Blockchain Still Only a Niche Technology
ResearchOnly Few Companies from the DACH Region Use Blockchain Technology
Companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (so-called DACH region) barely use blockchain applications, with less than one per cent of them actively using them. Companies from the financial industry, the information and communications sector and consulting firms are among those using blockchain technology more frequently than average. So-called blockchain clusters are forming mainly in the major financial centres. These are the findings of a study by the Technical University of Munich, the University of Mannheim and ZEW Mannheim, based on an analysis of the websites of around 1.4 million companies from the DACH region using deep learning methods.
“Our results show that blockchain is used by less than one per cent of all companies analysed. This means that it remains a niche technology even 15 years after its introduction, although the financial sector as well as ICT and consulting companies do use blockchain in some areas,” says Professor Hanna Hottenrott, head of ZEW’s “Economics of Innovation and Industrial Dynamics” Unit and co-author of the study.
Clusters help to promote blockchain
The formation of blockchain clusters in financial centres has several advantages. Firstly, the proximity to other companies working on similar technologies facilitates the exchange of knowledge and resources, making cooperation more likely. The short distance to potential customers also plays an important role. “This also explains why newly founded blockchain start-ups prefer to locate near companies and institutions from the financial industry that are already using the new blockchain database technology or have a high probability of doing so in the near future,” explains Christoph Gschnaidtner, co-author of the study and researcher at the Technical University of Munich. In addition, proximity to financial centres can facilitate access to capital and investments. “Overall, blockchain clusters help to promote the spread of blockchain technology by creating an environment that fosters innovation, collaboration and growth in this field,” explains ZEW innovation expert Hanna Hottenrott.
Web analysis using deep learning
The data was collected by analysing text content on the official websites of companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The researchers used a sample of almost 1.4 million companies from the ORBIS database. Text passages on the websites were then searched for predefined and blockchain-related keywords. A natural language processing (NLP) model was then trained using deep learning techniques to understand the context in which these keywords are mentioned on the websites. In this way, it was possible to identify the exact use of blockchain technology and gain insights into the spread of the technology. This innovative approach is particularly suitable for new digital technologies such as blockchain, which are difficult to capture using conventional innovation research methods.
