ABSTRACT
DAOs are a new form of organization that can shine a light on the conventional orthodoxies of organizing. There are now thousands of DAOs, which problematizes any attempt at identifying their generic attributes. Yet, notwithstanding this diversity, they all share a common belief in decentralization. This chapter categorizes DAOs into three types: infrastructural, financial, and creative, building on ethno-resonance. Using ethno-resonance, we extract an imaginary based on DAOs we call DAOism. DAOism involves a commitment to decentralization, skepticism towards hierarchies, and a common model of organizing. This common model of DAOist organizing we call the hash, bash, cash model of decentralized organization. We then describe how DAOs are governed, situating our discussion in the markets versus hierarchies literature that describes and analyzes alternative governance mechanisms. The chapter argues that DAOism provides a novel lens on ‘conventional’ modes of organizing and a collection of new practices that might have wider application and inspire different ways of thinking about democratic organization.
