In 2018, Forbes has listed blockchain technology as one of the luxury trends to watch out for. This technology is not new; its history dates back to the early 1990s but it is only recently that experts from different industries have begun to pay more attention to it. For too long blockchain has been considered just in relation to Bitcoin, without thinking about how its unique features could have benefited other sectors. But then Covid-19 arrived, causing one of the worst crises the luxury industry has ever seen. To meet the new needs of contemporary luxury consumers, an increasing number of luxury brands is relying on emerging digital technologies. In particular, the inherent characteristics of blockchain may suggest that this is the best technology to cope with the new market scenario post global pandemic. However, this technology is still in its infancy and often poorly understood by traditional companies; among researchers and practitioners, there is a perceived lack of well-established use cases in business contexts outside those of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the present thesis aims to fill this literature gap by empirically studying the benefits that blockchain technology can provide to luxury brands in general and to high-end watch brands in particular. Hence, a qualitative analysis has been performed on the data collected throughout 12 semi-structured interviews, proposed to experts coming from the world of luxury – in particular watchmaking – IT and blockchain. This study confirms the key role that blockchain technology has in enabling luxury brands to better address today’s challenges and points out how the true source of any change come firstly from a change in the mindset of the people, because at the end of the day, people make the difference.
Nel 2018, Forbes ha elencato la tecnologia blockchain come una delle tendenze nel mondo del lusso a cui prestare attenzione. Questa tecnologia non è nuova; la sua storia risale ai primi anni '90 ma solo recentemente gli esperti in vari settori hanno iniziato a mostrare un maggiore interesse. Per troppo tempo la blockchain è stata considerata solo in relazione al Bitcoin, senza pensare a come le sue caratteristiche uniche avrebbero potuto beneficiare altre industrie. Ma poi è arrivato il Covid-19 che ha causato una delle peggiori crisi che l'industria del lusso abbia mai visto. Per soddisfare le nuove esigenze dei consumatori del lusso contemporaneo, un numero crescente di marchi di lusso si sta affidando alle tecnologie digitali emergenti. In particolare, le caratteristiche intrinseche della blockchain possono suggerire che questa sia la tecnologia migliore per far fronte al nuovo scenario di mercato post pandemia globale. Tuttavia, questa tecnologia è ancora agli inizi e spesso poco compresa dalle aziende tradizionali; tra ricercatori e professionisti, si percepisce infatti una mancanza di casi d'uso consolidati in contesti aziendali al di fuori di quelli delle cripto valute. Pertanto, la presente tesi mira a colmare questa lacuna nella letteratura studiando empiricamente i benefici che la tecnologia blockchain può fornire ai marchi di lusso in generale e in particolar modo ai marchi di orologi di fascia alta. È stata quindi condotta un'analisi qualitativa sui dati raccolti attraverso 12 interviste semi-strutturate, proposte ad esperti provenienti dal mondo del lusso – in particolare dell'orologeria – IT e blockchain. Questo studio conferma il ruolo chiave che la tecnologia blockchain ha nel consentire ai marchi di lusso di affrontare al meglio le sfide odierne e sottolinea come la vera fonte di ogni cambiamento provenga in primo luogo da un cambiamento nella mentalità delle persone, perché in fin dei conti, la differenza la fanno le persone.
The role of digital technologies in the luxury industry. A qualitative research on blockchain technology within the luxury watch sector
FIORETTI, MICHELA
2020/2021
Abstract
In 2018, Forbes has listed blockchain technology as one of the luxury trends to watch out for. This technology is not new; its history dates back to the early 1990s but it is only recently that experts from different industries have begun to pay more attention to it. For too long blockchain has been considered just in relation to Bitcoin, without thinking about how its unique features could have benefited other sectors. But then Covid-19 arrived, causing one of the worst crises the luxury industry has ever seen. To meet the new needs of contemporary luxury consumers, an increasing number of luxury brands is relying on emerging digital technologies. In particular, the inherent characteristics of blockchain may suggest that this is the best technology to cope with the new market scenario post global pandemic. However, this technology is still in its infancy and often poorly understood by traditional companies; among researchers and practitioners, there is a perceived lack of well-established use cases in business contexts outside those of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, the present thesis aims to fill this literature gap by empirically studying the benefits that blockchain technology can provide to luxury brands in general and to high-end watch brands in particular. Hence, a qualitative analysis has been performed on the data collected throughout 12 semi-structured interviews, proposed to experts coming from the world of luxury – in particular watchmaking – IT and blockchain. This study confirms the key role that blockchain technology has in enabling luxury brands to better address today’s challenges and points out how the true source of any change come firstly from a change in the mindset of the people, because at the end of the day, people make the difference.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/182734