smart Digitalization in Nordic Cities and Municipalities Through Internet of Things. In: Lau, E., Makin, A.J., Tan, L.M. (eds) Economics and Finance Readings. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1720-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1720-2_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-19-1719-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-19-1720-2
eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)