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Blockchain Technology and Startup Financing: A Transaction Cost Economics

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Article  in  Technological Forecasting and Social Change · February 2020

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119854

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BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND STARTUP FINANCING: A TRANSACTION

COST ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE

Saurabh Ahluwalia, PhD

Associate Professor of Finance

MSC05 3090 Anderson School of Management, 1 University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM 872014. Phone: 505.277.6471

Email: [email protected]

Raj V. Mahto, PhD

Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship

MSC05 3090. Anderson School of Management, 1 University of New Mexico

Albuquerque, NM 872014 USA. Phone: 505.277.2423

Email: [email protected]

Maribel Guerrero, PhD

Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship

Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University

Sutherland Building, 2 Ellison Pl, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK

Email: [email protected]

1
 BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND STARTUP FINANCING: A TRANSACTION

COST ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE

Abstract:

Cryptocurrencies (e.g., Bitcoin, EOS, Etherum, Litecoin, and others) are disrupting the traditional

banking and financial systems. The cryptocurrencies are based on a set of technologies commonly

referred to as blockchain technology. The potential effect of blockchain technology on

institutional economics is profound. Already, blockchain technology-based applications in supply

chain management, marketing, and finance are decentralizing and streamlining vital institutional

functions. In this paper, we examine the economics of blockchain technologies as it pertains to

transaction costs in startup financing. We draw upon the theory of transaction cost economics and

the transactional nature of blockchain technology to propose a model to demonstrate how and why

blockchain technology based applications are effective. We then apply the model to demonstrate

how blockchain technology can be used to overcome many problems inherent in startup financing.

For example, information asymmetry and transaction costs involved with matching an

entrepreneur with an investor and the terms of the financing deal are some of the fundamental

issues in entrepreneurial financing. We explain how a financing system based on blockchain

technology can ameliorate the problems and lead to a more effective and decentralized

entrepreneurial financing process.

Keywords: Blockchain Technology, Institutional Economics, Transactional Costs, Startup

Financing, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

2
 1. Introduction

Technologies based on the blockchain platform have the potential to disrupt various

industries (de Soto, 2017; Potts et al., 2017). We are already witnessing the disruptive effects of

cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, on the ongoing revolution in banking, online

currency markets, and online buying-selling of goods and services (Tapscott and Tapscott, 2016).

The decentralized nature of blockchain technology in conjunction with the trust generation through

sophisticated algorithms, absence of any middlemen, and negligible counterparty risk has far-

reaching implications for institutional economics (Evans, 2014, Narayanan et al., 2016). However,

while there has been research on various aspects of cryptocurrencies and specific applications of

blockchain technology, studies exploring the economic and entrepreneurial side of blockchain

technologies are limited1 (Catalini and Gans, 2016). According to the limited extent research,

blockchain technologies represent several entrepreneurship opportunities in areas of unbanked

practices(Larios-Hernández, 2017), new business models (Morkunas et al., 2019), and startup

financing (Ante et al., 2018; Akbarpour, 2019; Tumasjan et al., 2019). Given the relevance of

blockchain technologies in entrepreneurship and the anecdotal evidence about the advantages and

disadvantages of implementing cryptocurrencies for startups financing, the ongoing academic

debate highlights the need for exploring both themes using robust conceptual and methodological

approaches. Inspired by these academic debates, this paper examines the blockchain technologies

and startup finance through the lens of the institutional economics approach (i.e, transaction costs).

1 During the last five years, the research on blockchain has been growing. According to the Web of Science, 1351 papers associated

with blockchain technologies have been published from 2015 to 2019. Concretely, linked with business (51), economics (29),

management (44), and finance (76). However, on the theme that we focus in this manuscript (startup finance) only 9 papers have

been published and mostly in 2019.

3
 Transaction cost economics has played a dominant role in shaping the scholarly debate on

economics of institutions for decades. Ronald Coase was the first researcher to analyze how

transactions costs influence organization of firm and markets in his seminal paper on “The Nature

of The Firm”. Kenneth Arrow further extended the argument in highly influential 1969 paper on

the organization of economic activity by explaining the role of transaction costs in market failures

and intermediate product contracting. Williamson (1971, 1981, and 2002) contributed to the

argument by applying transaction cost economics to explain various aspects of market and

organization economics such as vertical integration, governance, and market coordination and

failures. In the digital era, we examine the economic decisions that a startup understakes regarding

their search for cryptocurrency as an alternative funding mechanism. Concretely, the theory and

