Exploring dimensions of governance for different types of blockchain systems

Dhillon, R; Sivabalan, P

Exploring dimensions of governance for different types of blockchain systems

Dhillon, R

Sivabalan, P

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Publisher:: Elsevier
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: British Accounting Review, 2025, pp. 101588
Issue Date:: 2025-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dhillon, R https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3684-2229
dc.contributor.author	Sivabalan, P https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7112-2385
dc.date.accessioned	2025-03-06T02:02:51Z
dc.date.available	2025-03-06T02:02:51Z
dc.date.issued	2025-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	British Accounting Review, 2025, pp. 101588
dc.identifier.issn	0890-8389
dc.identifier.issn	1095-8347
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/185524
dc.description.abstract	The rapid evolution of digital technologies has significantly reshaped governance. While much existing literature focuses on public blockchain governance, fewer investigate governance mechanisms of private and consortium blockchains, increasingly prevalent in society. We explore how blockchain systems enact governance using Beck et al.’s (2018) framework examining decision rights, accountability, and incentives. Interviews with eighteen blockchain experts reveal that public blockchains offer greater decision rights, less accountability and emphasise intrinsic incentives. In contrast, private and consortium blockchains adopt hierarchical governance where central entities regulate access, decision-making and behavioural norms. These systems prioritise extrinsic incentives and accountability than public blockchains. Our findings challenge the view of blockchain as purely decentralised, instead offering evidence of hybridised structures in practice. We also extend Beck et al.’s framework by studying three blockchain types and propose a systems and structure-based rationale for control in blockchains, as opposed to trust-based mechanisms (Pflueger et al. (2022)). Finally, we offer a variation on how responsibility and accountability depart, beyond extant MA studies (Burkert et al., 2011; Giraud et al., 2008) - suggesting that openness does not necessarily equate to enhanced accountability. These insights are crucial for understanding blockchain governance and have important implications for digital systems integration in organisations.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier
dc.relation.ispartof	British Accounting Review
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.bar.2025.101588
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1501 Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
dc.subject.classification	Accounting
dc.subject.classification	3501 Accounting, auditing and accountability
dc.subject.classification	3502 Banking, finance and investment
dc.title	Exploring dimensions of governance for different types of blockchain systems
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1501 Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Business/Accounting Discipline
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Health Technologies (CHT)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Change for Good @ UTS (CG)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/DVC (External Engagement & Partnerships)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience (CCRR)
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience (CCRR)/Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience (CCRR) Associate Members
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/Stroke Research Collaborative
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-03-06T02:02:49Z
pubs.publication-status	Published

Abstract:

The rapid evolution of digital technologies has significantly reshaped governance. While much existing literature focuses on public blockchain governance, fewer investigate governance mechanisms of private and consortium blockchains, increasingly prevalent in society. We explore how blockchain systems enact governance using Beck et al.’s (2018) framework examining decision rights, accountability, and incentives. Interviews with eighteen blockchain experts reveal that public blockchains offer greater decision rights, less accountability and emphasise intrinsic incentives. In contrast, private and consortium blockchains adopt hierarchical governance where central entities regulate access, decision-making and behavioural norms. These systems prioritise extrinsic incentives and accountability than public blockchains. Our findings challenge the view of blockchain as purely decentralised, instead offering evidence of hybridised structures in practice. We also extend Beck et al.’s framework by studying three blockchain types and propose a systems and structure-based rationale for control in blockchains, as opposed to trust-based mechanisms (Pflueger et al. (2022)). Finally, we offer a variation on how responsibility and accountability depart, beyond extant MA studies (Burkert et al., 2011; Giraud et al., 2008) - suggesting that openness does not necessarily equate to enhanced accountability. These insights are crucial for understanding blockchain governance and have important implications for digital systems integration in organisations.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/185524