The Effect of Perceived Risk on Public Participation Intention in Smart City Development: Evidence from China

Abstract

Smart city development aims at sustainable development and high quality of urban life, which requires the participation of stakeholders. As a crucial stakeholder involved, the public’s key role has been widely concerned. However, a lack of public participation in smart city development still exists due to perceived risk. In order to solve the insufficient public participation in smart city development, this study will identify the perceived risk and explore its influential impact. After defining the concept of perceived risk, this paper constructs a theoretical model concerning the effect of perceived risk on public participation intention based on the theory of reasoned action. On the basis of 193 empirical data from China, the structural equation model is applied to test the influential impact of perceived risk on the public participation intention in smart city development. The results show that the perceived risk has a significantly negative effect on public participation intention, attitude, and subjective norms, while behavioral attitude and subjective norms have positive effects on public participation intention. According to empirical research results, the risk prevention paths and methods of public participation in smart city development are proposed so as to provide useful implications for further public participation practice in smart city development.