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| Type | Master's Thesis |
| Scope | Discipline-based scholarship |
| Title | Deferral - High-Volume Decentralized Blockchain-Based Referral Systems |
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| Institution | University of Zurich |
| Faculty | Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics |
| Date | 2023 |
| Abstract Text | The rise of digital marketing has holistically reshaped and influenced many aspects of the marketing field and is characterized by modern technologies. During the process, existing disciplines, such as referral marketing, have been transformed to employ large automated systems dealing with high volumes of users and data representing the marketing interests of companies across diverse industries. However, most of these systems rely on centralized architectures and thus miss out on potential advantages a decentralized approach could bring. Decentralized referral systems could provide trust and transparency and tackle known issues such as complex and expensive payout processes of referral rewards. This thesis aims to investigate and evaluate the feasibility of a high-volume decentralized referral system. The main requirements of such a system are defined in the current context, and its solution architecture is outlined. Thereby, multiple blockchain-based solution designs are developed to compare and showcase decentralized referral systems with varying complexities. The different solution prototypes are implemented as smart contracts. The smart contracts are tested and analyzed concerning their costs and performance in exemplary evaluations involving high volumes of participating users. In the best-case scenario, the final Deferral solution, including several tested and evaluated smart contracts, can serve as a framework for designing and implementing blockchain-based decentralized referral systems. Conclusively, the examination of the generated results confirms the feasibility of a high-volume decentralized and blockchain-based referral system from a technical point of view. Furthermore, the challenges of implementing and operating such a system in a real-world environment, including the interdependence of the technical and conceptual or economical design, are discussed. Finally, the implications of varying degrees of decentralization among the different components of the Deferral solution are reviewed. |
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