IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v148y2019ics0040162518319711.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why do blockchains split? An actor-network perspective on Bitcoin splits

Author

Listed:
  • Islam, A.K.M. Najmul
  • Mäntymäki, Matti
  • Turunen, Marja

Abstract

This paper investigates the focal actors in a blockchain network and their heterogeneity in splits. Disagreements in blockchain communities often lead to splits in both the blockchain and the community. We use three key elements of the actor-network theory — punctualization, translation, and actor heterogeneity—and employ case study methodology to examine Bitcoin splits. We identify several human actors, such as miners, developers, merchants, and investors, as well as non-human actors, including blockchain, exchanges, hardware manufacturers, and wallets, involved in Bitcoin splits. Our results show that the consolidation of actors in homogeneous groups plays a key role in blockchain splits. We further describe how the human and non-human actors' fluid moves into micro and macro actor positions in the network affect the development of the split. In addition, we discuss the roles of these actors and their engagement in forming micro and macro agencies in blockchain splits.

Suggested Citation

  • Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Mäntymäki, Matti & Turunen, Marja, 2019. "Why do blockchains split? An actor-network perspective on Bitcoin splits," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:148:y:2019:i:c:s0040162518319711
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119743
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162518319711
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119743?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pazaitis, Alex & De Filippi, Primavera & Kostakis, Vasilis, 2017. "Blockchain and value systems in the sharing economy: The illustrative case of Backfeed," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 105-115.
    2. Alex Pazaitis & Primavera De Filippi & Vasilis Kostakis, 2017. "Blockchain and Value Systems in the Sharing Economy: The Illustrative Case of Backfeed," The Other Canon Foundation and Tallinn University of Technology Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics 73, TUT Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance.
    3. M. Lynne Markus & Frantz Rowe, 2018. "Is IT changing the world?," Post-Print hal-03716243, HAL.
    4. Alex Pazaitis & Primavera de Filippi & Vasilis Kostakis, 2017. "Blockchain and value systems in the sharing economy: The illustrative case of Backfeed," Post-Print hal-01676881, HAL.
    5. M. Lynne Markus & Daniel Robey, 1988. "Information Technology and Organizational Change: Causal Structure in Theory and Research," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(5), pages 583-598, May.
    6. Shim, Yongwoon & Shin, Don, 2019. "Smartness in techno-nationalism? Combining actor-network theory and institutionalization to assess Chinese smart TV development," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 87-98.
    7. Andrew H. van de Ven & George P. Huber, 1990. "Longitudinal Field Research Methods for Studying Processes of Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 213-219, August.
    8. Dorothy Leonard-Barton, 1990. "A Dual Methodology for Case Studies: Synergistic Use of a Longitudinal Single Site with Replicated Multiple Sites," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 248-266, August.
    9. Andrew M. Pettigrew, 1990. "Longitudinal Field Research on Change: Theory and Practice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 1(3), pages 267-292, August.
    10. Marsal-Llacuna, Maria-Lluïsa, 2018. "Future living framework: Is blockchain the next enabling network?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 226-234.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yazıcı, Ali Fırat & Olcay, Ali Bahadır & Arkalı Olcay, Gökçen, 2023. "A framework for maintaining sustainable energy use in Bitcoin mining through switching efficient mining hardware," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    2. Kong, Xiaolin & Ma, Chaoqun & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Narayan, Seema & Nguyen, Thong Trung & Baltas, Konstantinos, 2023. "Changes in the market structure and risk management of Bitcoin and its forked coins," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Tandon, Anushree & Kaur, Puneet & Mäntymäki, Matti & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "Blockchain applications in management: A bibliometric analysis and literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    4. Md Al Amin & Dewan Hafiz Nabil & Roberto Baldacci & Md. Habibur Rahman, 2023. "Exploring Blockchain Implementation Challenges for Sustainable Supply Chains: An Integrated Fuzzy TOPSIS–ISM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-25, September.
