ABSTRACT

Blockchain technology and smart contracts are catalysts for decentralization and disintermediation. These new technologies reduce transaction costs, agency costs, and offer a basis for trustless social and economic interactions. They are fueling new business models for decentralized platforms and have revolutionized crowdfunding. A recent trend, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), stands to fundamentally transform organizing and governance. DAOs are blockchain-native, decentralized organizations that are collectively owned and managed by their members via smart contracts. In this note, we assess the promises and challenges of DAOs, with a focus on decentralized governance and disintermediation, and offer a first empirical glimpse at the rise and functioning of DAOs. Overall, DAOs may introduce a new era in organizational economics, transforming the global corporate landscape from hierarchical organizations to democratic and distributed organizations powered by organizational entrepreneurship and innovations.

摘要

区块链技术和智能合约是去中心化和去中介化的催化剂。这些新技术降低了交易成本、代理成本，并为无需信任的社会和经济互动提供了基础。他们正在为去中心化平台推动新的商业模式，并彻底改变了众筹。最近的趋势是去中心化自治组织 (DAO)，它将从根本上改变组织和治理。DAO 是区块链原生的去中心化组织，由其成员通过智能合约共同拥有和管理。在本说明中，我们评估了 DAO 的前景和挑战，重点是去中心化治理和去中介化，并首次对 DAO 的兴起和运作进行了实证考察。总体而言，DAO 可能会开创组织经济学的新纪元，