A tale of two cities: Achieving smarter economy through communication and virtual work

Seamless communication within and between cities allows for a tremendous increase in efficiencies, one of which is the way work can be done. When work no longer needs to be carried out only within the confines of the traditional office, it can then be done virtually and this research seeks to explore how communication influences the creation of smart economy through virtual work. Virtual work is increasingly becoming ideal for organizations as there is a rise in the quality and quantity of data that can be accessed and analysed from outside the traditional office. Smart city research has shown that has also shown that for cities to be have smart economies there needs to be seamless connection between points of information within such cities. This research begins with a detailed desk research to identify and outline the key indices for smart mobility and smart cities, leading to the proposal of a conceptual framework for evaluating two selected case studies through surveys within these cases. This research therefore builds on prior smart cities and virtual work research to establish a framework for evaluating and explaining the relationship between smart communication and smart economy and established the link between connectivity/communication to mobility, and further shows how the increase in connectivity increase virtual work which in turn leads to a smarter economy. The implications for the results from this research extends the ongoing work been done to increase efficiencies in the connection of infrastructure, human capital and information within cities which is useful to both academics and policy makers alike. The clear relationships established between virtual work and smart mobility and its mediating effect on the development of smart economy is very valuable for academic and practice.