predictions of transaction cost economics model help to inform how blockchain technologies can

influence a firm’s organizational decisions because of their ability to decentralize (democratize)

and reduce transactions costs (economically and socially) thereby creating trust in the

counterparties (Chen et al., 2018). We assume, technologies based on the blockchain architecture

has a potential to revolutionize transaction costs, both in terms of cost and convenience. We utilize

the framework to develop a better understanding of various industries and institutional functions

in the economy. In this regard, this paper focuses on the area of entrepreneurial finance where the

information asymmetries (between an entrepreneur and an investor) and transaction costs

associated with startup financing are high and often unsurmountable. More concretely, we explain

how blockchain technologies inherent transaction-based decentralized system can alleviate these

problems in the area of startup financing.

Our paper makes significant contribution to the entrepreneurship, finance and technology

literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to explain the transactional costs of

4
implementing blockchains technologies for startup financing. Specifically, this is the first study

to explore the ability of blockchains to reduce and provide alternative to activities that involve

transaction costs. Treiblmaier (2018) utilized transaction cost economics model to analyze the

potential impact of blockchain technology on supply chain management. However, in the present

study we complement Treiblmaier (2018) by focusing on the startup financing and how the

blockchain technology applications in the field of startup financing can be better understood using

transaction cost economics. Further, in utilizing a transaction cost economics model to explain the

utility of blockchain technologies, the study explains how blockchain’s ability to reduce and

manage transactions is the driving force behind its applicability in the broader institutional

framework. Moreover, the proposed theoretical framework highlights applications of blockchain

technology to address inherent inefficiencies and problems in the traditional entrepreneurial

financing model. As a result, the paper provides practical examples of the efficacy of this novel

framework by applying it to analyze how blockchain technology can be applied to raise startup

financing. We explain how the blockchain technology’s ability to generate trust, its decentralized

nature, and the capacity for tokenization help startups seeking financing.

Our paper is structured as follows. In the next section, we provide a brief description of

transaction cost economics to familiarize readers about the main theoretical framework. In the

third section, we offer a brief description of the literature on blockchain technologies and startup

financing. In the proposed theoretical model, we provide arguments and logical reasoning

regarding the transactional costs and blockchain technology applied to startup financing. In the

discussion section, we explain how our model compares to findings and arguments advanced in

the extant literature. We conclude our paper after providing future research directions .

5
 2. Transaction Cost Economics Theory

Transaction cost economics has been a dominant theoretical paradigm in the study of

management and organization (Chiles and McMackin, 1996; David and Han, 2004; Williamson,

2008) since the publication of Williamson’s seminal book, Market and Hierarchies (Williamson,

1975). The theory attempts to explain the nature of the firm and predicts why certain activities are

performed inside the firm versus the neoclassical economics view of the activities undertaken by

a free market system or a hybrid market arrangement, where parties to the transaction are

interdependent in a nontrivial way (David and Han, 2004). The core of the transaction cost

economics theory is ‘transactions’ and ‘costs’. The transaction refers to the transfer of a unit of

goods or service, while costs refer to the sum of associated monetary and non-monetary values

involved in facilitating the transfer. The latter is also referred to as the transaction costs. The

transaction costs arise from environmental uncertainty, bounded rationality, opportunism, and

specificity of assets. Environmental uncertainty and bounded rationality lead to incomplete

contracts and subpar decision making. These two factors make it impossible to have

informationally complete contracts as proposed by neoclassical economics. In the absence of

complete contracts, there is a probability that either party to the transaction can indulge in

opportunism and extract economic rents (Williamson, 2008). Thus, trust in transactions becomes

a vital part of the relation between the parties. Blockchain technology has potential to overcome

the trust problem by using mathematical algorithms and decentralized networks.

Another factor contributing to the transaction costs is asset specificity. If an asset cannot

be easily redeployed for alternative uses, it is said to have a high asset specificity, while an asset

that can be utilized for alternative purposes has low asset specificity. For example, if a supplier

6
commits to undertake substantial investments in assets that are used to manufacture a good for a

specific buyer. The supplier has caused their assets to be specific to the buyer. In this case, if the

supplier fails to meet the buyer’s demands, the supplier allows the buyer to pay less to not lose the

substantial value of specific assets. Figure 1 shows the traditional model of transaction cost

economics:

