Blockchain Papers

Jörg Becker, Dominic Breuker, Tobias Heide, Justus Holler · 6 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Mike Burkart, Samuel Lee

Abstract We study transactions in which sellers fear being underpaid because their outside option is better known to the buyer. We rationalize various observed contracts as solutions to such smart buyer problems. Key to these solutions is granting the seller upside participation. In contrast, the lemons problem calls for granting the buyer downside protection. But, in either case, the seller (buyer) receives a convex (concave) claim. Thus, contracts usually associated with the lemons problem, such as debt or cash-equity offers, can be equally well manifestations of the smart buyer problem, although the two information asymmetries have opposite cross-sectional implications. Received December 23, 2014; accepted May 23, 2016 by Editor Uday Rajan.

Nikolei M. Kaplanov

In 1601, Elizabeth I and her government devalued the Irish coin from nine ounces fine to three ounces fine of silver in order to finance the high cost of the Nine Years War in Ireland. 1 This unilateral move by the English government, combined with the failure to remove the old sterling from circulation, caused catastrophic problems throughout Ireland. 2 In addition to rapid inflation in common foodstuffs, the people in Ireland would only accept the new coin at its reduced intrinsic value rather than face value. 3 Further, merchants refused to accept the devalued coin in commercial transactions leading to a shortage of vital goods from England. 4

Paola Adinolfi, Mita Marra, Raffaele Adinolfi

In Italy, the transformation of government procurement began in 2000 with the model developed by Consip SpA (a public company owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance) for all public agencies across the nation. The paper is aimed to reconstruct the path taken by the public procurement reform in Italy gradually evolving from a supply-driven to a demand-driven approach. The Italian procurement transformation has co-existed with two different approaches to reform, which are working in parallel and sometimes at cross-purposes. A supply-driven approach focuses on tightening the controls on spending to tap economies of scale. A demand-driven approach focuses on decentralization and development of Electronic Public Administration MarketPlace (MEPA). The paper discusses the role Consip has played and is still playing to centrally guide the decentralization of public e-procurement, and shows the results of a sample investigation aimed at analysing the level of satisfaction of small/medium firms participating in the MEPA.

Hung‐po Chao

No abstract is available for this record.

Feng Liu, Makoto Hirano, Hitossi Niwano

Internet technology has brought many changes in the society. In the Web 2.0 era, the role of common customers in business has changed largely. Consumers have become more influential on sales or new item development by enterprises through Internet (weblogs dasiablogspsila, forums, personal web pages, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarks, RSS feeds and other forms of many-to-many publishing). In some extent, Web 2.0 facilitates the construction of the autonomous decentralized network ldquooutsiderdquo enterprises. This network is constituted by each autonomous customers and supplier. In this paper, we describe a new wave of organization model ldquoinsiderdquo enterprises. Yumenomachi Souzou Iinkai is one successful enterprise on Internet portal business in Japan. The companypsilas main manner of management is to respect the autonomy of the employees. Most of the current staffs have intention to be independent and initiate their own Internet business company in the future. The CEO, Ms. Nakamura, also has been encouraging their ambitions to grow the company as a virtual cluster of new Internet businesses owned by the current employees. The case indicates a new enterprise model based on an autonomous decentralized organization.

