Open collaboration business models (OCBMs) and software have existed since the 1950s but have been plagued by work ethic and financial bottleneck due to inadequate monetization schemes. OCBMs provide a range of advantages, primarily in accelerating problem solving & innovation, reducing costs, and enhancing security and transparency. Companies could establish sustainable revenue streams while benefitting from broad tech or platform adoption. However, fair revshare and credit attribution have been persistent problems with OCBMs. Businesses such as Diaspora, Soul Force, Sun Microsystems' Open Solaris, and others have experienced unsustainable OCBM initiatives, especially in the open-source software area. Web3 ethos-based business models and blockchain technologies provide an opportunity to correct and enforce many of the monetization strains associated with open collaboration. By decentralizing operational and governance control, free markets nested within companies that run themselves can be realized. The basic philosophy for a meritocratic monetization system with fair credibility-revshare automation is discussed.
Abstract Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) are attracting interest from various disciplines, particularly business and economics, and computer science. However, much like the parable of the blind men and the elephant, where each observer sees only part of the phenomenon, DAO research has largely remained fragmented across disciplines, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the potential of DAOs. This paper investigates to which extent DAO scholarship has achieved meaningful interdisciplinary integration. We address this question through an analysis of knowledge flows between Business and Economics and Computer Science, using citation network analysis, topic modelling, and outlet analysis. We find that while DAOs generate vibrant interdisciplinary discourse, the interactions remain predominantly applied and case-driven, with limited theoretical integration. By mapping interdisciplinary exchanges, we highlight key gaps and opportunities for greater synthesis across fields. We argue that strengthening the alignment between organizational and technical insights is crucial for advancing DAO research and fostering a more cohesive interdisciplinary framework.
In the era of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), preserving personal authenticity is crucial for maintaining trust in online communities. Blockchain technology, with its unique blend of anonymity and data transparency, has facilitated the development of decentralized identities (DIDs) on the internet. These DIDs serve as digital representatives for individuals online, enhancing user trust through self-sovereign identity, transparency, and user control, while strengthening privacy. Current DID solutions, such as Proof-of-Personhood and Proof-of-Reputation, have demonstrated technological maturity and paved the way for identity applications in Web3. Building on this foundation, the Twin3 project advances the concept further by introducing the innovative Proof-of-Authenticity (PoA) to represent pluralistic human characteristics in digital format. Specifically, Twin3 employs blockchain-based Soulbound Tokens (SBTs) to transform human identities into a programmable hexadecimal matrix with 256 characteristic spaces, representing a comprehensive spectrum of human attributes, akin to a digital DNA (Decentralized Nexus of Authenticity). This study presents the Twin3 system architecture, user data management,demonstrating how this approach can enhance personal digital identity verification and management. The potential applications of Twin3 SBTs in creating personal AI agents and facilitating participation in the agentic economy are explored, demonstrating how Twin3 can digitize human attributes comprehensively and empower individuals within emerging agent-based workflows and digital ecosystems.
Zusammenfassung Distributed Ledgers werden seit ihrer Entstehung 2009 von vielen Seiten als Mittel zur grundlegenden Umgestaltung ganzer Branchen angepriesen. Während die Technologie sicherlich Potenzial bietet, diverse Steuerungs- und Abwicklungsprozesse zu revolutionieren, bedingt eine solche Umstellung einerseits fundiertes Wissen hinsichtlich der Rollen und Prozesse im entsprechenden Wirtschaftsumfeld sowie der technologischen Grundlagen von Distributed Ledgers, um dauerhaft Mehrwert zu schaffen. Dieses Buchkapitel zeigt am Beispiel der Energieversorgung auf, welche Faktoren fßr eine mehrwertgenerierende, sichere Implementierung der Ledger-Technologie berßcksichtigt werden mßssen: von technologischen Fragen bis zur Frage nach neuen Geschäftsmodellen und den damit verbundenen Risiken.
The transformative turn of innovation policy has resulted in calls for a more entrepreneurial and directional role of the state. However, the multiple roles that the state might play remains underexplored. This paper studies the embedded role of the state in four distinct modes of governance of socio-technical systems. Using a three-pillar analytical model, the paper examines four illustrative cases: cryptocurrencies, smart cities, automated vehicles, and nuclear power. The paper identifies 13 different roles of the state: observer, warner, mitigator, opportunist, facilitator, lead-user, enabler of societal engagement, gatekeeper, promoter, moderator, initiator, guarantor and watchdog. The conceptualization of these roles serves to understand that the transformative agency of the state is leveraged/constrained by the modes of governance, and that it is also ultimately exercised through specific mixes of roles.