Firm goal - Minimize transaction

costs associated with resource
exchange within and with the outside
environment

Transaction Costs

Bounded Opportunism Environmental Asset

Rationality Uncertainty Specificity

Figure 1: Traditional Transaction Cost Model

3. Literature Review

7
 Coase’s 1937 seminal paper was the first attempt at exploring the importance of transactions

and related costs. The formal theory of Transaction Cos Economics (TCE) was developed in the

1960s and the 1970s drawing on insights offered by Coase’s paper (Williamson, 1973, 1975,

1985). Over the last five decades, TCE has emerged as one of the primary theories to explain the

nature of a firm and is additionally seen as a theory of management and governance (Chandler,

1990; Conner, 1991: Williamson, 1979, 1984). TCE examines complex transactions, undertaken

by economic agents who are rational and indulge in opportunism, involving assets that are not easy

to redeploy in an uncertain environment (Santos and Eisenhardt, 2000; Williamson, 1981).

In literature, the predictive validity of the theory has received mixed empirical support (David

and Han, 2004). In aggregating empirical findings in the literature, David and Han (2004) find

only 47 percent of studies published in premier business academic journals had findings consistent

with TCE’s prediction. This finding is consistent with arguments advanced by leading business

scholars regarding TCE (Ghoshal and Moran, 1996; Moran and Ghoshal, 1996; Robins, 1987).

However, arguments and findings in support of TCE are equally strong (Mahoney, 1992; Shelanski

and Klein, 1995) with scholars attributing inconsistent findings in the literature to

operationalization or sampling issues (David and Han, 2004). Further, as a framework, TCE has

recently contributed to robust improvements in theory development (Tsang, 2006).

In entrepreneurial finance, a high environmental uncertainity and a high information

asymmerty between entrepreneur(s) and investors significanty enhances transaction costs involved

in financing (e.g., Mahto et al., 2018 a, Mahto et al., 2018b). The transaction costs involved in

startup financing is so high that many entrepreneurial ecosystems have multiple redundant entities

competiting with each other, thereby leading to significant inefficiencies in the system (Mahto et

al., 2018a). Many investors, especially Venture Capitalists (VCs), design their own systems and

8
practices to deal with high information asymmetry and uncertainties inherent in the entrepreneurial

finance ecosystem (e.g., Mahto and Khanin, 2013). For example, most VCs and angel investors

specialize in only certain industries, while some VCs prioritize either entrepreneurs or venture

quality in their investment decision (Khanin et al., 2008). Further, entrepreneurs reduce their

transaction cost by preferring investment from reputable VCs even when it comes with significant

cost (Mahto et al.,2018b). Even with prevalent strategies for dealing with high transaction costs,

some investors (e.g., VCs) further refine their strategies by focusing on specific characteristics of

either entrepreneur (e.g., reputation) or their venture ( Mahto and Khanin, 2013). We believe the

blockchain technology might be useful in reducing the hurdles in this environment.

In this paper, the blockchain technology is explained using the TCE perspective. Blockchain

technology was initially developed to record transactions of encrypted digital currency (i.e.,

Bitcoin) (Nakamoto, 2008). Several researchers have shown how the underlying blockchain

technology empowering various cryptocurrencies should be the focus of study (Tapscott and

Tapscott, 2016; Walport, 2016). Blockchain technology allows for a distributed and non-

centralized secure ledger (Walport, 2016). Blockchain records transactions in an encrypted,

secure, verifiable, decentralized, and low-cost way (Catalini and Gans, 2016; Schatsky and

Muraskin, 2015) thus minimizing the verification costs and the networking costs. Thereby,

making the blockchain-based transactions more cost-efficient.

They use these two costs to show that the resulting digital marketplaces are characterized by

increased competition, lower barriers to entry, lower privacy risk, and decentralization of power.

Previous studies have examined the application of blockchain technologies to various financial,

banking, crowdfunding campaigns, supply chain, and other business functions (Belleflamme,

Lambert and Schwienbacher, 2014; Diedrich, 2016; Mollick, 2014). This paper examines the

9
application of blockchain technology to the process of startup financing and explains how the TCE

framework can be used to understand the effective implications of blockchain technology.

