Blockchain for industrial transformations: A forward-looking approach with multi-stakeholder engagement for policy advice

Alexandre Pólvora, Susana Nascimento, Joana S. Lourenço and Fabiana Scapolo

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2020, vol. 157, issue C

Abstract: Beyond more recognized financial applications of Blockchain, its potential for other sectors has increasingly come to the foreground. Yet, its development still faces questions over impact, added value, or concrete paths for widespread deployment. In this paper we argue for a transdisciplinary forward-looking approach to address such uncertainties, based on the processes and findings of the research project #Blockchain4EU: Blockchain for Industrial Transformations, which was developed inside the European Commission with a focus on multi-stakeholder engagement and co-creation. We invested in a mix of desk research with qualitative methods, including interviews, surveys, or ethnographic explorations, together with participatory workshops for collective vision building and speculative prototyping for policy. Our main findings underline key sociotechnical challenges and opportunities for the development and uptake of Blockchain in specific European industrial and business contexts, taking into account the complexity of policy, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental elements. But, aiming to push the frontiers of what's common practice in advice for policy when looking into early-stage technologies as Blockchain, we also strive to emphasize how our approach can benefit decision-makers through robust methodological and conceptual processes that are simultaneously evidence-based and experimental in their delivery and impact.

Keywords: Blockchain; Industry; Innovation policy; Technology uptake; Foresight; Stakeholder engagement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:157:y:2020:i:c:s0040162520309173

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120091

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