Abstract
The blockchain technology offers the possibility to decentralize platforms besides a variety of other possibilities. This may even result in the absence of a central authority that defines its governance. Consequently, a special kind of governance can emerge that takes into account the specifics of this technology. While governance in various research areas, such as corporate or IT governance, has been studied for a long time, the study of blockchain governance has only recently begun. Nevertheless, research on blockchain governance is increasing in recent years and an appropriate way to structure it is needed. Hence, the goal of this study is to identify the current state of research on blockchain governance. For this purpose, a systematic literature review is conducted and as a result, 25 studies were identified which address blockchain governance. Moreover, an adapted version of the IT governance cube is introduced, which allowed to structure the concepts of blockchain governance. Furthermore, it allowed to identify research areas that have obtained little attention yet.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nakamoto, S.: Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system (2008)
Fridgen, G., Radszuwill, S., Urbach, N., Utz, L.: Cross-organizational workflow management using blockchain technology-towards applicability, auditability, and automation. In: Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2018)
van Pelt, R., Jansen, S., Baars, D., Overbeek, S.: Defining blockchain governance: a framework for analysis and comparison. Inf. Syst. Manage. 38, 21–41 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2020.1720046
Swan, M.: Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy. O’Reilly Media, Inc. (2015)
Al-Jaroodi, J., Mohamed, N.: Blockchain in industries: a survey. IEEE Access 7, 36500–36515 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2903554
Yli-Huumo, J., Ko, D., Choi, S., Park, S., Smolander, K.: Where is current research on blockchain technology? A systematic review. PLoS One 11, e0163477 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163477
Rossi, M., Mueller-Bloch, C., Thatcher, J.B., Beck, R.: Blockchain research in information systems: current trends and an inclusive future research agenda. JAIS 20, 1388–1403 (2019). https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00571
Beck, R., Muller-Bloch, C., King, J.L.: Governance in the blockchain economy: a framework and research agenda. J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 19, 1020–1034 (2018). https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00518
Rikken, O., Janssen, M., Kwee, Z.: Governance challenges of blockchain and decentralized autonomous organizations. Inf. Polity 24, 397–417 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3233/IP-190154
Zachariadis, M., Hileman, G., Scott, S.V.: Governance and control in distributed ledgers: understanding the challenges facing blockchain technology in financial services. Inf. Org. 29, 105–117 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infoandorg.2019.03.001
Kitchenham, B.: Procedures for Performing Systematic Reviews. Keele University, Keele, UK (2004)
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., Smart, P.: Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. Br. J. Manage. 14, 207–222 (2003)
vom Brocke, J., Simons, A., Riemer, K., Niehaves, B., Plattfaut, R., Cleven, A.: Standing on the shoulders of giants: challenges and recommendations of literature search in information systems research. CAIS 37 (2015). https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.03709
Weill, P.: Don’t just lead, govern: how top-performing firms govern IT. MIS Q. Exec. 3, 1–17 (2004)
Ølnes, S., Ubacht, J., Janssen, M.: Blockchain in government: benefits and implications of distributed ledger technology for information sharing. Gov. Inf. Q. 34, 355–364 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2017.09.007
Webster, J., Watson, R.T.: Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: writing a literature review. MIS Q. 26, 13–23 (2002)
Tiwana, A., Konsynski, B., Venkatraman, N.: Special issue: information technology and organizational governance: the IT governance cube. J. Manage. Inf. Syst. 30(3), 7–12 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222300301
Brocke, J.V., Simons, A., Niehaves, B., Niehaves, B., Reimer, K., Plattfaut, R., Cleven, A.: Reconstructing the giant: on the importance of rigour in documenting the literature search process. (2009). ECIS 2009 Proceedings. 161. https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2009/161
Anthony, B.: Toward a collaborative governance model for distributed ledger technology adoption in organizations. Environ. Syst. Decis. 42, 1–19 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-022-09852-4
Islam, N., Mäntymäki, M., Turunen, M.: Understanding the role of actor heterogeneity in blockchain splits: an actor-network perspective of bitcoin forks. In: Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2019)
Honkanen, P., Nylund, M., Westerlund, M.: Organizational building blocks for blockchain governance: a survey of 241 blockchain white papers. Front. Blockchain 4 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3389/fbloc.2021.613115
Schmid, R., Ziolkowski, R., Schwabe, G.: Together or not? Exploring stakeholders in public and permissionless blockchains. In: Bui, T.X. (ed.) Proceedings of the 55th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 6093–6102. Department of IT Management Shidler College of Business University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (2022)