The information systems of decentralized organizations are now networked as components of a global information system. Organizations, individuals and software act autonomously and are at the same time cooperatively involved in the creation of services. The planning and execution of the necessary interactions in the form of processes are not under the control of individuals. For the development and execution of processes under decentralized coordination, this work proposes an approach based on blockchain technologies. This addresses, on the one hand, the design of decentralized organizations and, on the other hand, the coordination of development that is distributed within such systems and is not centrally controlled. The thesis describes the decentralization and the model-based development of process-oriented systems from an organizational theory perspective. The focus is then on decentralized blockchain systems as development and execution platforms, with which the binding nature and integrity of transactions between a priori unknown nodes of a network can be guaranteed. The development and execution of processes are implemented on this basis using a model-based approach. This is established by an architectural framework for conceptual modeling, for cooperative modeling and for the tracking of instances. The conceptual modeling of networks, processes and instances makes use of the semantic object model (SOM) in order to map the task level of decentralized organizations to a decentralized task management level. The cooperative modeling and the tracking of instances use technologies for distributed version management in connection with smart contracts of the blockchain system Ethereum. The demonstration of the applicability of the approach based on a case study and a software implementation concludes the work.
Mobile diagnostics â or mobile health in general â is highly appealing, not only for clinicians, but also for patients. It implies empowerment, in particular of those who are really in need, such as inhabitants of less developed regions within the world who have limited access to healthcare. It also implies simplification: Easy data management â a continuous flow of information. Therefore, development of miniaturized and highly integrated diagnostic systems allowing near patient âinstantâ diagnostics gain a lot of momentum since more than a decade. However, system integration requires time and a significant amount of investment. In addition, there is strong competition on resources from other emergent technologies, such as next generation sequencing which made the collection of e.g. human genome data less expensive and much faster. A more severe challenge is that mobile diagnostics require a change in healthcare management, e.g. towards integrated practice units. This, in turn, requires implementation of adequate reimbursement, standards of interoperability, training of staff, quality control. In 2010, Germanyâs Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) launched the grant initiative Mobile Diagnostic Systems (MD, 2011â2015) as part of its high-tech strategy. MD aimed at generating knowledge on how microsystem technologies fit into German healthcare environments. On the basis of interviews with multidisciplinary MD actors, this thesis evaluated retrospectively how the publicly funded innovation network managed to overcome pre-defined external barriers of diffusion, including technology, regulatory affairs and market access. Retrospectives reveal internal barriers involving knowledge and technology transfer, negatively influencing generation of innovation. In particular, financing still represents a high hurdle for biotech innovators in Germany: Larger firms look predominately for market-ready or in-market technologies rather than prototypes and venture capitalists are rare or extremely risk-averse. Another important finding was, that actors involved were highly focused on individual work packages. This risks of not seeing the whole environment embedding MD. Consequently, potential opportunities may be missed, e.g. synergies with relatively close (DIALOC) or more distant initiatives (Global Health Delivery Project-based discussion rounds). This could be partly due to the fact that publicly funded networking activities provide less freedom-to-operate because of pre-defined milestones. In addition, further development of actors with respect to role playing (e.g. boundary spanning or innovation selling) is often not included in such âinnovation packagesâ, but can help to maneuver change. Internal barriers need to be addressed first before targeting the major remaining external hurdle: Reimbursement. Although the latter was covered within MD, standardization of technology evaluation is still an unmet need which strongly influences the willingness-to-implement novel mobile diagnostics. Thus, the value added is to be demonstrated to justify adequate reimbursement. Achieving this goal can be successful, when innovation networking finds its path towards a common vision, e.g. towards value-based integrated healthcare. Pathfinding and visioning can be facilitated by process promoter with excellent network management capabilities. In addition, such a promoter could help to further develop engagement, openness and commitment of collaborators. Therefore, transfer of MD activities to established âtopâ networks or clusters is recommended for securing valuable knowledge generated. In this environment, an important next step â globalization of MD for ensuring future return on investment â could be triggered as well. Since MD innovation was found to involve both product and service innovation, maneuvering change is particularly challenging for small and medium sized enterprises. These could benefit from engagement in innovation networking. Findings of this case study can help all direct and indirect actors in the field of MD innovation or in other high complex environments to reconsider pathfinding as well as role playing in networking.