Paper Type
ERF
Abstract
Private blockchain adoptions are prone to failure, yet blockchain governance research has focused primarily on ecosystem-level structures rather than the micro-governance practices through which project leaders build internal legitimacy. Using an ethnographic case study of a successful Canadian public-sector-led private blockchain initiative in critical minerals mining, this study examines how leadership practices shape adoption success when leaders do not begin with superior blockchain expertise or sectoral prestige. The findings show that human-oriented values, project stewardship, and actionable optimism help build coordination capacity, collective learning, and internal credibility. Rather than treating expertise and prestige as prerequisites for success, we theorize how they can emerge through micro-governance enacted over time. The study contributes to blockchain governance and entrepreneurship research by explaining how leaders produce credibility inside private blockchain projects before it becomes externally recognized.
Paper Number
1517
Recommended Citation
Nguyen-Phan, Trinh and Singh, Raghvendra, "A Micro-governance Framework for Public-Sector Blockchain Adoption: Insights from an Ethnographic Single Case Study" (2026). AMCIS 2026 Proceedings. 1.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2026/dite/sig_dite/1
A Micro-governance Framework for Public-Sector Blockchain Adoption: Insights from an Ethnographic Single Case Study
Private blockchain adoptions are prone to failure, yet blockchain governance research has focused primarily on ecosystem-level structures rather than the micro-governance practices through which project leaders build internal legitimacy. Using an ethnographic case study of a successful Canadian public-sector-led private blockchain initiative in critical minerals mining, this study examines how leadership practices shape adoption success when leaders do not begin with superior blockchain expertise or sectoral prestige. The findings show that human-oriented values, project stewardship, and actionable optimism help build coordination capacity, collective learning, and internal credibility. Rather than treating expertise and prestige as prerequisites for success, we theorize how they can emerge through micro-governance enacted over time. The study contributes to blockchain governance and entrepreneurship research by explaining how leaders produce credibility inside private blockchain projects before it becomes externally recognized.
Comments
SIG DITE