Allen, D.W.E., Berg, C.: Blockchain governance: what we can learn from the economics of corporate governance. J. Br. Blockchain Assoc. 3, 46–52 (2020). https://doi.org/10.31585/jbba-3-1-(8)2020
Hsieh, Y.-Y., Vergne, J.-P.: Bitcoin and the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations. J. Org. Des. 7(1), 1–16 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41469-018-0038-1
Kaal, W.A.: Decentralized corporate governance via blockchain technology. Ann. Corp. Govern. 5, 101–147 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1561/109.00000025
Laatikainen, G., Li, M., Abrahamsson, P.: Blockchain governance: a dynamic view. In: Wang, X., Martini, A., Nguyen-Duc, A., Stray, V. (eds.) ICSOB 2021. LNBIP, vol. 434, pp. 66–80. Springer, Cham (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91983-2_6
Leewis, S., Smit, K., van Meerten, J.: An explorative dive into decision rights and governance of blockchain: a literature review and empirical study. Pacific Asia J. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 13, 25–56 (2021). https://doi.org/10.17705/1pais.13302
Li, Y., Zhou, Y.: Research on the reciprocal mechanism of hybrid governance in blockchain. J. Econ. Manage. Res. 1–5 (2021). https://doi.org/10.47363/JESMR/2021(2)121
Miscione, G., Ziolkowski, R., Zavolokina, L., Schwabe, G.: Tribal Governance: The Business of Blockchain Authentication. In: Proceedings of the 51st Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (2018)
Perscheid, G., Ostern, N.K., Moormann, J.: Determining Platform Governance: Framework for Classifying Governance Types (2020). ICIS 2020 Proceedings. 8. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2020/governance_is/governance_is/8
Reijers, W., et al.: Now the code runs itself: on-chain and off-chain governance of blockchain technologies. Topoi 40(4), 821–831 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-018-9626-5
Schmeiss, J., Hoelzle, K., Tech, R.P.G.: Designing governance mechanisms in platform ecosystems: addressing the paradox of openness through blockchain technology. Calif. Manage. Rev. 62, 121–143 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125619883618
Thapa, R., Sharma, P., Hüllmann, J.A., Savarimuthu, B.T.R.: Identifying Influence Mechanisms in Permissionless Blockchain Communities: The Bitcoin Case (2021). ICIS 2021 Proceedings. 8. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2021/fintech/fintech/8
Werner, J., Frost, S., Zarnekow, R.: towards a taxonomy for governance mechanisms of blockchain-based platforms. In: ECIS 2020 Research Papers (2020)
Ziolkowski, R., Miscione, G., Schwabe, G.: Exploring Decentralized Autonomous Organizations: Towards Shared Interests and ‘Code is Constitution’ (2020). ICIS 2020 Proceedings. 12. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2020/blockchain_fintech/blockchain_fintech/12
Burda, M.C., Locca, M.P., Staykova, K.: Decision rights decentralization in de-fi platforms. In: ECIS 2022 Research Papers (2022)
Mini, T., Ellinger, E.W., Gregory, R.W., Widjaja, T.: An Exploration of Governing via IT in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (2021). ICIS 2021 Proceedings. 1. https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2021/gen_topics/gen_topics/1
Zhao, X., Ai, P., Lai, F., Luo, X., Benitez, J.: Task management in decentralized autonomous organization. J. Oper. Manage. 68(6–7), 649–674 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1179
Faqir-Rhazoui, Y., Arroyo, J., Hassan, S.: A comparative analysis of the platforms for decentralized autonomous organizations in the Ethereum blockchain. J. Internet Serv. Appl. 12(1), 1–20 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13174-021-00139-6
Goldsby, C., Hanisch, M.: The boon and bane of blockchain: getting the governance right. Calif. Manage. Rev. 64, 141–168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1177/00081256221080747
de Filippi, P., McMullen, G.: Governance of Blockchain Systems: Governance of and by Distributed Infrastructure (2018)
Glaser, F.: Pervasive decentralisation of digital infrastructures: a framework for blockchain enabled system and use case analysis. In: 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-50), 1543–1552. Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, January 4–7 (2017)
Gao, W., Hatcher, W.G., Yu, W.: A survey of blockchain: techniques, applications, and challenges. In: 2018 27th International Conference on Computer Communication and Networks (ICCCN), pp. 1–11 (2018)
Reyes, C.: (Un) corporate crypto-governance. Fordham Law Rev. 88, 1875–1922 (2020)
Parkin, J.: The senatorial governance of Bitcoin: making (de)centralized money. Econ. Soc. 48, 463–487 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2019.1678262
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Werner, J. (2023). Blockchain Governance – A Systematic Literature Review. In: Papadaki, M., Rupino da Cunha, P., Themistocleous, M., Christodoulou, K. (eds) Information Systems. EMCIS 2022. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 464. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30694-5_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30694-5_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-30693-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-30694-5
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)