The DOI matches its Crossref record; 3 of the 3 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Governance challenges of blockchain and decentralized autonomous organizations
Abstract
The rise of blockchain has resulted in discussions on (new) governance models with multiple actors collaborating. Incidents and problems occurred due to flaws in blockchain protocols, smart contracts and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs). Often it is unclear how decisions are made concerning evolvement of blockchain applications. In this paper, we identify and analyze potential challenges regarding governance of blockchain initiatives in various types of decentralized networks using literature and case study research. The governance challenges are classified based on a framework consisting of different layers (infrastructure, application, company and institution/country) and stages (design, operate, evolve/crisis). The results show that in various stages and layers, different challenges occur. Furthermore, blockchain applications governance and blockchain infrastructure governance were found to be entangled adding to the challenge. Our research shows a specific need for further research into governance models for DAO applications on permissionless blockchains, linked to the products and services offered whereas in permissioned blockchains and other type of applications, existing governance models might often be feasible. For developing new governance models, we recommend learning from the lessons from the open source community.
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Fully decentralized decision making can introduce inefficiencies that hinder rapid development, leading projects to adopt hybrid governance models.
“For example, fully decentralized decision making can introduce inefficiencies that hinder rapid development, leading projects to adopt hybrid governance models (Rikken et al., 2019).”
From Exploring the decentralized science ecosystem: insights on organizational structures, technologies, and funding (2025) · cites this paper as Rikken et al., 2019
DAO-like governance frameworks bring their own set of challenges for voting, long-term viability of the organization based on the incentives it provides, and coordination of internal and external operations.
“DAO-like governance frameworks bring their own set of challenges for voting (Goldber and Schär, 2023), long-term viability of the organization based on the incentives it provides (Rikken et al., 2019), and coordination of internal and external operations (Sharma, T. et al., 2024).”
From Exploring the decentralized science ecosystem: insights on organizational structures, technologies, and funding (2025) · cites this paper as Rikken et al., 2019
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Cited by
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Decentralized autonomous organization
Hassan, S., & De Filippi, P. (2021) · Internet Policy Review · doi:10.14763/2021.2.1556 · Cited by 383
Blockchain for public services: a systematic literature review.
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Metadata
- Authors
- Rikken, O., Janssen, M., & Kwee, Z.
- Venue
- Information Polity
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2019-12-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 397-417
- ISSN
- 1570-1255
- 1875-8754
- Cited by
- 132
- References
- 3
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