The Rise of the Digital Economy: Thoughts on Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies for the Collaborative Economy

Abstract

This study highlights the potential impacts of blockchain technology on the collaborative economy, more colloquially known as the sharing economy. First, this conceptual review analyzes how the collaborative economy intersects with blockchain technology. Collaborative consumption involves an intensification of peer-to-peer trade underpinned by robust digital infrastructures and processes, hence an increased use of new technologies and a redefinition of business activities. As an inherently connected economy, the collaborative economy is therefore prone to integrate the most recent technological advances including artificial intelligence, big data analytics, augmented reality, the smart grid, and blockchain technology. Second, the review furthers the examination of the organizational and managerial implications related to the use of blockchain technology in terms of governance, transaction costs and user confidence. A closing case will finally examine the role of a prominent social networking site (i.e., Facebook) in the collaborative-blockchain economy nexus.

Keywords: blockchain technology, collaborative economy, cryptocurrency, social networking site, business, governance, trust, digital economy