iRC Student Spotlight on Fatemeh Delkhosh, Ph.D. Student

Fatemeh Delkhosh is a Ph.D. Student in the Haskayne School of Business studying economics of Information Systems (IS). Her first exposure to IS studies came in a graduate course during her Master of Engineering program at Iran University of Science and Technology where she also completed her undergraduate program in engineering. The optional course was about game theory, and it sparked an interest in platforms, business models, and other IS theory. After graduation Delkhosh worked as a production planning expert engineer in Iran for over a year before deciding to apply to the University of Calgary.

Starting the Ph.D. program in the Haskayne School of Business presented an opportunity to pursue the type of research Delkhosh had been looking for, “I’m interested in studying the economics of IS in general and particularly in studying the economics of platforms and platforms that are powered by blockchain technology.”

Delkhosh is currently researching the economics of blockchain-based social media platforms with a focus on incentivization, tokenization, and online communities. Her dissertation has three main chapters. In the first chapter, she investigates the impact of bot involvement in incentivized blockchain-based social media platforms where users are paid in cryptocurrency.

Delkhosh looks at how the use of cryptocurrency incentives by the platform Steemit “changes the role that bots play compared to traditional social media platforms, and how bot involvement and changes in the financial reward affect users’ engagement in this platform.” Delkhosh continues, “In social media platforms like Facebook and X (previously Twitter) the purpose of bots is usually to help spread information to large audiences but in my case the bots have financial incentives for increasing post visibility.”

In 2023, Delkhosh co-authored research about the topic in Fatemeh Delkhosh, Ram D. Gopal, Raymond A. Patterson, & Niam Yaraghi (2023) Impact of Bot Involvement in an Incentivized Blockchain-Based Online Social Media Platform, Journal of Management Information Systems, 40:3, 778-806, DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2023.2229124.

The second chapter investigates how cryptocurrency and blockchains are used in gaming applications to increase engagement through differing ‘dual’ and ‘single’ token (cryptocurrency) economies. “The success of the platform is closely tied to how its token economy is structured. Over time, two distinct approaches to token economies have surfaced. I want to know how these gaming platforms should design their token economy to optimize gamer engagement and platform growth.”, states Delkhosh.

The research applies to dual token games like Axie Infinity and to single token games like The Sandbox. A platform owner must make a strategic decision between investment and services, Delkhosh uses both analytical and empirical methodologies to determine the optimal choice. In comparison, findings show a trade-off scenario.

“I found that under the dual token economy, the risk that users incur from token volatility is lower. In the single token economy, because users and investors are holding the same type of token the rate of return is better.”

As the final chapter of her dissertation, Delkhosh is studying the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces where blockchain technology is used to document ownership of digital assets, like digital artwork, and where digital assets can be bought and sold. Delkhosh explains the appeal of the NFT marketplace for creators, “In traditional markets, an asset may be copied but in a digital market, they can generate an NFT for that art piece, so everyone knows who the owner and original artist are. Each digital item is unique and has a clear ownership history.”

However, there are currently issues regarding the ability of users to include royalties in sales, “The artist can generate revenue from two sources: one from selling the product directly and another source of revenue comes from royalties from future transactions. I'm interested in studying the management and design of these royalties in NFT marketplaces.”

SUSTAINABILTY AWARD

In 2023 Delkhosh won the Paramount Resources Ltd Graduate Scholarship which is awarded to students who are studying how to “grow business in a profitable, responsible and sustainable manner.” Studying blockchain technology allows Delkhosh to understand what conditions maintain a profitable and financially sustainable platform. Essentially, Delkhosh wants her research to show whether blockchain technology adds value to different types of platforms or not.

“Adoption of blockchain technology is very expensive, so having a platform with high user adoption is essential, and this cannot happen without having a well-designed and sustainable platform. In my research, I'm trying to understand how these blockchain-based platforms in different applications should be designed to have high user engagement, continuous user engagement, and platform growth, which leads to a profitable and sustainable platform. And as blockchain technology becomes more prevalent, there will be an increasing need for clear policies and regulations”.

HASKAYNE GROW CIRCLE

In Fall 2023, Delkhosh and 4^th year Finance Ph.D. student Moty Morvvej, who is also studying blockchain technology, decided that they needed to know more about what their Ph.D. colleagues were working on to be better informed of their own topics. Together they applied for an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Multidisciplinary Graduate Students Association Quality Money Project grant. The grant money was for an initiative called Haskayne Grow Circle, encouraging student interaction through bi-weekly group meetings across all Haskayne School of Business disciplines.

“We talk about our research, new tools, and interesting things we have found. Because most Ph.D. students are working on interdisciplinary research, we needed a group where students could talk to and help each other.”

The meetings have resulted in interesting collaborations and have even influenced Delkhosh’s own research, “My own research papers are at the intersection of Information Systems and the Finance, and meetings like this allowed me to get help from Ph.D. students who are experts in Finance who have been exposed to a broader range of Finance-related concepts, methodologies, and resources to help. I believe Haskayne Grow Circle can be even more helpful for our Ph.D. colleagues as it provides an outlet for regular and more structured meetings.”

Fatemeh Delkhosh is currently set to complete her program of study by August 2024.