To blockchain or not to blockchain? An exploration into the possible application of blockchain technology by auction houses.

The present study examines whether auction houses will adopt blockchain technology and what are the factors that may influence the intention of adopting such technology. The potential use of blockchain technology in the art market has recently become a trending topic. Nonetheless, it is hard to understand what will be the future developments of this technology in the art market and which of the traditional intermediaries will make use of the technology. A few auction houses integrated the technology in their auctions to sell digital artworks, while other have not yet used the technology. Adopting the technology may be important to afce the growing competition posed by online platforms that utilise blockchain technology to sell artworks online, This research will try to assess if auction houses are prompt to adopt blockchain technology, what are the main determinants that could influence their decision to integrate the technology and how the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to change their opinion on the possibility of using blockchain technology. By using the Technology Organization Environment framework (TOE) the research will try to individuate the main determinants that influence auction houses in their decision to apply blockchain technology. Then, it will investigate the perception of auction houses towards a possible application of the technology if the Covid 19 pandemic had not occurred. The data is gathered through a questionnaire that was sent to auction houses around Europe. The conclusions that this research is able to make are that auction houses are likely to adopt blockchain technology if they have knowledge of blockchain technology and of its potential applications in the art market, Moreover they are more likely to embrace the technology if they recognise the perceived benefits that the technology could provide if used and if they believe their auction house to be economically and structurally ready to adopt this kind of technology. On the other hand, the perceived complexity of blockchain technology influences negatively the intention of applying it. The research was also able to conclude that the Covid 19 pandemic had a positive impact on the willingness to explore the potential application of blockchain technology into auction houses.