Search

As the populations of cities grow, it is obvious that they need more and more resources. Energy is currently one of the most desirable resources due to the economic and energy crisis, but it needs to be used in a sustainable manner. There are cities that achieve smart city (SC) status that provide smart policies towards sustainable development. The aim of the present paper is to determine whether citizen engagement in SC can contribute to reduced energy consumption in the current economic crisis. The paper presents an original survey intended to collect primary data and a study conducted based exclusively on qualitative methods. The results concern a broad and multifaceted review of literature concerning SCs, as well as citizens' engagement and their role in SC development. The study allows understanding of the economic phenomena taking place in SCs and filling the gaps regarding the behavior of SC citizens. It shows that SCs create smart citizens that feel responsible for the environment and aggregate a more responsible environment for public actions with citizen engagement. In terms of energy savings, the study shows that it is possible to specify the economic and energy benefits of SC citizen engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national economy can be conceptualized as having three sectors: the public sector, a private economy, and a third sector “with organisations established by people on a voluntary basis to pursue social or community goals” (Ridley-Duff and Seanor 2008). The third sector includes organizations that directly affect the structure, market behavior or activity. This paper sets out reasons why do entrepreneurial person choose the economics of the third sector as their way towards entrepreneurship, address some of the potential scope and limits of particular forms of economic thinking about the this sector and extends economic research on the third sector, which still is the research gap. It also presents alternative view at third sector economics as the new-way entrepreneurship and addresses implications for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]