Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Purpose: This paper investigates the way in which blockchain technology is likely to influence future supply chain practices and policies. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of both academic and practitioner literature was conducted. Multiple accounts of blockchain adoption within industry were also consulted to gain further insight. Findings: While blockchain technologies remain in their infancy, they are gaining momentum within supply chains, trust being the predominant factor driving their adoption. The value of such technologies for supply chain management lies in four areas: extended visibility and traceability, supply chain digitalisation and disintermediation, improved data security and smart contracts. Several challenges and gaps in understanding and opportunities for further research are identified by our research. How a blockchain enabled supply chain should be configured has also been explored from a design perspective. Research limitations/implications: Our systematic review focuses on the diffusion of blockchain technology within supply chains and great care was taken in selecting search terms. However, we acknowledge that our choice of terms may have excluded certain blockchain articles from this review. Practical implications: This paper offers valuable insight for supply-chain practitioners into how blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt existing supply chain provisions as well as a number of challenges to its successful diffusion. Originality/value: Ours is one of the first studies to examine the current state of blockchain diffusion within supply chains. It lays a firm foundation for future research. Keywords: blockchain, distributed ledger technology, supply chain management, peer-to-peer communication, systematic literature revie

Integrating Innovation Diffusion Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model: The adoption of blockchain technology from business managers’ perspective

Financial technology (FinTech) is the new business model and technology which aims to compete with traditional financial services and blockchain is one of most famous technology use of FinTech. Blockchain is a type of distributed, electronic database (ledger) which can hold any information (e.g. records, events, transactions) and can set rules on how this information is updated. The most well-known application of blockchain is bitcoin, which is a kind of cryptocurrencies. But it can also be used in many other financial and commercial applications. A prominent example is smart contracts, for instance as offered in Ethereum. A contract can execute a transfer when certain events happen, such as payment of a security deposit, while the correct execution is enforced by the consensus protocol. The purpose of this paper is to explore the research and application landscape of blockchain technology acceptance by following a more comprehensive approach to address blockchain technology adoption. This research is to propose a unified model integrating Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) model and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate continuance intention to adopt blockchain technology

Blockchain Technology Adoption Status and Strategies

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the acceptance and future use of blockchain technology. Given the rapid technological changes, this paper focuses on a managerial overview and framework of how the blockchain, including its implementations such as Bitcoin have advanced and how blockchain can be utilized in large-scale, enterprise environments. The paper begins with a technological overview that covers the history of the technology, as well as describing the computational, cryptographic theory that serves as the basis for its notable security features. This paper also covers several key application areas such as finance, accounting, and marketplaces where blockchain technology is seeing major investments from some of the world’s largest organizations. Analysis Methods: Triangulation is utilized for this paper, which combines multiple methodologies, such as qualitative and quantitative methods, as complementary components for improving research study accuracy. The triangulation methods chosen for this paper include a secondary data environment analysis, a text analysis, and financial analysis in order to successfully manage and review the adoption diffusion of innovative technologies like blockchain. The blockchain stands to disrupt many areas of society with the proper application and thus it is important to examine its use with as many viewpoints as possible. Contributions and Conclusion: The contribution this paper describes the potential drivers and drawbacks of blockchain technology in real world applications and highlights the managerial implications of its use. This paper also expands the theoretical contributions for identifying blockchain technology progress on the diffusion of innovation curve. As it stands, the blockchain is within the innovation stage in terms of its application in multi-national enterprises, but with major firms making investments, the blockchain could see growing normalization and acceptance, and at an inflection point akin to the Internet of the 1990s

Trust-Building Framework for Blockchain Technology Adoption: The Moderating Role of Quality Practices

This paper presents a conceptual framework to explore the effect of trust in determining the adoption intention of blockchain technology in organizations. To strengthen the arguments on the role of trust in the adoption of blockchain technology, a research model grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory and the trust-building framework is proposed based on a review of an extensive literature. This study will be conducted using an online survey questionnaire. The study findings are expected to support businesses, industry practitioners and the policymakers in gaining insights into the role of trust and utilizing it to promote the adoption of blockchain technology among organizations. From the theoretical side, this study will contribute to the IS body of knowledge on trust determinants and blockchain technology adoption. On the practical side, this study provides insight for public policy makers and organizations to understand key factors affecting blockchain technology adoption

Are we contributing? The who, when, where, and what of the Blockchain Research Landscape

The blockchain technology discourse is diverse, and diffusion is increasing. It is estimated that USD39 billion will be spent within the blockchain ecosystem by 2025. One can view this as an exciting time to be involved in technology. Or another can potentially view this as wasteful spending and exploitation of scarce resources. Additionally, projects and start-ups fail at an alarming rate, making it critical to provide tools to aid decision-makers. Current blockchain research has not yet answered what blockchain is nor what situations it is best suited to. This paper problematises the current discourse on blockchain technology through a systematic literature review using bibliometric techniques. We present blockchain research on who, when, where, and what. This research also extends the multi-discipline discourse by synthesising how blockchain technology is enacted. We present a benchmarking tool for assessing solutions. Further research topics are also presented

Will blockchain emerge as a tool to break the poverty chain in the Global South?

Just like its recent predecessors, blockchain – also known as the distributed ledger technology – is considered to have the potential to cause major economic, political and social transformations in the Global South. The visible effects of this technology are already being noted there. We present early evidence linking the use of blockchain in overcoming some economic, social and political challenges facing the Global South. The article highlights the key applications and uses of blockchain in developing countries. It demonstrates how blockchain can help promote transparency, build trust and reputation, and enhance efficiency in transactions. The article looks at opportunities and key triggers for blockchain diffusion in these countries. It also delves into challenges and obstacles that developing economies are likely to encounter in the use of blockchain

EXPLORING TECHNOLOGY TRUST IN BITCOIN: THE BLOCKCHAIN EXEMPLAR

The acceptance of Bitcoin as an electronic currency is steadily on the rise. This implies there is a surge in the diffusion and adoption of the blockchain technology introduced by Bitcoin as well. Moreover, the potential of this novel disruptive technology has been acknowledged by academic researchers and practitioners alike. IS research has shown that trust is a significant antecedent enabling the adoption of a novel technology and attenuating the apprehensions of risk and uncertainty among consumers. Trust in a technology is formed by the trusting beliefs of a trustor regarding the trustworthiness of the IT artifact. The blockchain technology, the trustee, has features like cryptography, decentralization, hash functions, digital signature, consensus mechanism, which embody trust in the technology. We present an extensive description of Bitcoin as an instantiation of the blockchain technology, while offering a detailed account of the literature on trust in a technology. We conceptually present, through the use of knowledge mapping, how blockchain ensures trust in the technology. We propose future research directions for trust research in the blockchain context and urge IS academics to explore trust in this novel context

Preparing for Blockchain Technology in the Energy Industry: How Energy Sector Leaders Can Make Informed Decisions During the Blockchain Adoption Process

This research was motivated by the lack of literature about the constructs influencing the decision to adopt blockchain technology. This paper contributes to the knowledge by integrating common adoption and diffusion theories with a 2017 framework for blockchain adoption. This paper brings together competing adoption models with different sets of technology acceptance determinants and proposes a new model to identify constructs (i.e., ease of understanding, perceived usefulness, the perceived ease of use, knowledge acquisition, self-efficacy, and the novelty and complexity of the new technology application) as essential determinants of blockchain technology adoption at individual and organizational levels. The study offers a new model and research agenda to help executives and managers prepare for blockchain adoption and make informed decisions to speed up the adoption process. This research is focused on energy companies, which are known to be slow to adopt new technologies