J.C.A.R. Nouwens, Harry Bouwman

The use of information technologies and services – group-decision-support systems, electronic mail, electronic data interchange (EDI) and electronic information services such as videotex, audiotex and CD-ROM, has received considerable attention in recent research. Of particular current interest is the study of integration of these different services in “networks” such as the Internet and their use in organizations and by individual consumers. In this study, we will argue that the use of telecommunication technologies and services will have its major impact on the coordination mechanisms of how organizations deal with their outside world (that is, the organizational environment). Our main question, therefore, is: How do telecommunication networks and services contribute to the development and maintenance of inter-organizational coordination? This question can be interpreted in two ways. First, what kind of benefits can be expected from the use of telecommunication networks and services for the development and maintenance of inter-organizational coordination? This question will be answered by presenting a theoretical framework in which the concept of networks is used to describe both organizations and telecommunications and to show how these concepts are interrelated. We will argue that the traditional dichotomy between (electronic) markets and hierarchies will be nuanced by offering a third option, the development of network-organizations. Secondly, we ask how telecommunication networks can be developed in order to facilitate the development and maintenance of inter-organizational coordination. We suggest that the way telecommunication networks and services are implemented will have significant impact on the way these networks are used. We will do so by focusing on the participating actors in the implementation phase of network development, and especially the role of system integrators in this process. Case studies have been done in the Dutch sectors of music retail, construction, agriculture and the hotel industry. Relationships between organizations develop on the basis of certain common interests and dependencies. An organization can be defined as a specific solution created by more or less autonomous actors to achieve common goals (Van de Vlist, 1988). Between organizations, relationships are developed for the exchange of goods, resources, information and so on. The inter-organizational relationships are most manifest in commercial transactions, in which goods or services are exchanged from one organization to another. Williamson (1975) has stated that transaction costs will rise when the unpredictability and uncertainty of events increases, and/or when transactions require very specific investments, and/or when the risk of opportunistic behavior of other organizations is high. Williamson argues the higher transaction costs are, the more likely transactions will take place within hierarchically organized firms. That is, when transaction costs are high, firms tend to choose vertical integration in order to control the transaction process. If transaction costs are low, that is; are straightforward, non- repetitive and require no transaction-specific investments, then the market is the optimal choice. Transaction costs thus depend upon the coordination mechanism being used. Markets are mainly coordinated by a price mechanism in which independent actors are searching for the best bargain. Firms are mainly coordinated by supervision in which actors who are involved in power-dependent relationships act according to routines. Powell (1990) has suggested that an alternative coordination structure is emerging: networks. Networks are groups of organizational actors who participate in a general pattern of interaction (Kreps, 1990). Networks can be groups of organizations, but also groups within organizations. Network-organizations stress the interdependence between organizational actors and thus pay a lot of attention to the development and maintenance of (communicative) relationships. At the same time, the different organizational actors have their own particular interests, and can be allied to different network-organizations. Thus, network-relationships can always be characterized by a tension between autonomy and interdependence, between team loyalty and individuality, between competition and cooperation. Traditionally, these networks are considered to be a hybrid form of market and hierarchies but Powell argues that this is “historically inaccurate, overly static, and it detracts from our ability to explain many forms of collaboration that are viable means of exchange.” (Powell, 1990, p. 298). That is, network forms of exchange have completely different modes of coordination that is neither price nor supervision, but mutual interest and interdependence (see Table 1). In line with Powell, we argue that network organizations are not equal to markets, since “central to the conceptualizations of the electronic marketplace is the ability of any buyer or seller to interconnect with a network to offer wares or shop for goods and services. Hence, ubiquity is by definition a prerequisite” (Steinfield, Plummer & Kraut, 1995). Ubiquity is - again, by definition - not a feature of a network organization, since interdependence has to exist; network organizations are built around general patterns of interaction. It is the relationship that counts: A relationship that is dependent on clear communication patterns in order to achieve a mutual understanding. Information and communication can determine whether these autonomous actors (individuals, groups or organizations as a whole) are able to work together. “Communication is defined as a process in which the participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding (….). In other words, communication always implies relationships” (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981). All inter-organizational relationships are characterized both by autonomy and interdependency, self-interest and team-spirit, competition and cooperation. These relationships are often described as value-added partnerships, that is, a set of independent organizations who cooperate to manage (information about) the flow of products and services in the value chain. The partnerships or inter-organizational networks can be either based on horizontal, vertical or symbiotic relationships. Within horizontal relationships, the organizations