Exploring the rise of blockchain technology: Towards distributed collaborative organizations

• Author: Brett Scott,Vikas Kumar,John Loonam
• Date: 01 September 2017
• Published date: 01 September 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/jsc.2142

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Strategic Change. 2017;26(5):423-428. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jsc © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 423

DOI: 10.1002/jsc.2142

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are playing an increasingly important role for or-

ganizaons that seek to build social and solidarity‐based nance. Blockchain technology has

emerged as a potenal disruptor for the nancial industry. However, cryptocurrencies and block-

chain technology may help develop organizaons that seek to build social and solidarity‐based

nance.

1 

|

 INTRODUCTION

The emergence of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has brought

disrupons to the tradionally conservave nancial sector. Cryp-

tocurrencies are based on collaborave open‐source principles and

peer-to-peer networks that suggest a commitment to principles like

decentralizaon, social solidarity, and disintermediaon. This stands

in contrast to the centralized and asymmetric power relaons of the

tradional nancial sector (Sco, 2016). However, as with most dis-

rupve forces, the real trigger for corporate and societal transforma-

on lies with the enabling technologies that support Bitcoin—that is,

the digital technology referred to as the “blockchain.” The blockchain

is a distributed digital transacon ledger with idencal copies main-

tained on mulple computer systems controlled by dierent enes.

The technology enables strangers to reach consensus with each other

without recourse to a central authority (Sco, 2016). This arcle seeks

to reect upon some key issues that nance praconers can con-

sider when reviewing the benets and merits of cryptocurrency and

blockchain technology. Firstly, the arcle outlines the emergence of

digital technologies and their disrupve nature on corporate indus-

tries and invariably society. Secondly, it considers the emergence of

cryptocurrencies and the inuence of Bitcoin on the nancial indus-

try. The arcle then outlines the merits of blockchain technology and

moves on to discuss the opportunies for distributed collaborave

organizaons. Finally, it concludes with a series of reecons for

nance praconers.

2 

|

 THE RISE OF DIGITAL

Technology has tradionally been viewed as a tool to support orga-

nizaons in conducng their work processes and business funcons.

Early informaon systems (ISs) were stand‐alone, funconal‐based,

transacon‐oriented tools, which moved to become more strategic

in orientaon, matching the enterprise‐wide and global demands of

most organizaons, over the past decade. Today, however, something

transformaonal is happening. Digital technology is no longer viewed

as a mere tool in the support of organizaons, but rather as a disrup-

tor that will create new organizaons and replace many unwilling, or

unable, to innovate. Organizaons now nd themselves embracing

a digital age, where a new generaon of technologies is focused on

leveraging greater customer engagement, bringing further exibility

and agility to standardized, and centralized, operaonal processes,

and providing new strategic opportunies to organizaons by recon-

guring business models, creang new products and services, and

in some cases disrupng and reinvenng enre value chains and

industries. To this end, organizaons are increasingly becoming more

virtual‐oriented, with many products and services gaining in digital

presence, structures and hierarchies becoming more porous and hori-

zontal, and industry sectors more fragmented, where many compe-

tors are reaching across value chains to collaborate and innovate in

novel ways.

Exploring the rise of blockchain technology: Towards

distributed collaborave organizaons*

Bre Sco1 | John Loonam2 | Vikas Kumar3

1Finance Innovaon Lab, United Kingdom

2Dublin City University Business School,

Ireland

3Bristol Business School, University of the

West of England, United Kingdom

Correspondence

John Loonam, Dublin City University

Business School, Dublin City University,

Dublin 9, Republic of Ireland

Email: john.loonam@dcu.ie

* JEL classicaon codes: E51, F30, G32.