Firm goal - Minimize transaction

costs associated with resource
exchange within and with the outside
environment

Blockchain Technology
builds trust in the network
by ensuring secure
verifiable transactions. The
decentralized nature of the
technology does not
require any trust in a
central authority.
Transaction Costs

Bounded Opportunism Environmental Asset

Rationality Uncertainty Specificity

Blockchain Technology Blockchain Technology Blockchain

reduces opportunism by reduces uncertainty by Technology assigns
having a verifiable smart completing transactions assets based on
contract in place quickly and without the tokenization
need of third-party
intermediaries

Figure 2: Modified Transaction Cost Model with Blockchain Technology

10
 4. Theoretical Model

We first breakdown the transaction costs into its components to provide a better understanding

of how blockchain technology impacts these transactional costs. Primarily, transaction costs can

be divided into Search Costs, Verification Costs, Transportation Costs, Tracking Costs,

Replication Costs, and Contractual Costs. Search costs are incurred when one party to the

transaction looks for the counterparty. Verification costs are incurred to verify that the shortlisted

counterparty has the wherewithal to complete the transaction. Transportation costs are incurred

when the exchanged good or service changes hands. Tracking costs are incurred to track the

transaction and to track the moment of the good or service to its designated place. Finally,

replication and contractual costs are incurred to check the contract in the future and to ensure its

validity for future actions. Blockchain technologies can contribute to the reduction in each of these

costs and further reduces the environmental uncertainty by its unique approach to ensure trust.

In Figure 2, we present our model to show how blockchain technology at each critical juncture

can improve the transactions costs by building a better trust mechanism in the system, by

providing means to verify transacations, and reduce costs related to intermediaries. Blockchain

Technology builds trust in the network by ensuring a secure verifiable transaction. The

decentralized nature of the technology does not require any trust in a central authority. In the

system opportunism can be reduced through tokenization by having a verifiable smart contract in

place. At the completion of the smart conditions the asset can be assigned to the receiver. Since

the underlying structures in blockchain technology provide all the above services the need for a

third party intermediary to act as an escrow or guarantor of services and transactions is eliminated.

11
 To illustrate how blockchain technologies can influence each of the costs and how transactions

are done differently under the blockchain model we consider a simple example of a transaction

where the money is sent from one country to another country. The sender in Country A wants to

send money to a receiver in Country B. The sender initiates the transfer through their bank in

Country A. The bank gets in touch with Country A’s correspondent bank. Country A’s

correspondent bank gets in touch with Country B’s correspondent bank which in turn is linked to

Country B’s bank that the Receiver has an account in the bank. In each stage, the costs are

incurred, and the exchange rate adds risks to the final amount of that the receiver receives. These

costs are not finalized until the payment is received by Country B receiver’s bank and can be as

high as 10% and take several days to complete. The same transaction can be seamlessly done

through blockchain. For example, through bank’s enterprise blockchain system, the money can

be transferred almost instantly from sender’s bank to receiver’s bank without the need of any

intermediaries or third-party providers. This process does not only reduce the cost of the

transaction but also mitigates the uncertainty (of the exchange rate risk) by significantly reducing

the time it takes to complete the transaction. Various banks and even IMF are exploring how

blockchain technology can be used to make cross border remittances efficient. Various apps such

as Power Circle App claim to allow its users to transfer money overseas through its platform built

on the blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology ensures various advantages over the existing ledger technologies used

for transactions. Blockchain, by its construction, records the history of all transactions and

provides the same copy to all users in the network. The process is democratic as all users in the

network agree on the rules governing the blockchain. The transactions are secured using

cryptography, digital keys, and digital signatures. Many blockchains allow the network to be

12
segmented and be private by allowing only specific digital signatures to access a portion of the

blockchain or even just one transaction. The records of transactions are updated quickly, and once

the block is assigned to the blockchain it cannot be modified. It is thus providing a permanent

tamper-proof record of the transaction. Blockchain technology allows the creation of smart

contracts that can be used to transact various functions that a company or market undertakes.

4.1. Smart Contracts Built on Blockchain Technology

While blockchain technology was initially developed to support Bitcoin, a digital currency,

soon developers started extending the capabilities of the blockchain technology. The digital

currency allowed for the creation of general-purpose platforms, digital tokens, and decentralized

smart digital applications. Smart tokens are digital artifacts that are used to tokenize scarce assets

and subject to certain conditionsbeing fulfilled the smart contract housed in the token assigns the

ownership of the underlying asset. The digital tokens can be created on top of a blockchain and

can represent a wide range of assets such as currencies, equity stakes, and preorders. Castellanos

et. al. (2017) provide an exampe where using tokens based on the Ethereum Blockchain and Smart

Contracts, one can sell tokenized GoOs to consumers willing to subsidize renewable energy

producers. Chen (2018) also states that blockchain technology has given innovators the capability

of creating digital tokens to represent scarce assets, potentially reshaping the landscape of

entrepreneurship and innovation. Similarly, Tapscott and Tapscott (2016) provides various

examplse of digital tokenization and smart contracts. The simple addition of tokenization within a

blockchain has the potential to disrupt various functions within a firm such as supply chain,

accounting, human resources, banking, and other digital transactions. With tokenization, the cost

13
reductions, trust, and decentralization can be applied to whole gamut of business functions. We

illustrate one such application of blockchain technology to startup financing.

