Blockchain as a Driver for Business Model Innovation in the Automotive Industry

Today the Automotive industry is undergoing major technological changes inside the car but also around the car, in the Industry 4.0. Those modifications have a matching part with business landscape and with company's business model, providing great opportunities to be exploited. Blockchain is one of the most recent technological drivers of change. Firstly, it appeared under the financial guise as a mechanism that made possible the exchange of Bitcoin, after it evolved its application on an industrial level. Many car manufacturers are still trying to understand the potentiality of the technology inquiring blockchain provider, startups exploring the ground or important enterprises in the informatic sector, in order to co-create company's use cases. Academic literature speaking about blockchain industrial application is still scarce, even more when referring to luxury automotive industry. The objective of this dissertation is to explore the impacts of distributed ledger over the business model of established car makers, trying to understand which innovations are brought in the way of doing business. Focusing on the luxury car segment, managerial implications will be provided for analyzing blockchain influence over luxury drivers, having a relevant effect on business model innovation.