Milad Dehghani, Atefeh Mashatan, Ryan William Kennedy
Purpose Understanding a technology’s patent landscape, including patent strategies, helps organizations position themselves regarding their innovation and provides insight about a technology’s future direction. This study aims to provide an overview of the blockchain technology patenting trends and outlines an exploratory framework of patenting strategies for blockchain. Design/methodology/approach A total of 3,234 registered patents are analyzed to determine the geographical distribution and identify key actors patenting around the globe. In addition, an empirical study consisting of multiple case studies in the form of ten in-depth interviews with owners/managers of organizations based in North America was conducted to understand organizations’ strategies for patenting the blockchain technology. Findings Several novel insights regarding the strategies are used for blockchain technology patenting. For example, the existence of strong anti-patent sentiment which results in a lack of patenting by start-up organizations or has led to a form of open source patenting strategy. Larger organizations appear to be patenting defensively, and small to medium organizations are primarily patenting to defend their competitive advantage. Practical implications Start-up organizations harboring anti-patent sentiment should consider the open-source patenting strategy to ensure that the collaborative innovation network can continue. They should also consider collaborating with other actors within the network to have a competitive position in the market. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to conduct an empirical study with organizations currently using the blockchain technology to understand patenting strategies used for blockchain.
Abstract Agricultural extension programs have changed significantly over the past four decades. What has changed and why? Have these changes affected adoption of innovations by farmers? What if anything should policy makers and extension agencies do differently, particularly in developing countries? Structural changes in agriculture, new types of agricultural technologies, tight public budgets, efforts to decentralize government, and emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) have led to pluralistic and, in some cases, lower‐cost extension and advisory services that combine public and private mechanisms for financing and implementing extension activities. Farmer groups and virtual networks play a growing role in technology diffusion, and extension services can exploit these networks using the latest ICT approaches .
Although business models presumably have a prominent role in socio-technical change remarkably little research has been conducted in this domain, more particularly in the context of developing economies. In this paper, we tap into this knowledge gap and study business model components and the challenges they face. We argue that the market value of renewable energy technologies will increase when new business models are implemented to overcome financial and institutional challenges. We complement concepts of the business model literature with the insights from the sustainable transitions literature. This paper addresses two research questions: What are the challenges of business and financial models in the transition towards decentralized solar energy driven systems? And what are the promising opportunities for new business models in a developing country context? To answer these research questions, we use a case study research design focusing on niche market development of solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology in Lebanon. Data collection involved analysis of relevant text documents and expert interviews with 30 informants across different groups of stakeholders. Data analysis involved qualitative interpretation of collected data against concepts from the business model and Strategic Niche Management literatures. The results show that business model challenges initially were highly dependent on donor aid, which contributed to the launch and network creation of niche markets. Later, a shift to micro-finance and business startup models was observed, which showed promising development. Knowledge transfer and community empowerment were found to play an important role in developing new business models that involve consumers more closely. As this development is expected to take place more often, we expect that new opportunity pathways will develop in developing economies like Lebanon.
Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is increasingly proposed as a powerful tool to address the social and ecological challenges in the Global South. DLTs are opening up possible futures, one of which is a wave of infrastructure decentralization with common-centric and cosmo-local production. Shared logistics and supply chains for a circular economy, with collaborative and networked ‘flow’ accounting allow the integration of contributive logics as well as the integration of social and ecological externalities, including practical knowledge on resource use limitations linked to planetary boundaries, as an integral part of ecosystems of productive collaboration. Indeed, DLTs remove the need for central intermediaries to validate transaction between parties, who instead place their trust in the encrypted, disintermediated system software. DLTs can be designed as a new unencloseable (non-commodifiable) medium of communication, which could lead to radically new forms of cooperation, organization, and governance. Yet these revolutionary possibilities will not be realized unless technologists consciously and strategically design systems redistributing sovereignty from elites to the people in financial, service and national infrastructures. This paper concludes with a critical examination of the application of DLT in Puerto Rico and how DLTs could alter the production and exchange of “value” in service of a global popular sovereignty.