4.2. Blockchain Technology and Startup Financing

Startups financing suffers from many of the costs discussed in transaction cost economics.

Startups are new and upcoming private companies that operate in a dark world where information

asymmetries between the startup and investors are enormous (Mahto et al., 2018a). In order to

deal with these uncertainties, the market has adopted various financing models such as VC model,

angel investor model or hybrid models involving convertible debt and more recently crowdfunding

models. Further, startups face the search costs of finding a suitable investor. Different VC’s and

angels specialize in different industries and phases of a startup and may not be a good fit for all

startups(Khanin et al., 2008). Other investors who may be willing to invest in the startup may not

do so because of informational reasons (Cassar, 2004; Cotei and Farhat, 2017; Denis, 2004).

Crowdfunding fills some of these gaps in the funding of innovative startups. A typical startup

often requires less than $100,000 in its initial stages (Kauffman Foundation, 2007).

The traditional avenues of raising outside financing are the banks (debt), and angels or

venture capitalists (equity or convertible debt) (Mahto et al., 2018b). Banks are reluctant to fund

startups because they lack collateral and credit, however established SME often fair better. A

startup typically has no assets to collateralize and has no history of accounts receivables or

accounts payables. VCs are constrained by general partners’ time devoted to grooming and

developing their portfolio companies (Denis, 2004; Gompers and Lerner 2004; Sahlman, 1990;

Zider, 1998). Thus, VCs rarely make investments under $1 million. In this sense, angel investors

14
have historically filled this gap with a concentration in certain cities. Also, entrepreneurs are often

unwilling to accept financing from angel investors due to aggressive equity negotiation tactics

employed by them. Thus, crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Gofundme, and Indiegogo

have become popular alternatives for entrepreneurs in recent years.

The crowdfunding platforms complement the blockchain technologies in reducing various

costs associated with startup financing. Typically, in a crowdfunding campaign, entrepreneurs or

companies seeking to tap customers and raise financial resources offer customers or audience of

the platform access to their idea or products. In order to engage the audience and achieve success

for their funding campaign, entrepreneurs employ marketing tactics that utilize multiple modes of

communicating their messages (e.g., written, oral and video). In the popular crowdfunding

models, potential customers and /or investors can decide to financially support the development of

a product or idea by pledging a varying level of financial support that can range $1 to thousands

of dollars. If the promoter of the idea can achieve the set funding goal, then the funds flow from

investors to them minus the 3-5% fees charged by the crowdfunding platform.The investors and

or potential consumers who support the product or service take an active interest in the

development of the product or service. Active two-way communication between promoters and

investors helps investors to understand the product while at the same time it helps promoters to

understand the consumer needs. The developers also give frequent updates on the progress and

development of the product or service and investors can give feedback and suggestions at each

stage. While many startups avail the benefits of crowdfunding still the potential is not fully

realized because of the absence of ownership stake and monitoring.

Blockchain technology helps to overcome these limitations. A startup project or product

development can be structured such that the underlying product or project is tokenized using

15
blockchain. These tokens are sold to the public, for example, through crowdfunding campaigns.

These tokens can represent pre-orders where the customer will get the product when the project is

funded, or they can even represent an equity stake in the company. The equity stakes are possible

now with the implementation of the 2012 “Jumpstart our Business Startups (JOBS)” act in the

United States (Goulding et al., 2013). The act allows entrepreneurs and small business owners the

flexibility to seek investment from the general public often in the form of Crowdfunding (Stemler,

2013). The new law allows startups to offer securities such as stocks and bonds directly to

consumers as long as they meet specific regulatory requirements (Martin, 2012). Hence the tokens

can now legally represent an ownership stake in the company. Further, these digital tokens can be

governed by smart contracts that trigger specific actions when certain conditions are met. For

example, successful completion of a stage in the development of the product or a project can signal

a reduction in uncertainty and increase the value of the tokens. It is thus incentivizing early

investors by allowing them to trade their initial investment for a profit. Such trades have not been

possible in traditional crowdfunding campaigns. The smart contracts can even be something as

simple as token acting as a pre-order, and when the development and manufacturing are complete

the smart contract is triggered, and each token holder is shipped the finished product. The trade of

tokens also helps the startup to gauge the interest and support of investors just as stock price

movements help the management of a public company. Further, these tokens can allow the

investors to monitor and control the progress of a startup and take corrective action in ways similar

to the board of directors to do in a public company. Thus, we see that blockchain technology, not

only overcomes various transaction costs associated with startup financing, but also empowers

both startups and investors to complete the financing and development of the startup more

effectively.

