AUTHOR=Mulligan C. , Godsiff P. , Brunelle A. TITLE=Boundary Spanning in a Digital World: The Case of Blockchain JOURNAL=Frontiers in Blockchain VOLUME=3 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/blockchain/articles/10.3389/fbloc.2020.00037 DOI=10.3389/fbloc.2020.00037 ISSN=2624-7852 ABSTRACT=

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that is often described as “creating trust” or “removing intermediaries.” In this paper, we posit that blockchain is a new form of digitally enabled boundary spanning that allows co-ownership models for the companies in question. Where companies have traditionally employed humans to act as interfaces to the external world, new digital technologies enable a digitized approach to many corporate operations that require interaction toward the external market and environment within which firms must operate. Blockchain is a special subset of digital technologies in this regard, enabling companies to co-operate to control parts of the market and to internalize transaction costs that until now have been a market function: using blockchain companies effectively create a new transaction boundary that means boundary spanning activities can be deeply embedded in core business functions, rather than kept as peripheral actions. This digitally enabled boundary spanning is a key attribute of the emerging digital economy. Understanding its implications is of critical importance for economics, business, and social science literature.