This paper describes one of Oxfam’s pilot projects exploring blockchain technology, focusing on the non-technological, institutional challenges faced by the organisation. There is an emerging literature on blockchain for social good, however, this predominantly focuses on the use cases and issues relating to applying the technology in international development projects. A gap in the literature exists regarding the non-technological aspects of blockchain projects both within the sector and more broadly. Addressing this gap is critically important as many of the promises of blockchain technology will only eventuate in their fullest when whole ecosystems are using the technology. To get there requires a transition period and it is this transition period that holds the key to success for organisations exploring the technology. This paper goes some way to addressing this gap. It does so by describing a specific case study and unpacking some of the organisational challenges associated with implementing a blockchain-based project in the international development and humanitarian sector. This has important implications for the sector as blockchain technology becomes ever more present as a tool capable of reducing inequality and addressing power imbalances. The Oxfam case study described in this paper highlights the difficulty many not-for-profits are having engaging with the technology. The lessons are drawn from a specific use case of a current pilot project using blockchain technology in a cash transfer preparedness project in a small island developing state. Although important and insightful, this paper does not focus on the specifics of the application of the technology but rather discusses the myriad non-technological challenges faced from Oxfam Australia’s perspective. These are categorised into three main areas: awareness and understanding of the technology, capacity constraints of in-house support services in providing relevant support for a nascent technology, and issues related to engaging in non-traditional partnerships. The paper concludes by recommending further areas of research and suggestions to develop practical tools and guidance to help the international development and humanitarian sector navigate this emerging technology.
The main research objective is to identify and analyse significant economic sectors subject to potential disruption from the distributed ledger technology (DLT) within the economy of Latvia. The tasks are 1) to identify sectors subject to disruption from DLT in line with global technological developments, business readiness trends and distributed ledger use cases, 2) to identify sectors generating the most significant output within the economy of Latvia, 3) to analyse interconnections of global trends related to DLT and the areas of potential disruptions to the identified sectors within the economy of Latvia. The research concluded that economic sectors with the most significant output within the economy of Latvia are all subject to disruption from distributed ledger use cases and global DLT trends in the short, medium or long term.
In this chapter, we will explore how distributed ledger technology such as Corda can be used to bring a revolution in the agriculture supply chain, cutting down on costs, time, effort, and wastage as well as bringing transparency to the entire ecosystem.
Modern patent systems are slow, inefficient, expensive, and may result in outcomes that actively harm technological progress. This paper proposes a substantive re-think of these systems and lays a foundation upon which practical solutions can be built. Many solutions proposed in the past, such as prior-art bounties, outsourced examination, and dynamic fee setting, have gone unheeded due to the cost of administering them and the rigidity of the patent system. We explore how distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) enable these major changes by altering the way stakeholders are able to interact with the patent records system. We find that transitioning to a DLT-based patent records system can enable many previously suggested improvements to current patent systems in a flexible, scalable, and transparent manner. The case for such a transition is strengthened when jointly considering the complex but common roots of problems facing modern patent systems, rather than a balkanised set of technical solutions to address each issue independently. Noting that a DLT-based system is not a panacea, we also provide comment on the political, legal, and organisational challenges that must be overcome for such changes to be implemented at scale.
The objective of the study was to examine financing rural industrialization and employment creation practices and possibilities in Ethiopia. In this context, rural industrialization refers to encouraging small to large industries to be established in rural areas. As rural industrialization is a new concept at a policy level let alone to the practice on the ground in Ethiopia, a full-fledged data regarding the rural industrialization and the rural financing practice is inadequate. However, attempts were made to see at least the trends in agricultural commercialization, off farm practices, the government’s policy, the financial institutions practices, and above all how other countries approached rural industrialization and financing such industries. Hence, relevant data were collected from CSA, NBE, DHS, World Bank, and Ethiopian Investment Commission and the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The major finding of the study indicates rural industrialization process is at conception stage and financing the rural strategy is still poorly developed despite the immense economic and social implications. Hence, a combination of centralized financing rural industrialization through commercial banks and a decentralized financing rural industrialization through microfinance institutions is recommended for the country to get better depth and breadth of rural industrialization.
Ismaila Rimi Abubakar, Abubakar U. Benna, Umar G. Benna
The emergence of digital currencies is substantially influencing the growth of global financial markets and cities. Cryptocurrency entrepreneurs (CEs) are reshaping global cities and regions by transforming the way we live, work and interact. This chapter explores how the entrepreneurs use cryptocurrency assets and their underpinning computing technologies to transform the dysfunctional and evolving global cities. The CEs generate funds and create cutting-edge technologies to meet the challenges faced by cities, including unemployment, inadequate and rundown infrastructure and facilities as well as for new development to meet the needs of massive future urbanization. The chapter is organized in five parts. It first introduces the study and presents a background on the concepts of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency, their emergence and development trend. It then discusses the rise of global cities and how technology impacts them, followed by the potentials and challenges of CEs in transforming global cities and regions. It ends with conclusion and future research directions.
