Emergence of Internet of Things Ecosystem, Smart Home Ecosystem and Smart Home Niche in Sweden

Abstract: Internet of things (IoT) and smart home are two popular subjects on which both the expectations and uncertainties are high. Regarding the smart home niche in Sweden, the market is not thriving in spite of the continuous development in technology. There is a deficiency on direct input from the actors in IoT and smart home ecosystems in the literature, which creates a gap between academia and practices in the field. The focus of this MSc thesis is to bridge this gap with the aim of exploring the emergence of IoT ecosystem, smart home ecosystem and the smart home niche in Sweden, in terms of actors’ involvement, visions and expected benefits, by using the lens of ecosystem and strategic niche management perspectives. A comprehensive literature review and two in-depth workshops are conducted involving various actors. After synthesizing the results, the conclusions are: neither the values in IoT and smart home ecosystems nor how the value networks are being shaped is clear for most of the actors; hence, they are reluctant to take initiative. End-users’ views on ‘smart home’ alter from one to another; yet, they all need to see smart home solutions meeting with their immediate needs. Today, the smart home niche in Sweden is slowly raising from the ashes of the late 1990s failed attempts, and it is mainly driven by different actors’ involvement in state-funded projects.