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Cities evolved into quite complex urban systems. The rigid management process must reflect the complexity of the current political, social, and economic environment. With the vast city growth, citizens experience new difficulties – traffic congestion, pollution, immigration, overcrowding, and inadequate services.

In our research, we analyze problems and benefits that occur with the growing complexity and offer a new concept considering every city as a live and constantly developing complex adaptive system of many participants and actors that operate in an uncertain environment. These actors (residents, businesses, transport, energy, water supply providers, entertainment, and others) are the main elements of city life.

The new concept of “Smart City 5.0” is based on a previously developed model of Smart City 4.0 (compared with Industry 4.0) and implements the Urban Digital Ecosystem, where every element can be represented by a smart agent operating on its behalf. It is shown that smart services can interact vertically and horizontally in the proposed ecosystem, supporting competition and cooperation behavior based on specialized network protocols for balancing the conflicting interests of different city actors.

The chapter describes the design principles and the general architecture of the Urban Digital Ecosystem, including the basic agent of smart service, protocols of the agent’s negotiation, the architecture, and basic principles Smart City knowledge base.

The developed evolutionary methodology of implementation will ensure a minimum of disruptions to city services during its transformation into an urban ecosystem to harmoniously balance all spheres of life and the contradictory interests of different city actors.

This study explores whether machinery firms with a ‘hidden champions’ profile leverage Industry 4.0 practices to roll out smart services; whether this allows them to get a firm grip on their installed base; and whether it allows them to expand their international (service) business. The research is conducted based on exploratory, multiple-case study methods.

The author finds that the implementation of smart services can improve a machine tool builder’s hold on its installed base and expand the scope of its international (service) business. However, the study also finds that the ability to capitalise on this potential depends on a series of moderating variables. The study also concludes that there is a risk that smart services do not unlock a strong willingness-to-pay among potential customers.

It, therefore, calls into question several conventional wisdoms, such as the possibilities that Industry 4.0 offers for suppliers operating in business-to-business markets, and the receptiveness to smart services by buyers in such markets. Finally, it highlights the specific liabilities faced by hidden champions with regard to expanding their smart services business.

The chapter provides practical insights into the hurdles that industrial suppliers must overcome in their attempts to achieve uptake of smart services by customers, particularly within a cross-border context.

This paper aims to explore smart facilities services in the context of university campus by aiming to understand how the service development processes can be classified.

The qualitative study is based on literature review about smart facilities services and a case study about developing visualisation, data and smart service in one building in Finnish campus. The case study data were gathered by diverse methods and analysed by content analysis.

Three smart facilities service processes were identified: experience processes for users, data-based service processes and technology processes. All the processes require more than only technocratic approach.

Single case study without longitudinal data gathering is not strong in terms of generalisation.

The process classification can help different stakeholders to identify their role and tasks in smart facilities service development.

The research aims to understand how to develop smart services in addition to more investigated topic what the services include.

There are different narratives surrounding smart mobility, which can sometimes even appear as opposing (Lyons, 2018). Its fiercest proponents are promising versions of a revolutionised future, where users have on-demand access to multiple mobility options and are freed from car ownership, while transport systems become carbon neutral and congestion is a problem of a bygone age (Sherman, 2019). At the same time, the plausibility of such visions of the future has been questioned, with critics warning against the potentially negative impacts of the widespread adoption of privately provided services and stressing the need for state intervention to avoid exacerbating ‘classic’ transport issues such as congestion and unequal access to services, as well as creating new challenges such as uncontrolled market monopolies (Docherty, Marsden, & Anable, 2018). Drawing from these narratives, this chapter explores how officials from English transport authorities see state intervention evolve in the future, and what accountability arrangements are necessary to achieve the level of steering they envisage. Based on interviews with local authority officials, this chapter shows that the officials’ views generally align more closely with the narrative of providers than with that of critics. Although different local authorities envisage varying levels of control and steering of smart mobility, they all expect new services to improve the local transport provision. This chapter also discusses the barriers local authorities face in shaping local accountability arrangements.

The chapter aims at advancing existing knowledge on innovation-oriented public-private partnerships for developing smart tourism services at destination level. Recent research has emphasized to the importance of collaborative arrangements involving public sector organizations and private companies for the development of new or improved ICT-enabled tourism services towards the smart transformation of destinations. However, knowledge on public-private partnerships specifically set up for realizing smart innovations is still scarce. This chapter develops a framework for understanding the nature and functioning of this type of partnerships at destination level by integrating literature on tourism partnerships, smart tourism, and innovation in services with a case study of a successful partnership in the Italian destination of Siracusa.

This chapter aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the urban outcomes of smart city projects, focusing on their primary objectives. The first objective is to facilitate the management and flow of information, data, and resources to enhance resource efficiency, sustainability, and the quality of life for citizens and stakeholders. This chapter offers insights into the urban objectives of smart city projects within the local ecosystem, with a specific emphasis on digital and key urban outcomes. It provides an overview of the digital outcomes, including the advancement of digital systems for safety and urban monitoring, the provision of customized digital services, and the promotion of citizen engagement through digital platforms. This chapter also evaluates the environmental outcomes of smart city projects, such as improved quality of life, increased urban efficiency, and contributions to a sustainable environment. To provide a well-rounded understanding, interviews with policymakers and city managers, as well as case studies from cities like London, Medellin, Helsinki, Singapore, Girona, and San Diego, are incorporated. Furthermore, this chapter incorporates data and findings from top-tier international journals to provide a clear understanding of the impact of smart cities on the local ecosystem.

Smart village is a new concept and it may be the key to the European rural future. To create an operative smart system for smart villages, it needs the participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the smart villages concept local needs require real local solutions; a kind of ‘I can do this for you’ philosophy. SMEs, especially microenterprises or, even, self-employed individuals, have the potential and the capacity to develop local solutions to local problems and have the flexibility to think on a very microlevel. New ideas are needed for the smart villages, new solutions, and new perspectives. The potential of success is in the SMEs, indeed. Because it is not enough to create a system, it must be operated too. Small businesses can ensure the effective functioning of smart villages.

The idea of smart villages is about people. It is intended that the rural population should be able to use all modern technological tools and get closer to the services common in an urban environment. The question is how to make rural life attractive, especially for the young generations. To this end we need smooth connections by broadband Internet and enhanced potential for mobility. It is also a social and ecological project that is driven by public efforts assisted by larger budgetary means or in the case of the EU by a good coordination of the various development funds with broader rural development goals. However, we should not believe that SMEs operating in small settlements are to become more competitive than those in big business hubs. It is needed to acknowledge that matching urban/rural balances is a matter of financial solidarity; thus, we can keep our landscapes soundly populated and protected.