Governance beyond technology: Trust as a critical moderator in microenterprise asset tokenization success

This study investigated how trust moderates the relationship between asset tokenization and liquidity access among 59 microenterprises in Barranquilla and Cartagena, Colombia. Through hierarchical regression, quantile regression, and latent profile analysis, the research found that while tokenization improved liquidity access, this effect depended critically on trust in decentralized platforms, particularly governance trust. Microenterprises with high technical trust but low governance trust showed substantially limited liquidity benefits despite active tokenization implementation. This effect was strongest for financially constrained businesses (β = 0.42 at 25th liquidity percentile vs. β = 0.19 at 75th percentile). Four distinct enterprise profiles were identified, with “Comprehensive Trust Adopters” achieving superior outcomes compared to “Technical Trust Dominant” enterprises despite similar implementation levels. The findings suggest successful tokenization requires attention to both technical implementation and governance trust development, especially in contexts with limited traditional financing options.