Abstract This paper delves into the question: How does an entrepreneur commercialising an open source technology (an “open entrepreneur”) respond when an underlying infrastructure that is maintained by a distributed and heterogeneous community become stigmatised, particularly when the source of the stigma is unclear? Research has found that, when faced with stigma, the most effective and robust strategy for established nondigital firms is to try to and create a distance from it. Open entrepreneurs with different ideologies would likely benefit from similar actions; however, the interdependencies created when they rely upon a digital infrastructure may make this strategy impossible. Given the tensions between ideological heterogeneity and a shared infrastructure, how—and why—do open entrepreneurs respond to stigma? This paper extends existing literature on stigma by developing a model of ideologically mediated responses to stigma by open entrepreneurs through an inductive study based upon interviews, archival, and forum data. We further contribute to extant literature on open entrepreneurship by proposing a model of ideologically mediated responses to stigma, which is grounded in group identity theory. We also build on digital infrastructure literature by proposing the concept of digital infrastructure anchoring . Lastly, we show how ideological heterogeneity leads to business model heterogeneity among open entrepreneurs and discuss the practical implications of this research.
A well-functioning financial sector in developing countries is extremely important for economic development. This requires local institutions, which originally were often state-controlled, but gradually non-state actors conquered the financial market. Recently the growing importance of alternative forms of finance in many African countries has become remarkable. Although often created by donors, their role changed when financial inclusion, economic liberalisation and decentralization became more important. Microfinance institutions started to compete with banks by also offering a broad range of services (loans, savings, transfers, accounts, insurance). This is a frugal innovation (less regulated financial institutions compete with regulated ones at a lower cost). Meanwhile, mobile payment revolution has been taking place in Africa and other developing regions. This article analyzes these developments and suggests that these new financial technologies contribute substantially to the 4th industrial revolution in the third world countries. Financial resources that become more available replaces development initiatives and allows developing countries finance industrial and agricultural revolutions with local money. We will deal in detail with one example – the role of M-Pesa in helping people to be 'financially included' and trying to learn from their experience with customer satisfaction for other countries.
Grany Mmatsatsi Senyolo, Edilegnaw Wale, G. F. Ortmann
The aim of this study has been to analyse the value chain of African leafy vegetables in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. This was done by identifying the prominent value chain actors, institutions governing the chain, the infrastructural endowments, key factors and challenges affecting the success or failure of the value chains for African leafy vegetables. Relationships among the value chain actors were weak, with transactions based mostly on spot markets. While smallholder farmers attain high gross margins, their intention to take part in the mainstream markets are prevented by lack of technical advice on production, lack of packaging and processing services, poor infrastructure, deficiency of contractual agreements between actors, and lack of access to finance. Although producers currently attain relatively higher gross margins, more benefits might be realized if government services (such as training, seed production and distribution) could either be decentralized or privatized. Future policy interventions should focus on promoting value addition along the African leafy vegetable chain, provision of cold storage facilities by municipalities closer to smallholder farmers in the rural areas and this will stabilize farm gate prices to encourage continuation of production.
In this study, we consider a decentralized agricultural supply chain consisting of a capital-constrained smallholder farmer and an intermediary platform. The smallholder farmer sells the agricultural products through the intermediary platform but lacks the financial resources for production. In addition to the traditional solution of bank financing (provided by a bank) as a source of finance for the capital-constrained farmer to ensure the sustainable production of the agricultural goods, the intermediary platform can also provide loans directly to the smallholder farmer (known as direct financing) or serve as a guarantor if the capital-constrained farmer has insufficient creditworthiness to obtain bank loans (known as guarantor financing). The farmer can thus obtain a loan through three methods: bank financing, guarantor financing, and direct financing. We find that the smallholder farmer produces the most under direct financing and the least under bank financing, and that the intermediary platform prefers direct financing over guarantor financing in a weak sense. Specifically, when the farmer’s production cost is low, the intermediary platform prefers financing the farmer directly; when the cost is in an intermediate range, the platform prefers either direct or guarantor financing; and when the cost is high, it is in the best interest of the intermediary platform to encourage the farmer to raise funds from the banking market. We also assess the best financing format for profitability of the smallholder farmer and the sustainability of the whole supply chain, and find that the farmer prefers bank financing while the preference of the supply chain as a whole depends on the cost. Interestingly, under both guarantor financing and direct financing, the smallholder farmer’s level of production can be higher than that under a centralized chain (where the farmer and the intermediary platform belong to the same entity) regardless of whether the chain encounters financial constraints. Moreover, the decentralized supply chain can be coordinated under direct financing when the farmer’s production cost is relatively low.