Heines, RogerRogerHeines2023-04-132023-04-132023-02-20https://www.alexandria.unisg.ch/handle/20.500.14171/107717Distributed ledger technology enables a new way to record transactions and thus fundamentally changes how ownership of digital objects can be managed in the future. In addition to various innovative application areas, the concept of tokenization has emerged in recent years, where any type of asset or contractual right can be digitally represented on a distributed ledger in the form of a token. Once this reference is established, the issuance, transfer, and storage of tokens on such decentralized platforms offers not only the opportunity for increased operational efficiencies but also for new innovative services. Especially in the financial industry, the interest in the tokenization of bankable assets is growing. However, little is empirically known about this concept, its benefits, and its realization. Further, it can be stated that previous research solely focuses on technological or conceptual problems and that an integrative perspective on this phenomenon has been neglected so far. While companies are encouraged to establish unique business models around technological innovation, a blueprint with insights into applicability, design, and implementation is required. This dissertation addresses this gap by providing a first reference point to enable business model innovation for asset tokenization in the financial services sector. In particular, a frame of reference with three respective artifacts was developed to determine the business potential of tokenization, enable the design of its value architecture, and highlight guiding principles for its successful implementation. The work follows a design-oriented paradigm in terms of design science research and aims at a scientifically sound foundation for practice and academia. While asset tokenization may disrupt our economic system leading to more efficiency and accessibility, this research provides strategic guidance in a token economy and may accelerate the development of viable use cases and business models in the future.enBlockchainDistributed Ledger TechnologieToken-economy-systemEDIS-5282Digital AssetsTokenizationToken Economydoctoral thesis