Cryptocurrencies: A controversial innovation perspective

Keywords: Economic geography, controversial innovation, blockchain, cryptocurrency
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

In this paper, we address crypto & blockchain technologies from the conceptual perspective of controversial innovation (Glückler, 2014). We define innovation as controversial whenever it meets resistance that is expressed in persistent and antagonistic discussion of converging issues. Based on the observation that especially controversial innovation can serve as a springboard for breakthrough innovation and radical change, we draw on the case of cryptocurrencies to theorize mechanisms that help innovation succeed in the face of strong resistance. As “[c]ontroversies display the social in its most dynamic form” (Venturini, 2010, p. 261) and cryptocurrencies nowadays are one of the most contested applications of blockchain technology, we first review and oppose the current positions of the controversy in cryptocurrencies. We, then, elaborate on a research agenda, in which economic geography may help to understand and unlock controversial innovation from its niche to enter and transform the existing sociotechnical system (Geels et al., 2017; Köhler et al., 2019).