Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain

How companies can gain strategic advantage by developing blockchain capabilities.

Blockchain is far more than cryptocurrency. Regarded for a decade as complex and with limited application, blockchain has now matured to be on the verge of fully realizing its disruptive potential. In Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain, business strategy expert Ravi Sarathy shows how companies can gain competitive advantage by developing and deploying blockchain capabilities. Sarathy explains what makes blockchain unique, including its capacities to eliminate intermediaries, guard against hackers, decentralize, and protect privacy. Presenting examples drawn from such sectors as finance, supply chains, computer services, consumer products, and entertainment, he describes how executives can strategically assess blockchain’s applicability to their business.
 
After outlining blockchain’s technological features—and its technological obstacles—Sarathy describes disruptive technologies already happening in the financial services market with the emergence of decentralized finance, or DeFi, arguing that a wave of innovation might be positioning DeFi as blockchain’s “killer app.” He also explores, among many other uses, a blockchain application that addresses chronic supply chain problems, pilot blockchain programs aimed at facilitating cross-border payments, and the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) that allow digital art to be collected and traded. And he outlines a path for organizations that includes establishing a business case for applying blockchain, evaluating enterprise cost-benefits, and  preparing the organization to develop the requisite knowledge and people skills while overcoming resistance to change.
 
Business leaders should invest, explore and experiment with blockchain now, positioning their organizations to be first in their fields, ahead of both rising startups and late-to-the game incumbent peers.Series Foreword vii
Preface ix
Introduction: Blockchain's Disruptive Potential 1
1 Blockchain's Unique Capabilities and Benefits for Enterprises 23
2 Technological Obstacles to Blockchain Adoption and Their Resolution 49
3 Digital Currencies, Payment Systems, and Their Enterprise Implications 87
4 Decentralized Finance 127
5 Global Supply Chains and Trade Finance 165
6 Blockchains as Ecosystems 199
7 Realizing Blockchain's Potential: A Strategy Road Map for Enterprises 227
Notes 257
Index 283“Blockchain technology today is often compared to the Internet of the early ’90s. At a time when blockchain’s potential is only beginning to be understood, Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain offers a glimpse into the future of where this technology might take us and helps executives navigate a successful path into this future.” 
—Marta Belcher, President & Chair, Filecoin Foundation  
 
“Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain is a manager’s guide to harnessing and monetizing one of the most fundamental innovations of the decade. Blockchain is here to stay and it’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon. The book will show you how to take the first steps.”
—Michel Avital, Professor, Copenhagen Business School
 
“Professor Sarathy’s work cuts through the Web3 noise, providing a cogent and enjoyable analysis of the disruptive potential for blockchain technologies and the manners through which industry and investors can leverage them to foster innovation. Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain is well worth the read for anyone interested in Web3 as it succeeds in highlighting the transformative potential of blockchain, while not shying away from candidly assessing the risks and challenges associated with this nascent technology.”
—Jon Adams, Director (Legal), LinkedIn CorporationRavi Sarathy is Professor of International Business and Strategy at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. He is the coeditor of Firms within Families: Enterprising in Diverse Country Contexts.