are one another's competitors. in vertical relationships other in a value and the symbiotic relationships is that the different organizations offer services and products to the The of these partnerships is to achieve - - in to outside this has that structure the of any of the between the of the of products and the of and the of partnerships are, on one the means to any between these different - by means of between and - on the other means to the of the network organization in to organizations not to this In order for network organizations to be - and thus to - depend on relationships based on a network the of to the networks can be as as the of and the system of networks coordination firms and can a for We argue that telecommunication networks and services can the and maintenance of these value-added partnerships facilitate the way organizations as the concept of relationships is in to achieve it is for telecommunication use of any telecommunications implies two the to be to the network from the to and to between actors networks and services can relationships within a value-added communication is or a more exchange of information These services to information by other organizations, or information with of other organizations. a information be to the network of inter-organizational relationships. information be by electronic or will and will and offer a for the of the that can be on the basis of This (see Table impact of telecommunications in of and the of the structure of organizational relationships The are optimal of optimal of and of more goals by products and/or services or by The of the and an of organizations can achieve when telecommunication In information and telecommunications are firms to of coordination and control and thus to inter-organizational relationships, especially and these technologies can be used to create and electronic markets, as can be on the Internet with electronic such as and electronic hierarchies is the with most the main of these technologies in the development and maintenance of network organizations. organizations have more of the in and communication communication is the clear coordination mechanism to these organizations, it is that the use of can these communication of the main of network organizations is that are to and information & as Powell (1990) has information networks is information in the market the price mechanism to information as a and thus to it as as and in a information is not as The be that network organizations the of vertical integration such as control and coordination of actors one is dependent upon and of and with the of independent - who have more tend to be in with the are more with and This is not to that we have the best to in organizational have that organizations have to to their particular in the network organizations are more for for are especially for the exchange of of which the value is to such as These are also very In of of organizational a network organization most a specific kind of an are most likely to be in and A and thus an a a network organizations can offer network organizations are also and require of Thus, organizations who use for the of network organizations the most from these it is not to be that use in this organizations have considerable other coordination but are also it has to be The use of for electronic markets and electronic hierarchies is - specific (see - as The relationships between telecommunications and organizations be as can telecommunication technologies and services have a significant impact on how inter-organizational relationships are but the structure and of the network of organizations also to have considerable for the way in which the telecommunication network is implemented and used. the development of telecommunication networks it is to the actors outside the of an organization, who are involved in the development of telecommunication networks and services. or organizations, and other organizations a and and network All these have an interest in the of network and services. the most but also the most actors are the the and organizations that use of the information and communication networks. of these actors will have their to participate in the telecommunications Our interest is on the of the different their the of their and the in the the development, implementation and use of telecommunication networks (see Table are for the involved in the development of telecommunication networks in such as or are based on between actors within a The will be a who use of to the of of the other actors within the for by the of another or by with the to the of another are in the network and the within the network by of the An who a to other for by an within the value chain. are used by a which the Relationships are This for a very in the All these are an option, on relationships, and Relationships that have to be most in the have developed more partnerships In order for participating to from the a more or less independent organization has to act as the system a network organization who that the development and maintenance of a telecommunication network will and in best on the market structure this can be a network organization of different of participating or an independent third as a the or the The main of system integrators is to develop and relationships with the actors In particular the concept of system integration that network organizations are completely different from electronic markets or electronic are not markets, since the of the network is not a of actors the are are not hierarchies the system is a it has no control on the behavior of the independent organizations. the organizations can be for a specific That is, the different organizations can participate in different networks for which different The use of information and communication has a in specific sectors in the networks are, for and networks a specific value for the & Vlist, 1988). studies have been done to develop the use of telecommunication systems, such as videotex, and so or are In this we will on of these The studies are not for their use of We are in the to the implementation of the and since in the have more with for the most are to The are to of information and communication The of a role by in which specific or participate in the of telecommunications These are to have a both in of a with to and with to that be by the involved to their the other the also studies in this a study done to determine which