THE IMPACT OF CLOUD COMPUTING AND INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) INTEGRATION ON SMART CITY DEVELOPMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION
Keywords:
Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Cities, Urban Governance, Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), PhilippinesAbstract
Smart city development increasingly relies on convergent digital architectures that bridge cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) to process real-time urban data, streamline public administration, and foster environmental sustainability. Despite accelerating policy interest in the Global South, empirical research examining the structural drivers and operational outcomes of Cloud-IoT integration in emerging economies remains sparse. This study presents a systematic review and empirical investigation into the impact of Cloud-IoT integration on smart city development within the Philippines. Grounded in an integrated theoretical framework combining the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), and the Resource-Based View (RBV), a structural equation model was formulated and tested. Primary data were collected from 312 urban planners, local government unit (LGU) IT directors, municipal engineers, and smart city administrators across 35 Philippine cities. Structural equation modeling via Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM) reveals that technological readiness (β = 0.342, p < 0.001), organizational capability (β = 0.285, p < 0.001), and environmental pressure (β = 0.194, p < 0.005) exert statistically significant positive effects on Cloud-IoT integration maturity. In turn, Cloud-IoT integration directly enhances smart city development outcomes (β = 0.418, p < 0.001), while data infrastructure capability serves as a significant mediating mechanism (β = 0.226, p < 0.001; indirect effect β = 0.402, p < 0.001). The structural model explains 72.9% of the variance in smart city performance (R-squared = 0.729). The findings demonstrate that digital infrastructure investments yield optimal urban performance only when paired with adaptive municipal governance, standardized data interoperability, and local institutional capacity. Practical and policy frameworks are outlined to guide LGUs in operationalizing smart and sustainable community paradigms.
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