Decentralization, Tokenization, and the Evolution of Digital Incentives

Guest: Maria Petryk

Bio: Maria Petryk is an Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management at George Mason University. Her research interests include information systems, finance management, organization science, and the economics of blockchain. She focuses particularly on decentralized platforms and open-source software.

Summary: In this episode of Talking About Platforms, Maria discusses the platform business model as one that creates infrastructural opportunities for other agents, companies, individuals, and users to create new value. The platform operator provides the infrastructure and foundational tools for other economic agents to create derivative value and the economy around the platform.

Key discussion points include:

• Decentralized platforms and blockchain: Maria shares her journey into researching blockchain technology around 2017, initially learning about it from the Bitcoin perspective and then finding a community on campus discussing this technology. She notes the ethos behind it as a movement against centralization, particularly in financial transactional systems, aligning with open-source software concepts.

• Research gaps and the evolution of blockchain applications: Early research focused on understanding what blockchain is and what changes it brings to existing business models. The evolution of applications, from Bitcoin to various cryptocurrencies, has been crucial in understanding blockchain's impact.

• Traditional firms and blockchain: Some companies use blockchain technology to make processes more efficient, such as stablecoin companies utilizing blockchain for cheaper and more efficient payment rails. Others, like Starbucks and Nike, experiment with Web3 artifacts for community engagement and loyalty enhancement.

• Open-source community and value capture: Maria discusses capturing the value of open source in the cryptocurrency space, given that a majority of cryptocurrencies have open-source code on GitHub.

• Centralization in decentralized sectors: The discussion touches on the tendency toward centralization in the blockchain space, with larger entities dominating through grant programs.

• Tokenization and incentivization: Blockchain introduces the concept of token organizations, digitizing transactions and exchanges, and using tokens as a payment for contributions, potentially shifting the balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

• Algorithmic governance and immutability: The immutability of code in blockchain systems can be a dilemma when the system scales and new market mechanisms require changes. Flexibility is needed, and sometimes centralized entities are required to make decisions.

Publications & Projects Mentioned:

• von Hippel, E. (2002). Open source software projects as user innovation networks. MIT Sloan School of Management

• Petryk, M., Qiu, L., & Pathak, P. (2023). The Impact of Open-Source Community on Cryptocurrency Market Price: An Empirical Investigation. Journal of Management Information Systems, 40(4), 1237-1270.

• Nimalendran, M., Pathak, P., Petryk, M., & Qiu, L. (2024). Informational efficiency of cryptocurrency markets. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 1-30.

Links:

• Mariia's website: https://www.mariiapetryk.com/home