IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v178y2024ics0148296324001760.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): Stewardship talks but agency walks

Author

Listed:
  • Alawadi, Asma
  • Kakabadse, Nada
  • Kakabadse, Andrew
  • Zuckerbraun, Sam

Abstract

Although the governance of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) has attracted the interest of several academics, few studies have empirically examined how DAOs are governed. We use an exploratory, inductive approach to comprehensively examine how DAOs are currently governed and the ramifications of this. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 DAO members from a variety of sectors to identify how they arrange their voting processes, distribute collaborative decision-making, and maintain their tokens. Three themes emerge from the thematic analysis of the data: (1) voting structure, (2) proposal management, and (3) token management. Participants describe the notion of DAOs as closely aligned with stewardship philosophy, encompassing collaborative and altruistic activity toward a common purpose. However, the operations and methods implemented are more oriented toward agency viewpoints due to their reliance on incentive-based processing and are based on a lack of trust among DAO stakeholders. This study provides empirical insights into DAO governance mechanisms.11Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).

Suggested Citation

  • Alawadi, Asma & Kakabadse, Nada & Kakabadse, Andrew & Zuckerbraun, Sam, 2024. "Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): Stewardship talks but agency walks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:178:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324001760
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114672
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324001760
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114672?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hanisch, Marvin & Goldsby, Curtis M. & Fabian, Nicolai E. & Oehmichen, Jana, 2023. "Digital governance: A conceptual framework and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. John Kagel & Hankyoung Sung & Eyal Winter, 2010. "Veto power in committees: an experimental study," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 13(2), pages 167-188, June.
    3. Ronald C. Anderson & David M. Reeb & Arun Upadhyay & Wanli Zhao, 2011. "The Economics of Director Heterogeneity," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 40(1), pages 5-38, March.
    4. Jia-Wen Liang & Chen Lung Chin, 2016. "Stock-Based Compensation in a Concentrated Ownership Setting: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1-2), pages 131-157, January.
    5. Goldberg, Mitchell & Schär, Fabian, 2023. "Metaverse governance: An empirical analysis of voting within Decentralized Autonomous Organizations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    6. Jessica M. Rixom & Mark Jackson & Brett A. Rixom, 2023. "Mandating Diversity on the Board of Directors: Do Investors Feel That Gender Quotas Result in Tokenism or Added Value for Firms?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 679-697, January.
    7. David Yermack, 2017. "Corporate Governance and Blockchains," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(1), pages 7-31.
    8. Maestrini, Vieri & Luzzini, Davide & Caniato, Federico & Ronchi, Stefano, 2018. "Effects of monitoring and incentives on supplier performance: An agency theory perspective," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 322-332.
    9. Jongwook Kim & Joseph T. Mahoney, 2005. "Property rights theory, transaction costs theory, and agency theory: an organizational economics approach to strategic management," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 223-242.
    10. Santana, Carlos & Albareda, Laura, 2022. "Blockchain and the emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): An integrative model and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Kim, Jooyoung & Lee, Kyu Hyung & Kim, Jaemin, 2023. "Linking blockchain technology and digital advertising: How blockchain technology can enhance digital advertising to be more effective, efficient, and trustworthy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    12. Anthony Downs, 1957. "An Economic Theory of Political Action in a Democracy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 65(2), pages 135-135.
    13. Ying-Ying Hsieh & Jean-Philippe Vergne & Philip Anderson & Karim Lakhani & Markus Reitzig, 2018. "Bitcoin and the rise of decentralized autonomous organizations," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 7(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. David Rozas & Antonio Tenorio-Fornés & Silvia Díaz-Molina & Samer Hassan, 2021. "When Ostrom Meets Blockchain: Exploring the Potentials of Blockchain for Commons Governance," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.
    15. 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.
    16. Zachariadis, Markos & Hileman, Garrick & Scott, Susan V., 2019. "Governance and control in distributed ledgers: understanding the challenges facing blockchain technology in financial services," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100479, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    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. Santana, Carlos & Albareda, Laura, 2022. "Blockchain and the emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): An integrative model and research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    2. Tan, Teck Ming & Salo, Jari & Brashear Alejandro, Thomas G. & Wei-Han Tan, Garry & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2024. "Guest editorial: A blockchain-based approach to marketing in the sharing economy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Goldsby, Curtis M. & Hanisch, Marvin, 2023. "Agency in the algorithmic age: The mechanisms and structures of blockchain-based organizing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    4. Kyungmoo Heo & Sangyoon Yi, 2023. "(De)centralization in the governance of blockchain systems: cryptocurrency cases," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 12(3), pages 59-82, September.
    5. Erica Pimentel & Emilio Boulianne, 2020. "Blockchain in Accounting Research and Practice: Current Trends and Future Opportunities," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 325-361, December.
    6. Mohammad Hossein Ronaghi & Mohammad Mosakhani, 2022. "The effects of blockchain technology adoption on business ethics and social sustainability: evidence from the Middle East," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6834-6859, May.
    7. Wang, Jiaxin & Zhao, Mu & Huang, Xiang & Sun, Di & Song, Zilong, 2023. "Guidance or misguidance: Fintech policy and corporate innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    8. Martin Cimiterra & Jackie Krafft & Lionel Nesta, 2021. "Blockchain as Schumpeter Mark 1 or Mark 2? An empirical analysis of blockchain job offers in France and Germany [Innovation: mapping the winds of creative destruction]," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 30(6), pages 1388-1402.
    9. Massimiliano Vatiero, 2018. "Smart contracts and transaction costs," Discussion Papers 2018/238, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
    10. Darcy W E Allen, 2020. "When Entrepreneurs Meet:The Collective Governance of New Ideas," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number q0269, September.
    11. Han, Hongdan & Shiwakoti, Radha K. & Jarvis, Robin & Mordi, Chima & Botchie, David, 2023. "Accounting and auditing with blockchain technology and artificial Intelligence: A literature review," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    12. Winifred Huang & Michele Meoli & Silvio Vismara, 2020. "The geography of initial coin offerings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 77-102, June.
    13. Vasiliy Andreevich Laptev & Daria Rinatovna Feyzrakhmanova, 2021. "Digitalization of Institutions of Corporate Law: Current Trends and Future Prospects," Laws, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, December.
    14. Abhimanyu Pallavi Sudhir, 2021. "A mathematical definition of property rights in a Debreu economy," Papers 2107.09651, arXiv.org.
    15. Anil Savio Kavuri & Alistair Milne, 2019. "FinTech and the future of financial services: What are the research gaps?," CAMA Working Papers 2019-18, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    16. Teck Ming Tan & Jari Salo, 2023. "Ethical Marketing in the Blockchain-Based Sharing Economy: Theoretical Integration and Guiding Insights," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(4), pages 1113-1140, April.
    17. Nils Augustin & Andreas Eckhardt & Alexander Willem Jong, 2023. "Understanding decentralized autonomous organizations from the inside," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Bokolo Anthony Jnr., 2022. "Toward a collaborative governance model for distributed ledger technology adoption in organizations," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 276-294, June.
    19. Tahir Akhtar, 2024. "Blockchain Technology: the Beginning of a New Era in Reforming Corporate Governance Mechanisms," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 3059-3084, March.
    20. Dulani Jayasuriya Daluwathumullagamage & Alexandra Sims, 2021. "Fantastic Beasts: Blockchain Based Banking," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-43, April.

    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:eee:jbrese:v:178:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324001760. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    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.