especially firms within these be best to use & it that be viable and for the and be for the for in the to offer the expected to be especially vertical we deal with our study of the and the we to deal with a study from and and (1990) as we do in our own This study is it how telecommunications can the development of telecommunications services. The which services to market and in the way their to and The of these services is by a telecommunications a This network the of a of services. The question what kind of be for both the and the market The study not to the question of how the of communication networks the horizontal and vertical networks around market The information flow within this network can be described most from the of the market Information is exchanged with to of goods of for with the services and general information development, and so on. the study and which also for data the of the and the network of the the communication The is described as a network of information (see 1). The most vertical relationship between of and so the the markets, and the of these relationships are mainly for between the and relationships between these actors and such as especially of organizations, and Information is most for the value and is mainly to the from the the market to the and The information in this is to and communication is in other especially communication with to information is exchanged in relationships. of are to the process in the value but different of communication are from to In general be by with to from different in the therefore, are no on how in the be used. of the and a more to be the markets and the Information a as as with in the are developed outside the mainly by The in a The network different for the such as electronic mail, and information exchange and and of and so on. The is more in to an An for this has to do with the of telecommunications in the At the this of most services to the an control system This the value or the horizontal relationships between the most This it clear that a telecommunication development of telecommunication services and the a the is and it for other to offer services. development of which are the in this The music is a of a inter-organizational The considerable of in the and services of organizations and its and of in and a more or less which for a of of uncertainty the commercial of goods to networks of and The of a is specific and not are to the market have a of thus with firms best able to to and The is a vertical the interests in and on the other are or are which be by of the uncertainty have to their as as of the are the it has with the of the the are that the will to the of the market and the of in is mainly own a The most actors are the music such as and in the are & the organized in of two organizations which are involved in the of a general organization which for the and two organizations of and The is and by the main music In the music and an electronic and system based on to this and the general information with to and for is as the music the the system and it by a in use mainly the system not an The system not so the music In the the actors involved for a the to be the to be involved in the A organization in which and on an equal by an Thus, one can argue that is a system or a network organization, not organizations but also a value-added for are with by a The of this are from the music which to the system a on the use of the or the an of actors involved and the information The music and to a the organization information to the and have to the information in a traditional and or by means of A third is the use of by means of a by of the time, is in more general in these general of the used this the this the of is an one a chain. a It is that of the use the These the and the most viable In the of is The music the that costs are and the process has more the other that both in and are high. The not been the of our The main in the of has to do with the of the In the music and the are competitors. it for the to the the firms to be involved in the the music to the of are as and have not in of on the other the system to be less their own systems, do to their The information by means of is or and to cooperation. The of on the of of independent or the that can a certain are more mainly to the to Thus, a network for not to an role for firms have the question of whether benefits the the is in Table In general it can be that and in by In and the of That is, not in the between and but more within the and for A vertical network in the music the are symbiotic and the and of The between the actors involved the development since their is The that by the most actors is the different actors depend on the music has a are not able to to use the that have to deal with a traditional as as an electronic (1990) has that this to higher and the development of a This is not for the music the is a share the with the other actors The network in this can be described as and The music and the in of and have different The information flow within the network (information and The network is between the different actors is many and has for and it is mainly involved in The most recent development within has to do with the of music the network to the so that can their own of is no and the of in the It is that is based on or but a order is in Table is a from the to the the of the The music the role of of the The vertical integration within the music and information is these The actors that to be very with development are the is the An from be that the of telecommunication technologies and services not be defined as a the use on the of organizations within the industry. A such as the music in the music can act as a system and the it will be the the role of system not as one who to actors A system has to create a that value for involved this means that are the of the of telecommunications services not be defined in of and to be as In the value will electronic hierarchies in which are and are dependent on these organizations, both with to the process and with to of and use of telecommunication technologies and services. This not a is in the order such as and are by order such as the use of the use of for for will be Within the a of different can be In this we will to that of the that in The structure of the is with the structure of the music industry. we can of and the and the the The of our is the a which an In general the of is the same for the of information