Knowledge-based Smart City Management in the Context of Hofstede’s Culture Dimensions

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationships between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the adoption of knowledge-based solutions in city management. The cultural context of effective smart city management has been investigated based on a city’s position in the global smart cities ranking (the IMD Smart City Index). Multiple regressions were used to identify the relationships between the independent variables (the values of the culture dimensions defined by Hofstede: power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation) and the dependent variable – the value of the IMD Smart City Index. The IMD Smart City Index was chosen for its thematic relevance to the issue of adapting knowledge-based solutions in smart city management, as it reflects current results across several indicators that are priority indicators of the city's technological and innovative development. Smart cities were selected based on their rankings in the IMD Smart City Index. This study demonstrates that elevated levels of long-term orientation and individualism, coupled with low uncertainty avoidance, positively impact the adoption of knowledge-based city management. In contrast, the anticipated relationships between power distance and the adoption of smart city solutions, as well as between masculinity and their adoption, alongside effective knowledge-based smart city management, were not substantiated and warrant further examination. The proposed connections between specific dimensions of national culture and effective smart city management are pertinent to the cities featured in the IMD Smart City Index. The literature pays little attention to the cultural determinants of smart city management, particularly organisational and managerial solutions, during the transition from a classic city to a smart city. The paper explored the role of cultural factors in city management and urban development. The motivation for this study is to identify the relationship between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and the level of adaptation of knowledge-based solutions in city management and to examine their influence on a city’s position in the global smart cities ranking. Future investigations should aim to explore additional variables that may affect the adoption of smart city solutions and the overall performance of city management.