How emerging technologies transform governance and market practices through disintermediation

This dissertation investigates how emerging technologies such as blockchain disintermediate traditional gatekeepers, thereby transforming governance and market dynamics. Across three essays, I examine how disintermediation reshapes organizational resilience, market access, and participatory governance in blockchain-based systems. The first essay finds that DAOs with more concentrated token ownership are better able to recover from cyberattacks, suggesting that certain forms of centralization can strengthen collective resilience. The second essay reveals that while NFT art platforms eliminate traditional curators, underrepresented artists still face valuation disparities, yet strategic self-curation can partially reduce these gaps. The third essay explores how the structure and content of DAO forum discussions shape voter turnout, showing that reasoned, inclusive discourse increases participation. Together, the essays argue that disintermediation alone does not guarantee equity or efficiency; rather, the quality of coordination, communication, and curation in decentralized settings becomes crucial. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of community governance and market transformation in the age of decentralized technologies.

Author dc:creator

• Yang, Seonkyung

• blockchain
• community governance
• decentralization
• decentralized autonomous organizations
• non-fungible tokens
• organization

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/277412

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:conservancy.umn.edu:11299/277412