Smart City Replication Engineering: A Conceptual Framework

With the emergence of smart city approaches, the concept of replication also gained importance. The principle of replication is based on the shared understanding that cities benefit from a formalized exchange of information, experience, ideas, and technical solutions. Cities are assumed to face similar challenges even if they differ in many characteristics and can benefit from shared knowledge about successfully implemented smart city applications. By definition, the process of replication refers in this context to the respective translation to another location. The results from one pilot case are transported or ”copied” to other geographic areas, albeit under possibly different boundary conditions.In this paper, Design Science Research (DSR) serves as a methodological approach to build a conceptual framework that facilitates replication activities considering relevant research gaps, demands, and previous activities. The framework adds the perspective of complexity and systems research to extend the methodical replication portfolio with a complementing conceptual, strategic, and participatory tool.