Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) have the potential to disrupt many business models across diverse industries. Indeed, they are now object of research of many academics. However, because of the novelty of the theme, the extant literature is mainly at a conceptual level, focused on specific industries, and only a few empirical studies have been carried out. Moreover, there is no clear understanding of the comprehensive landscape of solutions the technologies are offering. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate which are the directives of development and innovation of the Blockchain and DLT and their main business applications. Blockchain and DLT are at an early stage of adoption, and innovative firms may take the lead of the directives of development. Hence, startups are strategic players. Consequently, an empirical investigation of globally operating Blockchain startups and their raised amount of investment is used to make inferences about the future of the technologies. The sample has been collected from datasets “Crunchbase” and “Coindesk,” and, after a filtering process, 1287 startups have been considered. A descriptive analysis of the ecosystem of startups has been performed to identify trends and strengthen hypotheses. Furthermore, A multiple linear regression model has been developed to test hypotheses and predict the innovation path of Blockchain and DLT. Results show that Blockchain and DLT may mainly evolve as General Purpose technologies. However, they are also likely to be more developed in Finance, Virtual Currency and Media & Arts. While there is no evidence of which business processes are more likely to be impacted from a general perspective, there are some business solutions across specific industries, that may represent the future of the technologies. Among them, the development of improved platforms to overcome the actual limitations stands out, proving how Blockchain and DTL are still in a fluid phase. A two-sided platform market has more chances to be targeted than a B2B or a B2C one thanks to disintermediation opportunities. Finally, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) may have a greater impact on the innovation path of the technologies compared to other funding sources. The comprehensive analysis of the ecosystem of startups and the inferential analysis to predict the innovation path of Blockchain and DLT grant the uniqueness of this dissertation. Nonetheless, the research is not free from limitations: startups are potential representatives of the future of the technologies, but also incumbents are, nowadays, launching Blockchain and DLT projects. Hence, the findings of this study may result more valuable if combined with other researches focused on these use cases.
Le tecnologie Blockchain e Distributed Ledger (DL) hanno il potenziale per influenzare molti modelli di business in diversi settori industriali. Infatti, sono ad oggi oggetto di ricerca di molti studiosi. Tuttavia, per la novità del tema, la letteratura esistente è principalmente a un livello concettuale, focalizzata su settori specifici e solo pochi studi empirici sono stati condotti. Inoltre, non c'è una chiara comprensione dell'ampio panorama di soluzioni che le tecnologie offrono. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è quello di indagare quali sono le direttive di sviluppo e di innovazione della Blockchain e DLT e le loro principali applicazioni di business. Le tecnologie Blockchain e DL sono ancora in una fase iniziale di adozione e sono dunque le aziende innovative ad assumere la guida delle loro direttive di sviluppo. Le startup rappresentano quindi attori strategici. Di conseguenza, un'indagine empirica sulle startups Blockchain operanti a livello globale e sugli investimenti ricevuti rappresenta la base utilizzata per fare inferenze sul futuro delle tecnologie. Il campione è stato raccolto dai set di dati “Crunchbase” e “Coindesk” e, dopo aver applicato dei filtri, sono state prese in considerazione 1287 startup. Un'analisi descrittiva dell'ecosistema delle startup è stata effettuata per identificare interessanti tendenze e rafforzare le ipotesi sviluppate. Inoltre, è stato sviluppato un modello di regressione lineare multipla per testare le ipotesi e prevedere il percorso di innovazione delle tecnologie Blockchain e DL. I risultati mostrano che Blockchain e DL potrebbero evolvere come tecnologie General Purpose. Allo stesso tempo, è anche probabile che si svilupperanno di più nei settori Finanza, Virtual Currency e Media & Arts. Mentre non ci sono risultati significativi su quali processi generici hanno maggiori probabilità di essere influenzati dalle tecnologie, ci sono alcune soluzioni, in settori specifici, che potrebbero rappresentare il futuro delle tecnologie. Tra queste, spicca lo sviluppo di piattaforme che mira a superare gli attuali limiti delle tecnologie, a dimostrazione di come Blockchain e DTL siano ancora in una fase fluida. Inoltre, le opportunità di disintermediazione hanno reso un mercato di tipo “two-sided platform” più probabile rispetto al B2B o B2C. Infine, l'Initial Coin Offering (ICO) come fonte di finanziamento può avere un impatto maggiore sul percorso di innovazione delle tecnologie rispetto alle fonti tradizionali. L'analisi descrittiva dell'ecosistema delle startup e l'analisi inferenziale per prevedere il percorso di innovazione delle tecnologie Blockchain e DL garantiscono l'unicità della tesi. Tuttavia, la ricerca non è esente da limitazioni: le startup sono potenziali rappresentanti del futuro delle tecnologie, ma anche le aziende del settore stanno avviando progetti. Pertanto, i risultati di questo studio potrebbero risultare più preziosi se abbinati con altre ricerche focalizzate su questi casi d'uso.
The directives of innovation and development of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies through a comprehensive analysis of the startup ecosystem
VITIELLO, MARIO;PETRINI, ANDREA
2018/2019
Abstract
Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) have the potential to disrupt many business models across diverse industries. Indeed, they are now object of research of many academics. However, because of the novelty of the theme, the extant literature is mainly at a conceptual level, focused on specific industries, and only a few empirical studies have been carried out. Moreover, there is no clear understanding of the comprehensive landscape of solutions the technologies are offering. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate which are the directives of development and innovation of the Blockchain and DLT and their main business applications. Blockchain and DLT are at an early stage of adoption, and innovative firms may take the lead of the directives of development. Hence, startups are strategic players. Consequently, an empirical investigation of globally operating Blockchain startups and their raised amount of investment is used to make inferences about the future of the technologies. The sample has been collected from datasets “Crunchbase” and “Coindesk,” and, after a filtering process, 1287 startups have been considered. A descriptive analysis of the ecosystem of startups has been performed to identify trends and strengthen hypotheses. Furthermore, A multiple linear regression model has been developed to test hypotheses and predict the innovation path of Blockchain and DLT. Results show that Blockchain and DLT may mainly evolve as General Purpose technologies. However, they are also likely to be more developed in Finance, Virtual Currency and Media & Arts. While there is no evidence of which business processes are more likely to be impacted from a general perspective, there are some business solutions across specific industries, that may represent the future of the technologies. Among them, the development of improved platforms to overcome the actual limitations stands out, proving how Blockchain and DTL are still in a fluid phase. A two-sided platform market has more chances to be targeted than a B2B or a B2C one thanks to disintermediation opportunities. Finally, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) may have a greater impact on the innovation path of the technologies compared to other funding sources. The comprehensive analysis of the ecosystem of startups and the inferential analysis to predict the innovation path of Blockchain and DLT grant the uniqueness of this dissertation. Nonetheless, the research is not free from limitations: startups are potential representatives of the future of the technologies, but also incumbents are, nowadays, launching Blockchain and DLT projects. Hence, the findings of this study may result more valuable if combined with other researches focused on these use cases.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/151730