Hsu, Lin-Fang;
(2025)
The Evolution of the Taiwanese Smart City Industry.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The boom in smart city studies from the early 2000s resulted in a bifurcated understanding of smart cities, leading to divergent definitions of the technologies used. Despite fluctuating interest across regions, these practices have persisted, even without the ‘smart city’ label. Empirically, this thesis addresses the gap in existing literature, which lacks studies on the aspect of technology production, by exploring its definition, industry evolution outcomes, policies, and processes. This study utilises evolutionary economic geography and contributes to the theory by addressing three key limitations: 1) the lack of an exogenous perspective on ‘radical innovation,’ 2) the limited explanation of the state’s role, and 3) the obscurity of actor-structure interactions. A mixed-method approach is employed to study the Taiwanese case, where local firms have extensively developed smart city technologies since the 2000s, supported by state industrial policies. The data includes: 1) a patent database from keyword collection and patent selection, 2) policy reports and government/industry documents, and 3) semi-structured interviews with government and industry experts. The findings show, firstly, that diversification is inherent to smart city innovation, contrasting with the specialisation of traditional ICT production, thus creating exogenous elements that drive transformation in local industries. These structural changes are reflected in the emergence of software sectors, the rise of collaborative networks between large and small firms, and research institutions, as well as a locational shift in clusters. Secondly, the developmental state’s legacy plays a significant role in industry evolution, though with limitations. While government-business networks and innovation protection mechanisms are pragmatic, they often overlook individual industry needs. Finally, new industrial systems have emerged as non-tech companies join the ICT sector. Over time, innovation activities that deliver integrated solutions have brought about structural changes within Taiwanese ICT industries, demonstrating the impact of smart city innovation on regional development.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | The Evolution of the Taiwanese Smart City Industry |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Planning |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10208391 |
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