Can smart governance promote sustainable urban development? Empirical evidence from typical cities in China

This study uses cross-sectional data regression based on micro-enterprise data from a questionnaire survey to compare four typical cities in China—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou—in terms of their paths to smart governance that promote sustainable development. We adopt ridge regression for our estimations. The findings are as follows: (1) Smart governance significantly promotes sustainable urban development. Urban vision, smart governance action, organizational processes, technology utilization, and government innovation capability have positive impacts on sustainable development; (2) Utilizing technology and innovation is a key driver of sustainable development; and (3) Smart governance frameworks and organizational processes do not contribute sufficiently to the sustainable development goals. Therefore, we should establish a clear smart vision strategy, enhance technical and political support for smart governance initiatives, overcome socioeconomic barriers, improve fragmented governance, foster social innovation networks, and stimulate knowledge spillover among social entities. In future research, we should aim to utilize cross-country samples and explore the deeper connection of smart governance and sustainable development goals worldwide. The rules of smart governance and sustainable development goals we identified in China can act as reference for policymakers and city planners in other developing countries.