Going beyond Cryptocurrencies: The Social Representation of Blockchain

Luiz Antonio Joia and Juliana Aparecida Pinto Vieira
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Luiz Antonio Joia: Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 22231-010, Brazil
Juliana Aparecida Pinto Vieira: Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro 22231-010, Brazil

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: This study investigates the social representation of Blockchain from the perspective of professionals in Brazil, herein considered as a proxy for emerging markets, and then compares the results found with the existing academic literature on the concept of Blockchain. To do that, the social representation theory was applied, operationalized through the words evocation technique. Security, bitcoin and decentralization were the categories located in the central nucleus of the social representation of Blockchain, while innovation, data, network, cryptocurrency, and technology were the categories located in the peripheral system. Based on the results obtained, there was a perceived strong association of Blockchain with bitcoin, one of its applications, and a dissonance between the existing academic literature and the perception of Brazilian professionals about the concept of Blockchain, as the latter is a privilege of the technical and operational issues of Blockchain to the detriment of its strategic potential. This dissonance can cause Blockchain initiatives to have results below expectations. Finally, Brazilian professionals did not realize the potential for inclusion of Blockchain in an emerging market such as Brazil and did not notice the need and relevance of a specific legal governance for Blockchain, an issue also forgotten by academia.

Keywords: Blockchain; social representation theory; words evocation technique; constructs definition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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