The main objective of this research was to determine which stage of the buying process Blockchain can add value for the involved parties. In order to accomplish this, the buying process itself must to be defined (Malviya, 2017).

By defining the process including its stages, stakeholders can be categorized within these stages and when the classification is created, the characteristics of Blockchain are then described. These characteristics that influence both stakeholders and the buying process are formulated and stakeholders are questioned to offer insight on the factor ‘added value’ of Blockchain.

Field Research on Real Estate

To begin with, there werw Semi-structured interviews with real estate stakeholders and Blockchain experts. The first stage of the interviews focused on Blockchain experts, who offered insights into the technology’s possibilities and constraints as well as providing information to that shaped the research questions and a focus for the problem statement (Veuger, 2020). Finally, they became the base of answering the questions.
The interviews were unstructured to deliver a wider base of data input and information. At this level the interviewees talk about where they think Blockchain adds value to the buying process, to determine any misalignment between blockchain’s theoretical and practical usage. The interviewees met the following criteria:

• Involvement and Knowledge in various subjects of the research.
• Present function in the field consistent with the subjects of the research.
• Work experience consistent with subjects of the research.
•  Academic background corresponding to subjects of the research.
• The present organization of work consistent with the subjects of the research.

Research Question(s)

The main research question (RQ) was ‘In which stage of the buying process of commercial real estate can Blockchain provide added value for the stakeholders involved? Several sub-questions derived from RQ included the following:
SQ1: What are the features of Blockchain and to what scope do we apply Blockchain in the present situation?
SQ1.1. What are the opportunities and challenges of its implementation in the commercial real estate buying process?
SQ1.2. It’s application in the commercial real estate buying process?
SQ2: Where in this buying process can Blockchain add value for stakeholders involved in comparison with the present situation?

Research Strategy

To complete the research, different strategies would be utilized to acquire the needed data. Data collection will use two different methodologies including semi-structured interviews as well as literature research. The aim is for these types of data collections to create triangulation; the application of multiple data sources or methods in qualitative research to develop a full understanding of a phenomenon (Veuger, 2020). It also uses a qualitative research strategy to test validity using a convergence of data from diverse sources. There are four types of triangulation including data source triangulation, theory triangulation, investigator triangulation and method triangulation. This study used methodological triangulation, which involves using more than one strategy to gather data.

Results

SQ1: What are the features of Blockchain and to what scope does  Blockchain apply in the present situation?
SQ1.1: Lastly, what are the opportunities and challenges of its implementation in the commercial real estate buying process?

Additional Files