Purpose - An empirical testing on IBM smart cities projects was applied so as to demonstrate that the combination between the use of Internet of Things (IoT) and the implementation of the Open Innovation (OI) model within smart cities which has been changed the development of urban areas and effected firms' innovativeness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - A case study methodology on a leading multinational firms deeply involved in smart cities projects has been chosen. Findings - From this study it emerged how IBM: has a clear vision of smart cities and IoT; adopt a worldwide OI approach to smart cities; delineate-specific strategies and create OI units ad hoc for smart cities' projects. Research limitations/implications - The major limitation of this work is that the analysis presented has been developed only on one case of multinational firm that operate in smart cities contexts. Practical implications - Recommendations will be made both to public and private actor in order to plan and implement efficient strategies to improve their performances. Originality/value - The concept of smart city has become quite popular between scholars and practitioners in the era of digital economy. Cities become smart developing new urban area using new Information and Communication Technologies such as mobile devices, the semantic web, cloud computing, and the IoT. Smart cities make innovation ecosystem, joining together different forces like knowledge-intensive activities, institutions for cooperation and learning, and web-based applications collective intelligence. This research is of importance and significance to scholars, government, and firms who need to understand the relevance of smart cities in the current economy.