within the & 1990). and the goods to are to the organized in the of to these are firms in this are on from which is by the The has to deal with and especially in the in but as an in of the that the an with to the actors that have been a of other actors involved around the implemented and two firms and for the (see the system also use of the the is also a in the It expected that to of and time, being the most especially in the and to the the integration of within the is most within industry. the the of the flow of goods more In within organizations, more information can be the of the of what is on the basis of the the use of more when a also use of telecommunications such as which is a system to to other are being such as the an of the and and In this and is tension between the involved to be a specific concept or be to use a and At the of this study, a of firms with and then on a is based on as network The is by the but the main costs are by from the for for The are that will contribute to and the implementation of and the concept has to be implemented for to be The of from to will contribute to a of their the will be by the who will use of other electronic information and order are to offer The the use by for The to the question is in Table The actors have different for participating in the In general the of is The is the of transaction the organizations can be can be to This will to and The network is in the value chain. is with the process of of industry. the it is more but on the development of the system that will with The of the is that the actors to participate the same In that are no relationships between the actors that are but will be with The that used by the different actors can be described as and have an equal The be characterized as a very one another as their relationships with are are as and no relationships are developed between and In the value have the most are and depend on the of their goods The products of and are less dependent on their can contribute to especially between and The are more the of transactions more are and is behavior is by the development of mutual The network is exchange of information in the is not the are a and but this for a is The network around is and not very mainly it is The is and has to with other it is to very It can be that to the of involved for other are and the integration of in the process has to The network the a in the value both in the of their and in the of their the within the hotel is the offering of and services to Dutch and and are and with the to which the services are or are the by Dutch and by and from other The of are and for and In the is with more and more the of is the of in The of is An in can be in this industry. of the in hotel is the to which in information In general the of is for the and have been developed on a basis which it to with an role in this but it not to major are more telecommunications services. is one organization in which both and in the and of the of this organization is the which for and the the Dutch Dutch on and to these organizations, hotel such as and are major of hotel services. In general the information from a will flow an organization the the or the to the At the the system and hotel have their own networks. mainly for and in the for the same also work with by or A general network is considered to be for the industry. The network in the hotel is but and Information from organizations such as and to and is competition in a market in which especially and are hotel with their own as is between it between individual and or the The common interest for the involved is not are in and is to telecommunications services other then and are other in the hotel and and from a it is not to be expected that these will the industry. In general the that is by different especially by the hotel is in between the and the and the different of the development of a The is to the main for different interests of involved The which are be and so that but to be a lot of within the This is not it be to the but are mainly organizational The is the to use of the system and will not for hotel or have their own that are to their and are to a system this will information their to other the information and are not clear benefits for to a telecommunication system and is not a that can the development of a are in the that use of the of their systems, such as and for other hotel services. it is to offer other such as offering for the of the and so on. The system not to more and but also to It is clear that to the and network in the hotel the development of a system based on a telecommunication network will not to from such as The actors have their own networks and are not in and especially in of the in the Case studies have been done in the music retail, and hotel In general we that the role of a system is but the same a who is in a can also the development and use of services hotel An electronic can to a use of the telecommunication services An inter-organizational network in an telecommunication network in which participants have a of different of services such as videotex, electronic or hybrid on the the hierarchies between organizations to a use of telecommunications services and costs organized networks can as an market place different telecommunications services are being used and the costs are Information develop very mainly as a of in interest between involved is a of not and a on that the development is with Internet of more for and the is that the of information and telecommunication services is defined as a and not an organizational The of information and telecommunication services on the of organizations within the A such as the music in the music and in the can act as a system and the are actors do not the of the implementation of telecommunications services for their organization and for their The of and to and in the The of information and telecommunication services will to It is clear in information and communication is used by in the value to develop electronic organizations in these hierarchies are dependent on the both with to the process and with to of and use of information and telecommunications services. order such as and are by order such as use of information and telecommunications services the use of for for or the use of information in the hotel will be for then will electronic networks be within for the development of network organizations, especially with the of the organizational can these

