Abstract
When major corporations build and manage own platforms, most of the conflicts are resolved internally. With the rise of blockchain systems, also blockchain- based platforms are increasingly tried out, which are governed in a decentralized fashion. But moving from hierarchical efficiency to a democratic inclusiveness, in which blockchain proponents believe, is difficult: the variety of included actors raise a variety of conflicts, when platform users become platform complementors or even owners. To manage these conflicts, it is neces- sary to analyze each actor in detail. This paper reflects on the developments within an ongoing enterprise blockchain consortium in a small European country in the automotive domain from a governance perspective. We portray the consortium’s stakeholder conflicts, pro- pose solutions for these conflicts and relate them to lit- erature on blockchain governance. Our findings contex- tualize several theoretical stances, emphasizing the im- portance of the organizational over the technological embedment in blockchain governance.
Ziolkowski, Rafael