    5. Santana, Carlos & Albareda, Laura, 2022. "Blockchain and the emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): An integrative model and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    6. Yi, Eojin & Cho, Yerim & Sohn, Sungbin & Ahn, Kwangwon, 2021. "After the Splits: Information Flow between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Family," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    7. Garg, Poonam & Gupta, Bhumika & Chauhan, Ajay Kumar & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Gupta, Shivam & Modgil, Sachin, 2021. "Measuring the perceived benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the banking sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    8. Balasubramanian, Sreejith & Shukla, Vinaya & Sethi, Jaspreet Singh & Islam, Nazrul & Saloum, Roy, 2021. "A readiness assessment framework for Blockchain adoption: A healthcare case study," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    9. Kouhizadeh, Mahtab & Saberi, Sara & Sarkis, Joseph, 2021. "Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    10. Kimani, Danson & Adams, Kweku & Attah-Boakye, Rexford & Ullah, Subhan & Frecknall-Hughes, Jane & Kim, Ja, 2020. "Blockchain, business and the fourth industrial revolution: Whence, whither, wherefore and how?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Jana, Rabin K. & Ghosh, Indranil & Das, Debojyoti & Dutta, Anupam, 2021. "Determinants of electronic waste generation in Bitcoin network: Evidence from the machine learning approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kajikawa, Yuya & Mejia, Cristian & Wu, Mengjia & Zhang, Yi, 2022. "Academic landscape of Technological Forecasting and Social Change through citation network and topic analyses," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    2. Friedman, Nicola & Ormiston, Jarrod, 2022. "Blockchain as a sustainability-oriented innovation?: Opportunities for and resistance to Blockchain technology as a driver of sustainability in global food supply chains," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    3. Nguyen, Loan T.Q. & Hoang, Thinh G. & Do, Linh H. & Ngo, Xuan T. & Nguyen, Phuong H.T. & Nguyen, Giang D.L. & Nguyen, Giang N.T., 2021. "The role of blockchain technology-based social crowdfunding in advancing social value creation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    4. Domingo, Ribeiro-Soriano & Piñeiro-Chousa, Juan & Ángeles López-Cabarcos, M., 2020. "What factors drive returns on initial coin offerings?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    5. Garg, Poonam & Gupta, Bhumika & Chauhan, Ajay Kumar & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Gupta, Shivam & Modgil, Sachin, 2021. "Measuring the perceived benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the banking sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    6. Centobelli, Piera & Cerchione, Roberto & Esposito, Emilio & Oropallo, Eugenio, 2021. "Surfing blockchain wave, or drowning? Shaping the future of distributed ledgers and decentralized technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    7. Kowalski, Michał & Lee, Zach W.Y. & Chan, Tommy K.H., 2021. "Blockchain technology and trust relationships in trade finance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    8. Plinio Limata, 2020. "Blockchain and Institutions (I): trust and (de)centralization," CERBE Working Papers wpC35, CERBE Center for Relationship Banking and Economics.
    9. Emmanuelle Reuter, 2022. "Hybrid business models in the sharing economy: The role of business model design for managing the environmental paradox," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 603-618, February.
    10. Goldberg, Mitchell & Schär, Fabian, 2023. "Metaverse governance: An empirical analysis of voting within Decentralized Autonomous Organizations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    11. Tandon, Anushree & Kaur, Puneet & Mäntymäki, Matti & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "Blockchain applications in management: A bibliometric analysis and literature review," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    12. Lee, Jei Young, 2019. "A decentralized token economy: How blockchain and cryptocurrency can revolutionize business," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 773-784.
    13. Sköld, Martin, 2008. "Knowledge Development Patterns In Radically New Product Architectures," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2008:8, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 18 Nov 2008.
    14. Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Shauhrat S. Chopra, 2022. "Leveraging Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies to Overcome Circular Economy Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, August.
    15. Jaković Božidar & Ćurlin Tamara & Miloloža Ivan, 2021. "Enterprise Digital Divide: Website e-Commerce Functionalities among European Union Enterprises," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 12(1), pages 197-215, May.
    16. Fernandes, Bruno & Chimenti, Paula & Nogueira, Roberto, 2020. "A taxonomy of initiatives at work in the sharing economy," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 81-86.
    17. Anna Adamik & Michał Nowicki & Andrius Puksas, 2022. "Energy Oriented Concepts and Other SMART WORLD Trends as Game Changers of Co-Production—Reality or Future?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-38, June.
    18. Klarin, Anton, 2020. "The decade-long cryptocurrencies and the blockchain rollercoaster: Mapping the intellectual structure and charting future directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    19. Lennart Ante, 2020. "A place next to Satoshi: foundations of blockchain and cryptocurrency research in business and economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(2), pages 1305-1333, August.
    20. Kareem Mohamed & Amr Aziz & Belal Mohamed & Khaled Abdel‐Hakeem & Mostafa Mostafa & Ayman Atia, 2019. "Blockchain for tracking serial numbers in money exchanges," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 193-201, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:148:y:2019:i:c:s0040162518319711. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.