Blockchain and the Future of Open Innovation Intermediaries: The Case of Crowdsourcing Platforms

There is now a consensus on the role of open innovation intermediaries, especially in relation to the transaction costs associated with open and collaborative innovation. On the other hand, since its “invention” in 2008, blockchain has been given considerable attention across various fields. A common view is that by drastically reducing transaction costs, blockchain could suppress the need of middlemen and intermediaries. With this in mind, the aim of this paper is to assess the potential impact of blockchain on the role of open innovation intermediaries, with a particular focus on crowdsourcing platforms. Following Schenk et al. (2018), the role of crowdsourcing platforms is considered along three complementary streams of literature: transaction costs theory, resource-based theory, and the theory of two-sided markets. Through its registry and smart-contract applications (which are yet to be characterized precisely), we argue that if vastly implemented, blockchain will significantly reduce the possibility of opportunistic behavior, as well as the associated transaction costs. This could in turn lead to a reconsideration of the role of open innovation intermediaries and platforms. But the role of these platforms also includes the matchmaking between seekers and solvers (which involves network effects) and the provision of resources and competences required along the open innovation process. The discussion proposed in this chapter suggests that these roles should not be altered by blockchain (at least in a foreseeable future).