Heeding the Call for Objective Investigation into Blockchain Adoption: An Empirical Analysis of the Partial Open vs. Completely Open Blockchain Tension

4 Pages Posted: 25 Dec 2019

See all articles by Divinus Oppong-Tawiah

Divinus Oppong-Tawiah

McGill University

Henry M. Kim

York University - Schulich School of Business

Marek Laskowski

York University; University of Guelph

Alain Pinsonneault

McGill University - Desautels Faculty of Management

Date Written: December 5, 2019

Abstract

The empirical framework exists to test the proposition, “Does the extent of blockchain openness positively affect the willingness to adopt a platform?” We can compare a partially open blockchain like EOS with a more open platform like Ethereum. Both fund-raised by issuing cryptocurrencies through ICO’s (Initial Coin Offerings). We collect extensive longitudinal data to determine the impact of blockchain openness on an objective performance measure — the price of the relevant cryptocurrency and several blockchain performance measures (e.g. scalability, security, throughput, etc.) Given that likelihood of widespread platform adoption is closely correlated with relative cryptocurrency price out-performance (Zhang 2019), this measure is not an unreasonable aggregate measure of adoption willingness by organizations (or individual users). We aim to use robust econometric causal inference designs to offer more granular insights as well, namely when a blockchain platform undergoes a regime change from completely open to partially open, or vice versa, how does that impact adoption willingness. We believe that our research will help inform these decisions for practitioners and break new theoretical grounds for IS research’s longstanding interest in the open vs close tension in digital platforms.

Suggested Citation

Oppong-Tawiah, Divinus and Kim, Henry M. and Laskowski, Marek and Pinsonneault, Alain, Heeding the Call for Objective Investigation into Blockchain Adoption: An Empirical Analysis of the Partial Open vs. Completely Open Blockchain Tension (December 5, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3498982 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3498982

Divinus Oppong-Tawiah

McGill University ( email )

1001 Sherbrooke St. West
Montreal, Quebec H3A1G5 H3A 2M1
Canada

Henry M. Kim (Contact Author)

York University - Schulich School of Business ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

Marek Laskowski

York University ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

University of Guelph ( email )

Guelph, Ontario
Canada

Alain Pinsonneault

McGill University - Desautels Faculty of Management ( email )

1001 Sherbrooke St. West
Montreal, Quebec H3A1G5 H3A 2M1
Canada

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