Introducing assets

We've seen how a business network is defined by the participants who operate within it. These participants are the active agents who perform meaningful interactions within the network, and it's their transactions that are of paramount importance. We now ask ourselves the question, What flows between participants? The answer: an asset!

Let's look at some asset examples. A student receives coursework from their tutor. The student shows their educational certificate to a university. A car dealer sells a car to a buyer. An insurance company insures that car for a policyholder, issuing a policy. A policyholder makes a claim. These examples all contain assets: coursework, education certificate, car, policy, and claim.

Assets flow between participants

We can see that assets are the objects that flow between participants. Participants have agency over assets, which in turn are passive. This aspect is fundamental to assets—they have...