Blockchain Platform Management Mechanism: Theoretical Approaches to the Problem

Abstract

Blockchains are gaining in popularity and widespread use. The ability to solve many complex technological, economic, and production tasks makes this technology disruptive and systemic, changing the activities of not only individual firms but also platforms and markets. The need for systematization and theoretical understanding of the ongoing changes, on the one hand, popularization and dissemination of knowledge about blockchain, on the other, make research in this area particularly relevant. This study aims to develop theoretical principles for managing a complex digital blockchain platform. The methodological basis of this work was the technological, institutional, and management theories of complex systems. Semantic and comparative analyses, formalization, and systematization were used. The information base of the study was made up of theoretical and empirical studies by Russian and foreign authors devoted to describing the use and development of blockchain platforms in various areas of human life. The study of blockchain as an object of management has made it possible to identify basic theories through the prism of which it is possible to identify the features of the basic elements in its management. The subversive and systemic nature of this innovation and the basic principles of management are revealed within the framework of technological theories. The context of institutional theories makes it possible to identify target, organizational, and structural features. Methodological approaches embedded in the theories of management of complex systems have allowed us to reveal the subject, form, and cycle of management in the blockchain. The results of this research are a developed model of the blockchain platform management mechanism. Their use can become the basis for further theoretical and applied research in the field of studying the management features of complex digital platforms.