Case Study Validation of a Business Model Framework for Smart City Services: FixMyStreet and London Bike App∗

Given the volatile nature of the mobile services industry and the recent interest in mobile services from local governments, this article introduces a business model framework that allows the design and analysis of value networks for mobile services in a public context. It finds its foundations in an existing and validated business model framework and expands it to include parameters that come into play when a public body (i.e., part of a city administration) becomes involved in the value network. In the ever-evolving mobile telecommunications industry, this framework offers both an academic and practical tool, enabling the comparison and analysis of complex mobile city service business models that include public actors. This framework is then applied by analysing two cases: FixMyStreet and the London Bike App. The parameters in the new framework are described in detail and compared for the two cases and they are placed on a grid, which can serve as a tool to visualise the differences between mobile service initiatives in an urban context. We conclude that business strategies for the implementation of mobile services in a city can dramatically vary and that there is need for more fundamental research to frame the discussion.