Can Smart Cities attract high tech Smes? The geography of innovative entrepreneurship in Italy

This study analyses the relationship between innovative SMEs formation and the supportive features of different regional environments, focusing on the Italian case for an 8- year period (2013–2020). This research has been carried out on a heterogeneous sample of 250 high-tech SMEs from startup.registrodelleimprese, employing descriptive analysis using T-test and U-test. Our findings demonstrate that the location choices of high-tech SMEs are influenced by smart cities strategies with strong emphasis on innovation and competitiveness. Moreover, research findings show the importance of SMEs in changing the entrepreneurial trait of regional environments. This contributes to the ongoing debate on the importance of smart cities and sustainable policies in shaping the spatial distribution of high-tech SMEs and offer insights for policymakers, urban planners, and stakeholders seeking to foster innovation-driven economic development in urban and regional areas