His work is broadly centred about the study of the creation and use of new knowledge (i.e. technological change) and its institutional context as the core explanation of long run economic transformation. His work is highly interdisciplinary, extensively collaborative, mixed methods, and draws together several distinct themes about the dynamics of, and interaction between, technological, institutional and cultural change.

Potts has developed new methods and theories to explain long-run economic transformation and pioneered several new fields of analysis. These include network-theory based approaches to evolutionary economics (for which he won the 2000 Joseph A Schumpeter Prize); Cultural Science (jointly with John Hartley); behavioural innovation economics; the theory of ‘social network markets’, theory of the ‘innovation commons’; and recently ‘institutional cryptoeconomics’.

He has written 5 books and published over 80 articles on topics including growth theory, creative industries, economics of cities, innovation commons, and recently on crypto- economics and blockchain.

Potts is an editor of the Journal of Institutional Economics, Vice President of the International Joseph A Schumpeter Society, a Board Member of Australian Digital Commerce Association, and a Fellow of the British Blockchain Association. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Australian government’s National Blockchain Roadmap.