This study aims to examine how heterogeneous stakeholder groups within the Brazilian non-fungible tokens (NFT) visual arts ecosystem prioritize acquisition criteria and evaluate market alternatives.
The study applies a quantitative multi-criteria decision-making approach to data from 128 participants grouped into artists/creators, designers/creative entrepreneurs, collectors/investors, and analysts/intermediaries. The criteria weights are derived using the method based on the removal effects of criteria, and five NFT-related alternatives are ranked using 11 compensatory multi-criteria decision-making techniques. Ranking robustness was assessed through stability and rank correlation analyses.
The results indicate stakeholder-sensitive decision patterns rather than sharply separated evaluative structures. NFT auctions have emerged as the dominant alternative for creative and analytical actors, whereas crowdfunding-based NFT projects are consistently preferred by collectors and investors. Criterion importance varies moderately among stakeholder groups, whereas alternative rankings exhibit greater stability across several aggregation methods.
The findings provide actionable insights for artists, platform managers, investors, and policymakers by demonstrating how different stakeholder groups evaluate NFT acquisition mechanisms. Understanding these differentiated decision patterns can support more targeted platform design, governance structures, and strategic positioning in NFT-based markets.
This study highlights the importance of transparency, security, and stakeholder-sensitive governance in NFT-based creative ecosystems, particularly in emerging markets where digital assets remain institutionally unstable.
This study integrates institutional logics, digital innovation ecosystems, and multi-criteria decision-making to analyze NFT-related decisions from a multi-stakeholder perspective. It shows how NFT governance mechanisms and platform strategies can be aligned with different stakeholder priorities.
