A governance framework for blockchain-based manufacturing collaborative platform

The traditional manufacturing collaborative platforms (MCPs) face challenges of weak trust and innovation inhibition in the transformation and upgrading of the global industrial chain. This paper investigates the blockchain-based manufacturing collaborative platforms (BMCPs) as a potential solution. This paper first analyzes the ecological characteristics of MCPs and BMCPs, and puts forward six governance challenges caused by the unique openness, uncertainty and complexity of BMCPs. Then, in order to offer comprehensive and adaptable guidelines for BMCP governance practices, we propose a governance framework with three layers (off-chain community, on-chain DAO, and on-chain contracts) and five dimensions (roles, incentives, communication, decision-making, and value evolution). Finally, based on the value evolution characteristics of BMCPs, we investigate how to apply the proposed governance framework during the start-up and optimization stages of BMCPs. Using member expansion and fault management as two-stage examples, the paper uses a UML sequence diagram to demonstrate how the governance framework works. This study provides a theoretical framework and practical guidance for creating a more transparent, intelligent and sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.