Call for Papers for Special Issue of the TIM Review

 Blockchain and Digital Transformation

First Draft submission deadline: October 20th, 2021

Final submission of manuscripts: November 26^th, 2021

Overview

This call for papers aims to advance blockchain (distributed ledger) technology research in the context of technology innovation management. The special issue seeks to build on the research progress of scholars focusing on the disruptive innovation potential of blockchain. Following the October 2017 TIM Review edition on Blockchain, and June 2021 edition on Distributed Ledger Technologies for Smart Digital Economies this special issue will further explore blockchain for digital transformation.

Motivation for the Special Issue

Blockchain (distributed ledger) technologies have become one of the most important post-internet technological developments for their socio-economic impact. Blockchain technologies have been defined, as “a decentralized, online record-keeping system, or ledger, maintained by a network of computers that verify and record transactions using established cryptographic techniques” (Orcutt, 2017). One of the open source industry leaders, Hyperledger, defines it this way: “A blockchain is a peer-to-peer distributed ledger forged by consensus, combined with a system for ‘smart contracts’ and other assistive technologies. Together these can be used to build a new generation of transactional applications that establishes trust, accountability and transparency at their core, while streamlining business processes and legal constraints” (https://www.hyperledger.org/about).

The current body of research emphasizes the great need for engagement among various actors who can collaboratively share resources in shaping new market offers with blockchain-based business models. This special issue is motivated by the desire to move forward the publication of papers involving both theory and practise gained by blockchain companies in recent years, since the rapid growth of ICOs in 2017, and ultimately, following the Bitcoin white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Entrepreneurs and top management teams are now faced with the challenge of scaling in emerging blockchain-enabled ecosystems by developing, aligning, and shaping new value propositions for diverse actors involved in the value creation process. We invite contributions that could provide a better understanding of the impact of blockchain technologies on businesses, communities, and ecosystems.

Research topics

This call for papers invites scholars and practitioners to address the challenges of new companies and communities using blockchain technologies. Articles are expected to provide new conceptual, theoretical, and practical insights based on empirical data emerging from recent market activities. Use cases from demonstrably successful existing distributed ledger communities across a range of sectors are also welcome.

Research topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Mapping out the field of blockchain technology as it relates to digital transformation

• Theoretical contributions to our understanding of digital economies based on asset tokenization with a scalable path to value capture and company resource configuration
• Frameworks, methods and tools to develop and align blockchain-based projects for multiple parties with Peer-to-Peer (P2P) capabilities
• Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and varieties of consensus-oriented blockchain-based associations
• Blockchain games and the play-to-earn model of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
• Cybersecurity of distributed ledger communities, including permissioned, permissionless, and hybrid permissions, as well as exchange and non-exchange cases
• Projects that combine blockchain technology with artificial intelligence (AI)
• Aligning multiple stakeholders and consortium members in a distributed ledger-based community with shared ecosystem scaling objectives
• Methods to systematically learn from blockchain-oriented value propositions of companies that have scaled early, rapidly and securely that can be used to differentiate new companies

Key dates

• October 20th, 2021: First Draft paper submissions
• October 28^th, 2021: Acceptance decision and feedback
• November 9^th, 2021: Submission of Final Draft manuscripts
• November 14^th, 2021: Feedback based on peer-review process
• November 26^th, 2021: Authors’ final submissions of revised manuscripts

Submission Guidelines

• First Draft papers, 2,000-5,000 words
• Abstracts & Manuscripts should be submitted by e-mail to the Managing Editor: [email protected]
• Manuscripts should follow the TIM Review Author guidelines: https://timreview.ca/authorguidelines  

About the TIM Review

The Technology Innovation Management Review (www.timreview.ca) offers a platform for research on emerging trends relevant to launching and growing new technology businesses. The TIM Review focuses on the theories, strategies, and tools that help small and large technology companies succeed. The TIM Review brings together diverse viewpoints – from academics, entrepreneurs, companies of all sizes, the public sector, the community sector, and others – to bridge the gap between theory and practice, with a particular focus on the topics of technology entrepreneurship and innovation management, in small and large companies.

References

Bailetti, T., Tanev, S., & Keen, C. 2020. What Makes Value Propositions Distinct and Valuable to New Companies Committed to Scale Rapidly? Technology Innovation Management Review, 10(6): 14-27. http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1365

Berners-Lee, Tim. 2000. Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web. New York: Harper.

Buterin, Vitalik. 2014. Ethereum. White Paper: A next-generation smart contract and decentralized application platform. Ethereum.

Casey, Michael and Vigna, Paul. 2017. The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything. St. Martin’s Press.

DuPoint, Quinn. 2019. Cryptocurrencies and Blockchains. Polity.

Ferguson, Ange. 2017. Smart Digital Economy. Social Science Asia, Volume 3, Number 3: 13-20.

Iansiti, Marco and Lakhani, Karim R. 2017. The Truth about Blockchain. Harvard Business Review, January-February: 118-127. https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-truth-about-blockchain

Lehdonvirta, Vili and Castronova, Edward. 2014. Virtual Economies: Design and Analysis. MIT Press.

Nakamoto, Satoshi. 2008.  Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Narayanan, Arvind and Clark, Jeremy. 2017. Bitcoin’s Academic Pedigree: The concept of cryptocurrencies is built from forgotten ideas in research literature. ACMQueue. https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3136559

Orcutt, Mike. 2017. Congress Takes Blockchain 101. MIT Technology Review.  https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/03/15/153241/congress-takes-blockchain-101/

Rrustemi, J., & Tuchschmid, N.S. 2020. Facebook’s Digital Currency Venture “Diem”: the new Frontier .. or a Galaxy far, far away? Technology Innovation Management Review, 10(12): 19-30. http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1407

Rrustemi, J., & Tuchschmid, N.S. 2020. Fundraising Campaigns in a Digital Economy: Lessons from a Swiss Synthetic Diamond Venture's Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Technology Innovation Management Review, 10(6): 53-63. http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1368

Sandstrom, Gregory. 2021. Distributed Ledger Technologies and Social Machines: How to “smartify” the economy with blockchain-based digital extension services? Technology Innovation Management Review, 11(6): 42-57. http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1449

Swan, Melanie. 2015. Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy. Sebastopol: CA: O’Reilly.

Tapscott, Don and Alex. 2017. Realizing the Potential of Blockchain: A Multistakeholder Approach to the Stewardship of Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/realizing-the-potential-of-blockchain

Tapscott, Don and Alex. 2016. Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business and the World. Portfolio.

UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser. 2016. Distributed Ledger Technology: beyond blockchain. Government Office for Science.  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/distributed-ledger-technology-beyond-block-chain

Werbach, Kevin. 2018. The Blockchain and the New Architecture of Trust. MIT Press.