Enlighten Publications

In this section

Beyond the bubble: will NFTs and digital proof of ownership empower creative industry entrepreneurs?

Chalmers, D. , Fisch, C., Matthews, R., Quinn, W. and Recker, J. (2022) Beyond the bubble: will NFTs and digital proof of ownership empower creative industry entrepreneurs? Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 17, e00309. (doi: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2022.e00309)

Text
265901.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.
432kB

Abstract

Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) are blockchain-enabled cryptographic assets that represent proof-of-ownership for digital objects. The use of NFTs has been pioneered by creative industry entrepreneurs who have sought to generate new revenue streams and modes of stakeholder engagement. Despite rapid growth in popularity, concerns have been raised around the legal ownership of NFT assets and the prevalence of speculation and fraud associated with NFT trading. In this rapid response article, we explore the value of NFTs for creative industry entrepreneurs. First, we examine the novel digital affordances of the technology; second, we analyse NFTs through the prism of the recent Initial Coin Offering (ICO) boom and bust; and finally, we take a longer-term historical perspective to consider how past speculative waves inform the present NFT economy. While we identify some potentially valuable artistic and financial opportunities for creative industry entrepreneurs, we conclude that NFTs should be approached with caution.

Item Type:	Articles
Keywords:	NFTs, crypto, cryptocurrency, fintech, creative industry entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fraud, economic history, metaverse.
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:	Chalmers, Professor Dominic
Authors:	Chalmers, D., Fisch, C., Matthews, R., Quinn, W., and Recker, J.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HG Finance
College/School:	College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
Journal Name:	Journal of Business Venturing Insights
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	2352-6734
Published Online:	26 February 2022
Copyright Holders:	Copyright © 2022 The Authors
First Published:	First published in Journal of Business Venturing Insights 17: e00309
Publisher Policy:	Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