16
5. Discussion

Blockchain technology is a disruptive innovation underlying cryptocurrencies, such as

Bitcoin and Ethereum. The technology has received significant attention from practitioners (for

use in optimizing various market and organization functions) and academics (for research). The

technology has been utilized extensively for not only creating many new cryptocurrencies but also

for financial services, such as digital assets and online payments (Foroglou and Tsilidou,2015;

Peters et al., 2015). The revolutionary technology has potential to significantly alter many other

areas that include internet of things (IoT) (Zhang and Wen, 2015), security (Noyes, 2016), supply

chain management (Tian, 2016), and delivery of services (Akins et al., 2014).

Entrepreneurial finance is an inefficient ecosystem (Mahto et al., 2018a), where transaction

costs are quite high. The prevailing inefficient system has also resulted in the system where

locational advantages are prohibiting the development of entrepreneurial firms in areas lacking

availability of a strong network of financial stakeholders, such as banks, angels, and VCs. The

ecosystem inefficiency is also partially due to specialization of financial intermediaries, such as

angels and VCs, who specialize in a specific industry or a specific stage of the entrepreneurial

venture. We believe the entrepreneurial ecosystem is fertile for application of blockchain

technology to address some of the inherent inefficiencies. The distributed and cost-efficient

characteristics of the technology will facilitate transactions in the system, where the probability of

opportunism and uncertainty is low, and trust and security are high. The blockchain technology

can significantly reduce the transaction costs for stakeholders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem,

such as entrepreneurs, angels, and VCs. The primary cost reduction is achieved by reducing search

17
cost and eliminating third-party intermediary in the system. Blockchain technology can address

many of the issues hindering the development of a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem at the local

level for economic development (Mahto et al., 2018b; Mahto and McDowell, 2018).

5.1. Limitations

In this paper, our primary goal was to examine blockchain technology through a theoretical lens

of TCE. As the blockchain technology is still in its nascent stage our study suffers from limitations

of current state of blockchain technology and its implementation in the business organizations. As

noted economist Nouriel Roubini has written: “As for the underlying blockchain technology, there

are still massive obstacles standing in its way, even if it has more potential than cryptocurrencies.

Chief among them is that it lacks the kind of basic common and universal protocols that made the

Internet universally accessible (TCP-IP, HTML, and so forth). More fundamentally, its promise of

decentralized transactions with no intermediary authority amounts to an untested, Utopian

pipedream. No wonder blockchain is ranked close to the peak of the hype cycle of technologies

with inflated expectations.” Some other concerns that yet need to be addressed are that current

state of blockchain technology is very enrgy intensive. Many of the nodes in a blockchain are

needlessly repeating calculations done be other nodes needlessly slowing down the whole system.

In current state blockchain technology is sluggish in executing transactions as the user base of

people using blockchain technologies grow it is expected that the trasnactions will take even longer

time. However, with rapid advances in technology we hope that speed issues will become less

negative. The integeration with legacy systems is a substantial hurdle that needs to be addressed

if blockchain technology has to become mainstream.

18
5.2. Future Research Directions

The model and arguments in this study are conceptual and require empirical

assessments before application. We encourage entrepreneurship scholars to undertake studies to

assess whether transaction cost minimization is a factor in investment decision made by system

stakeholders. The two different approaches in studying TCE in entrepreneurial ecosystems are an

evolutionary approach (population ecology) and managerial decision approach (firm governance).

We believe the evolutionary approach is more appropriate for investigating blockchain technology

in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In evolutionary approach, scholars can examine whether cost

minimization is associated with survival of stakeholders in the system. If the findings are

confirmed empirically, then the scholars can further probe the financial system using various

attributes of blockchain technology (e.g., trust and uncertainty) to see if the other areas of the

business ecosystem are ripe for application of blockchain technology.

19
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