Expanding the Platform: Smart Contracts as Boundary Resources

Kristian Lauslahti, Juri Mattila, Jussi Hukkinen, Timo Seppälä

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

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Abstract

Platform businesses are born global, with instant access to global markets. Thanks to the algorithmic, self-executing and self-enforcing computer programs known as smart contracts, platform businesses now also have instant access to global capital markets from birth. However, the legal status of these smart-contract-enabled funding mechanisms and smart contracts in general is not well defined. In this article, we analyze how well the formation mechanisms of the general principles of Finnish contract law can be applied to the technological framework of smart contracts. We find that depending on the case, smart contracts can create legally binding rights and obligations to their parties. We also observe that contracts have not been formerly perceived as technical boundary resources in the sense that platform ecosystems could foster broader network effects by opening their application contracting interfaces to third parties
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCollaborative Value Co-creation in the Platform Economy
EditorsAnssi Smedlund, Arto Lindblom, Lasse Mitronen
PublisherSpringer
ISBN (Electronic)978-981-10-8956-5
ISBN (Print)978-981-10-8955-8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 24 Jul 2018
MoE publication typeA3 Book section, Chapters in research books

Publication series

NameTranslational Systems Sciences
Volume11
ISSN (Print)2197-8832

Keywords

  • platform
  • smart contract
  • boundary resource
  • contract law
  • ICO

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