IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/orserv/v15y2023i4p266-282.html

Exploring the New Frontier: Decentralized Financial Services

Author

Listed:
  • Enric Junqué de Fortuny

    (Managerial Decision Sciences, IESE, 08034 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Yifei Zhang

    (Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University, New York, New York 10003)

Abstract

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) marks a transformative shift in financial services, harnessing the power of distributed ledger and smart contract technologies. Despite only five years of development, DeFi has rapidly matured, pioneering state-of-the-art financial products, a stratified ecosystem, and a myriad of innovative vertical and horizontal protocol integrations. Its distinctive characteristics establish DeFi as a crucible for innovation, carrying potential to spur advancements across various service sectors. However, the research community has yet to fully explore this burgeoning field. In this manuscript, we navigate the complexities of this emerging service system, analyzing 362 notable Ethereum-based DeFi initiatives. Our study reveals a robust and dynamic growth trajectory, the advent of a multi-tiered ecosystem, and a sophisticated network of primary market investors. We conclude by highlighting promising avenues for future exploration in DeFi and service system research.

Suggested Citation

  • Enric Junqué de Fortuny & Yifei Zhang, 2023. "Exploring the New Frontier: Decentralized Financial Services," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(4), pages 266-282, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orserv:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:266-282
    DOI: 10.1287/serv.2021.0048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/serv.2021.0048
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/serv.2021.0048?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anssi Smedlund, 2012. "Value Cocreation in Service Platform Business Models," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(1), pages 79-88, March.
    2. Benston, George J & Smith, Clifford W, Jr, 1976. "A Transactions Cost Approach to the Theory of Financial Intermediation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 215-231, May.
    3. Min, Hokey, 2019. "Blockchain technology for enhancing supply chain resilience," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 35-45.
    4. Ye Guo & Chen Liang, 2016. "Blockchain application and outlook in the banking industry," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. de Reuver, Mark & Sørensen, Carsten & Basole, Rahul C., 2018. "The digital platform: a research agenda," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 80669, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Chen, Yan, 2018. "Blockchain tokens and the potential democratization of entrepreneurship and innovation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(4), pages 567-575.
    7. Rahul C. Basole & Shiv S. Patel, 2018. "Transformation Through Unbundling: Visualizing the Global FinTech Ecosystem," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 379-396, December.
    8. Rogelio Oliva & John D. Sterman, 2001. "Cutting Corners and Working Overtime: Quality Erosion in the Service Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 47(7), pages 894-914, July.
    9. Davidson, Sinclair & De Filippi, Primavera & Potts, Jason, 2018. "Blockchains and the economic institutions of capitalism," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(4), pages 639-658, August.
    10. Chen, Yan & Bellavitis, Cristiano, 2020. "Blockchain disruption and decentralized finance: The rise of decentralized business models," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 13(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Mahmoona Khalil & Kausar Fiaz Khawaja & Muddassar Sarfraz, 2022. "The adoption of blockchain technology in the financial sector during the era of fourth industrial revolution: a moderated mediated model," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2435-2452, August.
    2. Yuk Ming Tang & Ka Yin Chau, 2025. "Blockchain evolution and management theoretical (BEMT) model based on integrated semantic similarity and co-citation analysis for next generation service industry," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 475-494, June.
    3. Park, Andrew & Wilson, Matthew & Robson, Karen & Demetis, Dionysios & Kietzmann, Jan, 2023. "Interoperability: Our exciting and terrifying Web3 future," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 529-541.
    4. 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).
    5. Malhotra, Arvind & O’Neill, Hugh & Stowell, Porter, 2022. "Thinking strategically about blockchain adoption and risk mitigation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 159-171.
    6. Ipert, Chloé & Mauer, René, 2023. "Infrastructural or organizational decentralization? Developing a typology of blockchain ventures," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    7. Joon-Seok Kim & Nina Shin, 2019. "The Impact of Blockchain Technology Application on Supply Chain Partnership and Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-17, November.
    8. Kotiloglu, Serhan & Ometto, M. Paola, 2024. "An exploratory look at the role of ownership in initial coin offerings (ICO): Different audiences and ICO success," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 21(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. Kou, Mingting & Yang, Yuanqi & Chen, Kaihua, 2024. "Financial technology research: Past and future trajectories," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 162-181.
    11. Damiano Cesa Bianchi & Marco Bellucci & Giacomo Manetti & Luca Bagnoli, 2023. "NFTs and business model innovations," Working Papers - Business wp2023_01.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    12. Li, Sen & Chen, Yan, 2023. "How nonfungible tokens empower business model innovation," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 543-554.
    13. repec:bjf:journl:v:10:y:2025:i:9:p:509-524 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Pierluigi Martino & Tom Vanacker & Igor Filatotchev & Cristiano Bellavitis, 2025. "(De)centralized governance and the value of platform-based new ventures: The moderating role of teams and transparency," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 64(4), pages 1763-1790, April.
    15. Christian Zeiß & Myriam Schaschek & Lisa Straub & Christoph Tomitza & Axel Winkelmann, 2024. "Re-intermediation of the crypto asset ecosystem by banks: An empirical study on acceptance drivers among the populace," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 34(1), pages 1-24, December.
    16. Florentina c{S}oiman & Guillaume Dumas & Sonia Jimenez-Garces, 2022. "The return of (I)DeFiX," Papers 2204.00251, arXiv.org.
    17. Vincent Gramlich & Tobias Guggenberger & Marc Principato & Benjamin Schellinger & Nils Urbach, 2023. "A multivocal literature review of decentralized finance: Current knowledge and future research avenues," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-37, December.
    18. Marina Efthymiou & Katie McCarthy & Chris Markou & John F. O’Connell, 2022. "An Exploratory Research on Blockchain in Aviation: The Case of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    19. Ali, Omar & Momin, Mujtaba & Shrestha, Anup & Das, Ronnie & Alhajj, Fadia & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2023. "A review of the key challenges of non-fungible tokens," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    20. Taab Ahmad Samad & Rohit Sharma & Kunal K Ganguly & Samuel Fosso Wamba & Geetika Jain, 2023. "Enablers to the adoption of blockchain technology in logistics supply chains: evidence from an emerging economy," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 251-291, August.
    21. Vella, Giacomo & Gastaldi, Luca & Appio, Francesco Paolo, 2025. "Non-algorithmic governance mechanisms of blockchain-based decentralized applications: Evidence from multiple cases," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:inm:orserv:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:266-282. 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: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    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.