Blockchain technology (BT) is regarded as one of the most significant inventions of recent times, which has seen growing diffusion in various areas, including the regulation of transactions between collaborating entities. Extant research has mainly examined the technical aspects and the performance of BT and its role in managing cryptocurrency transactions, but has only marginally addressed BT applications in inter-organisational relationships (IORs).
Leveraging network theory, our work focuses on these applications. Evidence from different case studies shows that BT fosters the stability of IORs and that the relationship between BT and management control is partly mediated by the network mobilised through BT and its governance. More specifically, BT substitutes behaviour controls, complements output and input controls and, by means of the network activated through BT and the related governance arrangements, it fosters the development of social controls in IORs.
Our work provides initial insights for understanding the potentialities and control implications that BT has in business and institutional IORs, well beyond some of the purely technical functionalities normally ascribed to it.
Angelo Ditillo is an Associate Professor of Accounting and Control at SDA Bocconi School of Management.
Angelo teaches in the full time MBA program and has conducted numerous education projects with Novartis, ABB and UniCredit.
His research activities focus on business planning and control of private equity agreements, management control of creative and innovative organizations, inter-organizational control of private and public partnerships, modes of control in knowledge-intensive firms and, more recently, the digital transformation and management accounting revolution.
He is the author of numerous books and articles on his topics of interest. His work has been published in Accounting, Organizations and Society, the European Accounting Review, the Journal of Management Accounting Research, Management Accounting Research,the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, among others.
Angelo has won numerous teaching and research awards, including the Best Teaching Award in 2013, Best Teaching Innovation Award in 2018, the David Solomons Prize for the best paper published in 2012 in Management Accounting Research and the 2018 European Accounting Review Best Paper Prize in 2019.
Angelo serves on the editorial board of various journals, including the Journal of Management Accounting Research, Behavioral Research in Accounting and theJournal of International Accounting Research. He is a member of the European Accounting Association (EAA), where he also servers as a member of the External Relations Committee, of the American Accounting Association (AAA), and of the Research Advisory Board (CIMA).
Angelo earned an MSc in Business Administration from Università Bocconi and a PhD in Business Administration and Management from Università Bocconi. He has one child.
The seminar will be held in English.
Major information: Eleonora Monaco (e.monaco@unibo.it) e Paolo Ferri (p.ferri@unibo.it).