Embracing Technological Advancements: Blockchain as a Driver for Innovation and Dynamic Capability Development
Authors:   , Semenova Viktoriia 
Published: December 2024

This dissertation presents several novel contributions to the fields of technology management, entrepreneurship, organisational studies, and strategic management. The following sections outline the unique insights and new scientific findings generated through this research: ▪ This study provides a comprehensive examination of blockchain technology through the perspectives of organisation theories, including technology adoption theories and sensemaking theory, as well as two categories of Burrell and Morgan’s typology of sociological paradigms, the functionalist and interpretive paradigms. ▪ A new methodological approach is employed to examine the profiles of high-tech manufacturing enterprises within specific regional contexts, focusing on two Spanish regions. ▪ The application of novel-to-the-topic methodology, specifically two discrete choice models—the multinomial logit and mixed logit models—brings a new perspective to evaluating the likelihood of a firm’s innovation decisions on innovation novelty. ▪ This study explores the implementation of novel blockchain technology within small, early-stage businesses, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating blockchain into organisational processes. ▪ An actor-dependent view of external enablers has been incorporated into the external enabler theory within the context of blockchain-enabled emerging businesses. This theoretical advancement enriches the current framework by highlighting the influence of actors in shaping the adoption and dissemination of blockchain technology within organisations. ▪ The research integrates the theory of dynamic capabilities as a theoretical framework, providing a detailed analysis of the nature and function of dynamic capabilities in the establishment of new ventures. ▪ An in-depth analysis is offered on the advancement of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring capabilities, supported by their microfoundations, within the context of early-stage companies, with particular attention given to the impact of blockchain technology. ▪ The conceptual model is constructed to demonstrate how the combination of external enablers, founders’ capabilities, and firm capabilities facilitated the formation and growth of new ventures. ▪ Two main propositions and three supporting sub-propositions are formulated that provide directions for future research. ▪ The conceptual framework is developed to illustrate how blockchain-enhanced dynamic capabilities reinforce the operations of emerging companies and sustain their competitiveness. ▪ Through the application of a case study approach, new empirical data on emerging Hungarian firms utilising blockchain was collected, addressing the deficiency in blockchain use cases. In summary, this dissertation makes significant theoretical and empirical contributions by offering novel perspectives, theoretical advancements, and empirical findings that enhance our understanding of the strategic implications of emerging technologies for organisational development and innovation.