Abstract
Blockchain is a technology discussion, but not only a technology discussion. The technology works. It’s not yet fast, scalable, or mature. And it is not as good as other enterprise-ready databases; but where authenticity matters, it will be game-changing—everywhere in our world. What many are not yet realizing is how to scale it. We have spent more than a decade watching people try to monetize blockchain using the same monetization model as the Internet, with little to no success. In the global commerce space, consortia models won’t scale—there is too much friction in the process. With that realization, the other fork in that road is that ‘open’ is inevitable. The transformative nature of peer-to-peer technology, smart contracts, and standards means that it is not just individuals competing against each other to ‘win’ in this space. Our success in this area will be measured by how we work together as a global team. Yes, blockchain technology will change many things, but the greatest impact of blockchain technology is that it will change the rules and subsequently change many business models. Explain that to the C-Suite or others who may still be trying to marginalize blockchain only as a fringe technology. What we are talking about is ‘coopetition,’ which may mean the difference between success and failure in years to come.
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28 October 2022
The Author has provided belated corrections to the title of this chapter. The corrections to the chapter title have been carried out as follows:
Notes
- 1.
“(Blockchain is) the next frontier that’s going to completely change worldwide supply chains,” and he closed with, “If you are not operating at the edge of technology to face up to real threats you will be disrupted. When you stop innovating or when you stop embracing change, you are really in the process of commoditization at best and extinction more probably.”
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Frederick W. Smith—Consensus NYC, May 14, 2018—link—16:48, 21:41
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- 2.
“We think that open, in this particular case, is absolutely what the industry needs. We have got to have a coopetition framework to allow lots of players in supply chain and logistics and manufacturing all be a part of this. This technology, if it was positioned as a ‘FedEx’ technology, would be a bust. It simply wouldn’t work.”
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Robert B. Carter—Blockchain Revolution Global, April 24, 2019—link—18:12
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“You’re the Government, you could mandate that it (blockchain) is widely adopted. Why not plant a flag in the ground that in the next five years, all importers must be up on blockchain? (If) you want to know that this merchandise is authentic and not counterfeit, blockchain can do that.”
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Richard W. Smith—Blockchain Revolution Global, April 24, 2019—link—9:11
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- 4.
In his 2021 PhD research, Dr. David Lacek found >100,000 definitions for ‘blockchain.’
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Lacek, D. A. (2021). The Definition and Meaning of Blockchain [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The University of Denver.
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- 5.
“Blockchain is a giant leap for Customs in the 21st century.”
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Unveiling the Potential of Blockchain for Customs, World Customs Organization, June 2018, Yotaro Okazaki
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“If we succeed in creating an ecosystem conducive to the wider development of Blockchain, international trade could well look radically different in 10 to 15 years.”
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Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade?, World Trade Organization, 2018, Emmanuelle Ganne
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- 7.
“Blockchain…can expand international trade by reducing friction at the border.” “Call for Action: Development of open standards and interoperability protocols.”
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Next Generation Border Clearance Through Disruptive Technologies, Global Express Association, August 2019
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- 8.
“It’s not unusual for rivals to team up to set standards and interoperability protocols.”
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The Rules of Co-Opetition, Harvard Business Review, Jan–Feb 2021, Adam Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff
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- 9.
A good example of coopetition outside of blockchain was in March 2019 when the leaders of Germany’s big three automakers, VW, Daimler, and BMW, all agreed that the future of German cars was electric.
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The ‘Tesla Effect’ hits Germany as VW, Daimler, and BMW fully commit to EVs, teslarati.com, March 24, 2019—link
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- 10.
‘Target’ reference around coopetition
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Dealing in Security, Vinay Gupta, July 2010
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- 11.
“(Blockchain is) the next frontier that’s going to completely change worldwide supply chains.”
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Frederick W. Smith—Consensus NYC, May 14, 2018—link—16:48
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- 12.
“For blockchain to be transformative, it must be bigger than us.”
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Robert B. Carter, FedEx CIO, 2019—I think this was created internally but has been made public and I have quoted it since it came out. Not sure about the footnote references.
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Chrystie, D. (2022). Recovering from Blockchain Missteps and Myths with Coopetition. In: Lacity, M.C., Treiblmaier, H. (eds) Blockchains and the Token Economy. Technology, Work and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95108-5_2
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