References

Aswad, J., 2021. Mick Jagger Unveils NFT to Raise Money for Independent Music Venues, Variety. Available at: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/mick-jagger-nft- independent-venues-1234952374/. Autio, E., Nambisan, S., Thomas, L.D.W., Wright, M., 2018. Digital Affordances, Spatial Affordances, and the Genesis of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 12, 72-95. Baker, N., 2021. An NFT just sold for $532 million, but didn’t really sell at all. Available at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/here-s-a-532-million-nft-trade-that-wasn-t- what-it-appeared Baskerville, R.L., Myers, M.D., Yoo, Y., 2020. Digital first: The ontological reversal and new challenges for is research. Evidence-based Cybersecurity Research Group. MIS Quarterly 44(2), 509-523 17 BBC News, 2021. Zoë Roth sells 'Disaster Girl' meme as NFT for $500,000. British Broadcasting Corporation. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada- 56948514 Bellavitis, C., Fisch, C., Wiklund, J., 2021. A comprehensive review of the global development of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and their regulation. Journal of Business Venturing Insights 15, e00213. Berente, N., Hansen, S., Pike, J.C., Bateman, P.J., 2011. Arguing the value of virtual worlds: Patterns of discursive sensemaking of an innovative technology. MIS Quarterly, 685- 709. Castor, A., 2021. ‘Metakovan, the mystery Beeple art buyer, and his NFT/DeFi scheme’. Available at: https://amycastor.com/2021/03/14/metakovan-the-mystery-beeple-art- buyer-and-his-nft-defi-scheme/ Chalmers, D., Matthews, R., Hyslop, A., 2021. Blockchain as an external enabler of new venture ideas: Digital entrepreneurs and the disintermediation of the global music industry. Journal of Business Research 125, 577-591. Chandra, Y., Leenders, M.A., 2012. User innovation and entrepreneurship in the virtual world: A study of Second Life residents. Technovation 32, 464-476. Cirisano, T., 2021. Kings of Leon NFTs Generate $2M in Sales & Benefit Crew Nation Fund. Available at: https://www.billboard.com/pro/kings-of-leon-nft-sale-2-million- sales-crew-nation/ Davidsson, P., 2015. Entrepreneurial opportunities and the entrepreneurship nexus: A re- conceptualization. Journal of Business Venturing 30, 674-695. Davidsson, P., Recker, J., von Briel, F., 2020. External Enablement of New Venture Creation: A Framework. Academy of Management Perspectives 34, 311-332. 18 Davis, A., Murphy, J.D., Owens, D., Khazanchi, D., Zigurs, I., 2009. Avatars, people, and virtual worlds: Foundations for research in metaverses. Journal of the Association for Information Systems 10(2), 91-117. Dowling, M., 2021. Is non-fungible token pricing driven by cryptocurrencies? Finance Research Letters, 102097. Faulkner, P., Runde, J., 2019. Theorizing the Digital Object. MIS Quarterly 43, 1279-1302. Fisch, C., 2019. Initial coin offerings (ICOs) to finance new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing 34, 1-22. Haki, K., Beese, J., Aier, S., Winter, R., 2020. The Evolution of Information Systems Architecture: An Agent-Based Simulation Model. MIS Quarterly 44(1), 155-184 Henfridsson, O., Bygstad, B., 2013. The generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution. MIS quarterly, 907-931. Hornuf, L., Kück, T., Schwienbacher, A., 2021. Initial coin offerings, information disclosure, and fraud. Small Business Economics, 1-19. Howcroft, E., 2021. The New Masters: How auction houses are chasing crypto millions. Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/new-masters-how- auction-houses-are-chasing-crypto-millions-2021-2011-2008/. Kaczynski, S., Kominers, S.D., 2021. How NFTs Create Value. Harvard Business Review Nov 10. Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/2011/how-nfts-create-value. Kallinikos, J., Aaltonen, A., Marton, A., 2013. The Ambivalent Ontology of Digital Artifacts. MIS Quarterly 37, 357-370. Kamin, D., 2021. Investors Snap Up Metaverse Real Estate in a Virtual Land Boom, New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/business/metaverse- real-estate.html 19 Kastrenakes, J., 2021. Beeple sold an NFT for $69 million, The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/11/22325054/beeple-christies-nft-sale-cost- everydays-69-million Lambert, T., Liebau, D., Roosenboom, P., 2021. Security token offerings. Small Business Economics, September 12, 1-27. Leising, M., 2021. NFTs Shift Power to Artists as the Music Business Evolves, Bloomberg. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-07/nfts-shift-power- to-artists-as-the-music-business-evolves Markus, M.L., Silver, M.S., 2008. A Foundation for the Study of IT Effects: A New Look at DeSanctis and Poole’s Concepts of Structural Features and Spirit. Journal of the Association for Information Systems 9, 609-632. Meier, L.M., Manzerolle, V.R., 2018. Rising tides? Data capture, platform accumulation, and new monopolies in the digital music economy. New Media & Society, 21(3), 543-561. Mendis, D., 2021. When you buy an NFT, you don’t completely own it – here’s why. The Conversation August 24. Available at: https://theconversation.com/when-you-buy-an- nft-you-dont-completely-own-it-heres-why-166445. Morozov, E., 2021a. Brian Eno on NFTs & Automaticism. The Crypto Syllabus. Available at: https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/brian-eno-on-nfts-and-automatism/ Morozov, E., 2021b. Francesca Bria on Decentralisation, Sovereignty, and Web3. The Crypto Syllabus. Available at: https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/francesca-bria-on- decentralisation/ Negus, K., 2018. From creator to data: the post-record music industry and the digital conglomerates. Media, Culture & Society 41, 367-384. Nofer, M., Gomber, P., Hinz, O., Schiereck, D., 2017. Blockchain. Business & Information Systems Engineering 59, 183-187. 20 Ozair, M., 2021. Not All NFTs Are Securities. CoinDesk Insights. Available at: https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/2011/2023/not-all-nfts-are-securities/. Pentland, B.T., Yoo, Y., Recker, J., Kim, I., 2021. From Lock-In to Transformation: A Path- Centric Theory of Emerging Technology an Organizing. Organization Science (forthcoming). Small, Z., 2021. As Auctioneers and Artists Rush Into NFTs, Many Collectors Stay Away. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/2004/2028/arts/design/nfts-art-collectors- copyright.html. von Briel, F., Davidsson, P., Recker, J., 2018. Digital technologies as external enablers of new venture creation in the IT hardware sector. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 42, 47-69. Wang, Q., Li, R., Wang, Q., Chen, S., 2021. Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Overview, Evaluation, Opportunities and Challenges. arXiv preprint. Cornell University. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.07447 Yli-Huumo, J., Ko, D., Choi, S., Park, S., Smolander, K., 2016. Where is current research on blockchain technology?—a systematic review. PloS one 11, e0163477. Zammuto, R.F., Griffith, T.L., Majchrzak, A., Dougherty, D.J., Faraj, S., 2007. Information Technology and the Changing Fabric of Organization. Organization Science 18, 749- 762.

Deposit and Record Details

ID Code:	265901
Depositing User:	Professor Dominic Chalmers
Datestamp:	28 Feb 2022 11:55
Last Modified:	25 May 2022 08:33
Date of acceptance:	18 February 2022
Date of first online publication:	26 February 2022
Date Deposited:	25 February 2022
Data Availability Statement:	No