Y. Okamoto, Ichiro Yamada, Naoki Sugino

This paper discusses the nature of the paradigm shift that will be accelerated as the next-generation Internet (NGI) pervades society. First, we define the NGI society as one in which the network is so ubiquitous that no one will be conscious of connecting with it. Then we investigate trends and expectations of current NGI research and development projects worldwide. Secondly, we have performed comprehensive questionnaire-based market research into new technologies. This reveals that Japan can be expected to create global markets by developing NGI applications in home-electronic appliances, mobile assistants, transportation systems, and animation games. Furthermore, we generalize the discussion on the nature of the paradigm shift as follows. Although modern western rationalism produced the astonishing growth of the industrialized countries in the 19th-20th centuries, this approach alone no longer offers the prospect of much further advance. The 21st century paradigm for science and technology, for social, economic and governmental systems, and for industrial structures and working styles will necessarily shift towards autonomous and cooperative decentralization. The Internet is a decentralized computer system that is operated autonomously and cooperatively by individuals and small organizations. The NGI will further accelerate this paradigm shift. We conclude that this approach is essentially similar to the traditional oriental philosophy of harmony, and urge that it should be adopted in positioning Japan within the global, information-oriented network society of the 21st century.

Joan McGrory

No abstract is available for this record.

Peter Gomber, Claudia Schmidt, Christof Weinhardt

In electronic commerce, the intraorganizational coordination of directly responsible units, for example profit centers or firms within an affiliated group, is of increasing importance. These organizational units can be modeled within a multiagent system (MAS), an interconnection of autonomous information systems. In this article, we investigate coordination mechanisms for MAS in decentralized transportation planning that ensure efficient allocation of scarce resources on the basis of local planning processes. In the domain of transportation, planning problems are characterized by large amounts of data, limitations of time for planning, and the intractability of computational problems. Auctions as market-like coordination mechanisms are discussed with respect to the trade-off between theoretical evidence on the quality of the allocation and computational tractability. Therefore, 2 pricing mechanisms are investigated, the generalized Vickrey auction and pricing per column.

David Levinson

This dissertation examines why and how jurisdictions choose to finance their roads. The systematic causes of revenue choice are explored qualitatively by examining the history of turnpikes. The question is approached analytically by employing game theory to model revenue choice on a long road. The road is covered by a series of jurisdictions seeking to maximize local welfare. Jurisdictions are responsible for building and maintaining the local network. Complexity arises because local network users may not be local residents, and local residents may use non-local networks. Key factors posited to explain the choice of revenue mechanism include the length of trips using the road, the size of the governing jurisdiction, the degree of excludability, and the transaction costs of toll collection. These factors dictate the size and scope of the free rider problem. It is hypothesized that smaller jurisdictions and lower collection costs favor tolling policies over taxes.The analytical model is operationalized by assuming jurisdictions have two decisions: the strategic decision to tax or toll, and the tactical decision of setting the rate of tax or toll. Models of user demand as a function of trip distance and monetary cost and of network costs as a function of traffic flow and the number of toll collections are specified. The values of the constants and coefficients of the model are developed from recent cost literature and the estimation of a model of collection costs from California Toll Bridge data.The model is applied to evaluate the dissertation's hypotheses. The application evaluates the welfare implications of a jurisdiction and its neighbors imposing general tax, cordon toll, odometer tax, or perfect toll policies. Sensitivity tests of the model under alternative behavioral assumptions, and with varying model coefficients are conducted. Finally, policy implications from the analysis are drawn. The general trends which bode well for road pricing (electronic toll collection (ETC), decentralization, advanced infrastructure, privatization, and federal rules) are established. Possible scenarios for three cases are presented: deploying ETC and building new toll roads, and converting free roads.

Christian Picory

About the Internet, there have been a number of indications recently, that the use of electronic methods not only for expanding business or creating new business, but also for making payments, may introduce a new " industrial and monetary " order. This idea, (millenarianism ?) implies a large adoption of new technologies, of e-business opportunities and usages and finally, the resolution of e-payment problems, especially taking into account the Internet's characteristics (decentralization and aperture). These problems do not depend only on implementation of information's technologies, cryptography or network management. Because payments concern the core of the market's economy, the e-payment systems involve i) the monetary regime - i.e. forms and nature of money creation - and ii) agents qualified to create money. On these points, the emergence of e-payment systems is not anodyne, because it participates in the evolution of the actual monetary regime in the direction of a weakening between money supply, quantity of money and economy financing by bank's credit. It participates also in the evolution of the " banking industry " in the direction of a real disintermediation.

M. Verkama, Raimo P. H�m�l�inen, Harri Ehtamo

No abstract is available for this record.

Ellen M. Hufnagel, Jacob G. Birnberg, Joseph M. Katz

Problems can arise in decentralized organizations when usage-based chargeback systems are implemented to control computing resources. A case study of a company that is changing from negotiated pricing to full cost pricing illustrates the fact that concerns about fairness can arise not only with respect to specific characteristics of the chargeback system (e.g., understandability, controllability), but also as a result of central management policies governing internal transactions between the users and MIS. In particular, this examination identifies three factors that affect the fairness perceptions of autonomous divisional managers: (1) a high degree of interdependence between user divisions and MIS such that the behavior of MIS could have a significant impact on divisional performance; (2) restrictions on divisional managers’ freedom to purchase computer services from external sources; and (3) the tendency for full cost to exceed market prices early in the life of a data center. A dual pricing approach may be an interim solution to reduce conflict and improve user perceptions of fairness.

P.L. Abad

No abstract is available for this record.