Smart Contract Governance in Blockchain

This study investigates the application of smart contract-based blockchain technology in software development projects as a response to traditional governance deadlocks. Specifically, this study examines how system trust emerges as a new relational governance mechanism on Ethereum-based blockchain platforms, how it simultaneously addresses control and coordination challenges, and how it ultimately fosters more successful collaborations. Data were collected from 163 valid survey responses provided by Turkish IT professionals who self-identified as blockchain engineers. The findings reveal that integrity-based trust and capability-based trust jointly establish system trust, which, in turn, enhances collaborative success by strengthening the governance capacity of the platform. The results further show that blockchain governance not only curbs opportunistic behavior by dishonest providers but also enables the seamless integration of self-executing, collective decisions into transaction flows. In addition, blockchain platform governance supports the development of both operational-level capabilities (e.g., information processing) and strategic-level capabilities (e.g., adaptability, adjustment, and agility). This study is the first to operationalize the system trust scale through a formative linkage connecting decentralization and immutability (integrity-based trust) with transparency and traceability (capability-based trust). By integrating insights from information processing theory and the extended relational view, which encompasses both static and dynamic capability perspectives, this study advances the understanding of blockchain platform governance. It demonstrates that decentralized control, internal task alignment, and external adaptation function as complementary mechanisms and that system trust, as an information-based form of relational governance, enhances governance capacity and promotes more effective collaboration within blockchain-enabled ecosystems.