Blockchain and art market: resistance or adoption?

ABSTRACT

Blockchain technology is currently stimulating a broader process of social and industrial transformation impacting several potential areas of adoption (e.g. transactions, tracking and tracing solutions, authenticity, etc …). The acceptance of this technology represents a major challenge for the art ecosystem. The literature around relations and applications of blockchain in the art market is fragmented and fails to provide an understanding of the current/potential opportunities of this application. This paper explores how blockchain is being adopted in the art sector. By using a perspective of mobilizing organizational and institutional field theory, this study performs an explorative qualitative analysis based on semi-structured interviews with 15 experts from the art market. The findings underline the complexity of effective implementation of this technology, the contradictory positions regarding the benefits and business opportunities it offers, as well as the market players’ resistance to change and trust. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Blockchain
• art market
• resistance to change
• trust

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The key-difference between an organizational field and an ecosystem is that the former includes actors producing a similar product or service (they belong to the same industry) while the latter is a cross industry network of producers of many different types of goods and services that can be mixed/coupled into different combinations (Iansiti and Levien 2004).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tindara Abbate

Tindara Abbate is Associate Professor of Business Economics and Management at University of Messina (Italy). She has been involved in several research projects, as member and scientific coordination, and her research work has been accomplished in collaboration with different national and international research groups. Her research interests refer to market orientation; open innovation and open innovation intermediaries; social innovation; Destination Management Organization (DMO). She is the author of over 90 journal contributions (i.e. International Small Business Journal, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Business Process Management Journal, Current Issue in Tourism, International Journal of Tourism Research, International Journal of Digital Accounting Research, International Journal of Hospitality Management), conference publications and book chapters. She is author of two books focused on Inbound Open Innovation and absorptive capacity in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Market Orientation in the spin-off companies. At present, she is co-editor of Special Issue published on international journal (i.e. Sustainability). She is member of Italian Society of Management (SIMA) and Society of Marketing (SIM), as referent of University of Messina.

Marilena Vecco

MarilenaVecco is Full professor in Entrepreneurship at Burgundy Business School, Dijon (F) and Professor Associated to the Carmelle and RémiMarcoux Chair in Arts Management, HEC Montréal (CA).Her research focuses on cultural entrepreneurship and management with a special focus on cultural heritage (tangible and intangible) and art markets. Marilena has over 17 years of academic and professional experience as a researcher, lecturer, and consultant. She has researched and consulted for several public and private organisations, including OECD, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development, World Bank, and The European Commission. She is the author of several books, book chapters and articles published on different journals.

Carlo Vermiglio

Carlo Vermiglio holds aMBA at Bocconi University in Public Administration and International Institutions Management and a PhD in Business Administration at University of Roma Tre (Italy). Currently, he is Associate Professor in Business Administration at University of Messina (Italy), Department of Economics. Chartered accountant and statutory auditor, he is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Study Group for the establishment of Social Reporting Standards for private and public organizations. He is also involved in several international academic societies and research groups in business and public management.His research interests are related to smart cities and urban resilience, disaster management, local governments financial distress, and sustainability reporting.He is the author of several articles published on different journals.

Vincenzo Zarone

Vincenzo Zarone, PhD in Business Administration at University of Pisa; he is Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Pisa, Department of Economics and Management. His main research interest includes public management and accounting, anti-corruption policy, public utilities management, smart city. He is member of the editorial board of International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism (Inderscience); he is member of the Italian Academy of Business Administration and Management (AIDEA) and of the Italian Society of Professors in Business Administration (SIDREA).

Mirko Perano

Mirko Perano is currently Senior Researcher at Department of Management & Innovation Systems at University of Salerno (IT). He holds a double PhD, one at University of Rome “La Sapienza” (IT) and one at University of Huelva (ES). From 2016 until 2019 he served as Vice-Rector and Director of Department of Management at Reald University College, Albania. In the same institution he taught in the Management topics. Mirko Perano carries out teaching activities on the topics of “Strategic management”, “Business Ethics” and “Management Systems” at University of Salerno (IT), Department of Management & Innovation Systems. He is the founder and Director of “Reald Summer School on Research Methodology” and the founder and Head of MaTTour (International Research Group on Management, Technology and Tourism) both based at Department of Management, Reald University College. He is member of some international research groups on management and tourism field around the world. He is associate editor of Enlightening Tourism, A Pathmaking Journal (Scimago, Scopus), and a member of the editorial board of some journals. He has currently published over 50 publications such asmonographies and books and journal papers in top tiers journal such as Journal of Business Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Land Use Policyand International Journal of Hospitality Management on the topics of Business Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility, Project Management, Strategic Management and Sustainability.He is member of Italian Academy of Business Administration and Management (AIDEA), Italian Society of Management (SIMA) and Society of Marketing (SIM).