FinTech versus banks : A war of distance ? (With Frederic Jouneau-Sion (Univ Lyon 2)).

Abstract: The emergence of remote services has reshaped many retail industries over the past two decades. Yet, despite early optimism, many online firms continue to struggle to achieve profitability, and numerous business models have fallen short of expectations. In the banking and financial sector, one possible explanation is that remote service provision still suffers from relatively low perceived reliability and reputation, as suggested by Foncel et al. (2011). This paper empirically assesses the relevance of this mechanism using firm-level data from the French banking sector. We adapt the original theoretical framework to this context and propose a structural econometric approach to quantify the impact of reputation and trust on the performance of fully remote banking services. Our results suggest that these services face persistent structural constraints, implying a long path toward sustainable profitability.

Codifying Trust: Formal Classification and Relational Hierarchy in Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (With Magali Chaudey (Univ Saint Etienne)).

Working paper — September 2026.

Abstract: Blockchain technology was designed to enable coordination without relying on trusted third parties. Yet blockchain-based organizations, known as decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), rely on formal classification mechanisms that translate participants' past behaviour into publicly observable levels of trust. We examine whether these formal trust classifications correspond to actors’ positions within DAO governance networks. We analyse three major decentralized finance DAOs that are MakerDAO, Aave, and Uniswap using data on 18,735 actors and social network analysis of governance interactions. We find that trust classification and network position are positively associated, but the two dimensions do not fully coincide. This association persists after accounting for participation volume, and the correspondence is more heterogeneous at the upper levels of the classification. At the highest level, promotion depends on staff judgment rather than behavioural criteria. The findings suggest that behavioural transparency and algorithmic classification do not eliminate the differences in actors’ relational positions. Rather, formal recognition and network position can develop alongside each other, creating forms of organizational standing that are not fully captured by formal classification.