Internationalization through Co-Creating Institutions: the Case of Blockchain

Abstract

Institutions are often treated as established variables in the International Business (IB) field. Despite the important role of common institutions in cross-border activities, how firms participate in the processes of developing institutions globally has received scant scholarly attention. This thesis challenges a conventional assumption that institutions are pre-existing factors exogenous to firm activities. It illuminates different pathways followed by firms to co-create common standards in a nascent technological field. The thesis comprises three articles that complement each other. The first article problematizes 101 studies published between 2014-2023. It uncovers a prevailing assumption in IB that takes institutions as factors pre-existing to firm activities. It proposes alternative assumptions that treat firms as co-creators of institutions in the context of digital innovations. The second article examines challenges faced by firms while realizing blockchain’s potential as a general-purpose technology in IB context. It proposes a framework for firms to develop valuable use cases, align stakeholder visions and build viable blockchain-based solutions. The third article draws on the theory of institutional fields to investigate how firms participate in common standard-making to enable the global adoption of blockchain. It discusses how firms pursue different pathways to global standardization, as a central actor, consortium members, and peripheral actors. The thesis triangulates between documentary, interview and observational data collected from firms based in 12 jurisdictions between 2021-2024. It builds on multi-level analysis of how individuals, a single firm and consortia of firms participate in global standard-making via bottom-up, top-down, and bespoke pathways. It brings an IB dimension to the theory of institutional fields and highlights the importance of global adoption as a key process to establish common standards in a nascent technological field.