Organizing for value creation in blockchain information systems
Liudmila Zavolokina, Ingrid Bauer, Janine Hacker, Gerhard Schwabe
Abstract
Many blockchain consortia have been established to build blockchain information systems. While the developed blockchain information systems were promising, few have reached market entry. Indeed, blockchain consortia often lost development focus due to high system complexity and a lack of understanding of how to create a system that will serve the needs and bring value to all stakeholders. Thus, stakeholders struggled to leverage blockchain information systems' full value. Prior studies demonstrated that blockchain systems pose not only technical but also organizational challenges. Analysing six blockchain consortia, we identify their value mechanisms, organizational problems, and organizational solutions that successful blockchain consortia experience while organizing themselves for value. As a result, we propose a new organizational form, i.e., a layered organization, for blockchain consortia to achieve better value creation. • We explore the drivers of value creation in blockchain information systems based on a unique dataset including 6 consortia. • We identify three subsystems within blockchain information systems: infrastructure, platform, and application . • The identified value drivers are decentralization and interoperability • We identify organizational problems and organizational that successful blockchain consortia employ to achieve value. • We propose a ‘layered organization’ as a new form of organizing for value in blockchain consortia.