Platform-specific digital tokens are becoming increasingly common with the proliferation of initial coin offerings (ICOs). In addition to a novel financing mechanism, such tokens can help address the coordination problem that is common in network adoption. We develop a model to investigate the...

A small but burgeoning literature tries to assess whether Metcalfe's law provides a realistic yardstick for the value of specific types of networks. This paper uncovers a number of flaws in the extant tests. Specifically, I point out that a proper test of Metcalfe's law – or of any of the...

Selecting among alternative projects is a core management task in all innovating organizations. In this paper, we focus on the evaluation of frontier scientific research projects. We argue that the intellectual distance between the knowledge embodied in research proposals and an evaluator's own...

The recent phase of globalization has witnessed increasing influence of Asian countries in the global economy. This is supported by the rise of Asian firms and their increasing presence in economic activities across the globe through innovations in manufacturing. This paper attempts to trace the...

The advent of telegraphy shifted news gathering from the public postal system to a private network dominated by telegraph companies and wire services, a nearly simultaneous revolution in journalism's technology and political economy. Postal news gathering had been open to all newspapers with few...

This paper examines the results of a survey carried out in 2007 by the Bank of Italy concerning different characteristics of the organization of lending activities. Between 2003 and 2006 the physical distance between the headquarters and the branches increased, the limits to the decision-making...

We investigate the stability of cooperative relationships between inventors and consequences for the characteristics and patent productivity of the respective regional innovation systems (RIS). The empirical analysis is for nine German regions over a period of 15 years. We find a rather high...

Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 is both puzzling and inspiring. High volatility of its price is challenges financial analysts as well as scholars. We look at the incentive mechanisms that make Bitcoin work, and we discuss current and potential uses of Bitcoin and technologies inspired...

The technology behind blockchain has attracted a lot of attention. However, this technology is for the most part not well understood. There is no consensus on what benefits it may bring or on how it may fail. A careful look into the technology finds that most of the proposed benefits of so...