Infrastructural or organizational decentralization? Developing a typology of blockchain ventures

Blockchain technology, an institutional innovation, has been a growing research area in recent years, especially within the information system literature. If it brings along opportunities for entrepreneurs, there is no such thing as a theory of blockchain ventures yet. Blockchain technology drives the emergence of unprecedented types of ventures, with varying degrees of decentralization, both from an infrastructural and organizational perspective. However, there is no consistency regarding the definitions and labels used to refer to blockchain ventures. This paper proposes a definition of blockchain ventures and provides a typology distinguishing four ideal types of blockchain ventures. Our findings reveal that blockchain ventures do not inherently entail either organizational or infrastructural decentralization. They contribute to a better understanding of the diverse nature of blockchain ventures and their implications.