What is it about?
This article explores how values and culture are co-created in decentralized Web3 communities. Using a hybrid appreciative inquiry approach, it analyzes how contributors to a blockchain-based project articulated their “positive core”—the shared values and cultural strengths that motivate and sustain their work. It highlights how even in remote, asynchronous, and distributed settings, teams can build vibrant, values-driven cultures.
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Why is it important?
Web3 and blockchain-based organizations are often seen as chaotic, profit-driven, or lacking shared norms. This study challenges those assumptions by showing how contributors in a decentralized community centered values like curiosity, kindness, resilience, and inclusivity. It offers a different lens on what it means to lead, collaborate, and grow a mission-aligned organization in the absence of hierarchy, showing the potential for deeply human and ethical cultures in digital-first environments.
Perspectives
This work is deeply personal to me because it reflects both my lived experience and my professional passion for building more human-centered, values-driven organizations. I’ve spent my career at the intersection of leadership, technology, and psychology, and I believe the future of work depends on our ability to create cultures of authenticity, curiosity, and care—even (and especially) in digital, decentralized environments. As someone who works closely with distributed teams and open-source communities, I’ve seen how powerful it can be when groups organize around shared values rather than rigid hierarchies. This research gave me a way to honor those experiences while contributing to a growing understanding of leadership in the Web3 era.
Liz Sweigart
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Off the chain: An appreciative inquiry into the emerging culture and values of a new layer 1 blockchain organization, Business and Management Theory and Practice, January 2026, Asia Pacific Academy of Science Pte. Ltd.,
DOI: 10.54517/bmtp3851.
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