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Although various governance models exist, comparative research across dimensions remains limited, leaving the literature fragmented and offering little practical guidance for selecting suitable models. This article critically analyses existing governance mechanisms and their implementation to support the development of more effective DAO models. To address current gaps, we review prior quantitative studies and conduct exploratory data analysis on centralization, participation, and decision controversy. The findings show that reputation and share-based models can mitigate the centralization seen in token-based systems, though all models suffer from low member engagement, suggesting an over reliance on direct democracy. Our analysis can be replicated across platforms and time frames to refine and validate these insights.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1145\/3777416","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,18]],"date-time":"2025-11-18T15:39:26Z","timestamp":1763480366000},"page":"1-25","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["DAO Governance: Voting Power, Participation, and Controversy\u2014A Review and an Empirical Analysis"],"prefix":"10.1145","volume":"5","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-4915-9274","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Markus","family":"Jungnickel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computing, Imperial College of London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0908-2554","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ferda","family":"\u00d6zdemir S\u00f6nmez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and School of Computing and Engineering, University of West London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3117-9528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cathy","family":"Mulligan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computing, Imperial College of London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8490-1011","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"William J.","family":"Knottenbelt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"320","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbusres.2024.114672"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"Alex Rea Daniel Kronovet Aron Fischer and Jack du Rose. 2022. 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