Factors driving enterprise adoption of blockchain technology

Amidst the rapidly evolving advancement of blockchain technology (BT), enterprises face notable challenges in leveraging its transformative potential, starting with a need to understand the technology and how it can be used for particular applications. Two challenges are that many BT trials have not been successful and large-scale implementations that have led to continued use are scarce. This research provides a comprehensive examination of factors that drive the successful adoption of BT for enterprise use cases. A dual-phased approach was employed. First, I introduce a taxonomy matrix correlating BT design characteristics with use case characteristics, offering a framework for BT design and benefits across different enterprise contexts. Second, I conducted case studies of five successful BT cases in large enterprises that led to the adoption in terms of continued use and contrasted them with one failure case. The data collection and analysis of the case studies encompassed technological, organizational, environmental, and inter-organizational variables that led to BT\u27s continued use. The cross-case analysis revealed that compatibility, relative advantage, and observability are primary technological factors contributing to continued use. Within the organizational dimension, organizational knowledge and internal characteristics emerged as crucial elements, while regulatory compliance came out to be a significant factor. Based on the cross-case analysis, I develop theoretical propositions about the factors that lead to the continued use of BT, which can be further validated and tested in future research

A Survey of Layer-Two Blockchain Protocols

After the success of the Bitcoin blockchain, came several cryptocurrencies and blockchain solutions in the last decade. Nonetheless, Blockchain-based systems still suffer from low transaction rates and high transaction processing latencies, which hinder blockchains' scalability. An entire class of solutions, called Layer-1 scalability solutions, have attempted to incrementally improve such limitations by adding/modifying fundamental blockchain attributes. Recently, a completely different class of works, called Layer-2 protocols, have emerged to tackle the blockchain scalability issues using unconventional approaches. Layer-2 protocols improve transaction processing rates, periods, and fees by minimizing the use of underlying slow and costly blockchains. In fact, the main chain acts just as an instrument for trust establishment and dispute resolution among Layer-2 participants, where only a few transactions are dispatched to the main chain. Thus, Layer-2 blockchain protocols have the potential to transform the domain. However, rapid and discrete developments have resulted in diverse branches of Layer-2 protocols. In this work, we systematically create a broad taxonomy of such protocols and implementations. We discuss each Layer-2 protocol class in detail and also elucidate their respective approaches, salient features, requirements, etc. Moreover, we outline the issues related to these protocols along with a comparative discussion. Our thorough study will help further systematize the knowledge dispersed in the domain and help the readers to better understand the field of Layer-2 protocols.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

User acceptance of non-fungible tokens in the fashion industry: an extended technological acceptance model

This research aims at investigating factors influencing user acceptance of NFTs within the fashion industry based on the extended Technological Acceptance Model. Furthermore, consumer perception of fashion NFTs is explored. The study uses a quantitative research method using an online questionnaire with a semantic differential scale. Based on 203 responses it was found that social norm, self-efficacy, perceived curiosity, and perceived pleasure are positively impacting perceived usefulness and ease of use, which in turn are positively influencing attitude towards technology and the consumer intention of interacting with fashion NFTs and value perception reflecting a negative influence on behavior intention

Blockchains for Islamic finance: Obstacles & Challenges

This paper focuses on analyzing the innovative technology “Blockchain” and the potential of blockchain-based applications for Islamic finance. The main objectives were to define how blockchain can change the Islamic finance industry. The paper discussed the various interesting applications of blockchain in Islamic finance that can bring different benefits. The paper also shed light on the challenges facing Applying Blockchains for Islamic finance

Blockchains for Islamic finance: Obstacles & Challenges

This paper focuses on analyzing the innovative technology “Blockchain” and the potential of blockchain-based applications for Islamic finance. The main objectives were to define how blockchain can change the Islamic finance industry. The paper discussed the various interesting applications of blockchain in Islamic finance that can bring different benefits. The paper also shed light on the challenges facing Applying Blockchains for Islamic finance

The Penetration of Internet of Things in Robotics: Towards a Web of Robotic Things

As the Internet of Things (IoT) penetrates different domains and application areas, it has recently entered also the world of robotics. Robotics constitutes a modern and fast-evolving technology, increasingly being used in industrial, commercial and domestic settings. IoT, together with the Web of Things (WoT) could provide many benefits to robotic systems. Some of the benefits of IoT in robotics have been discussed in related work. This paper moves one step further, studying the actual current use of IoT in robotics, through various real-world examples encountered through a bibliographic research. The paper also examines the potential ofWoT, together with robotic systems, investigating which concepts, characteristics, architectures, hardware, software and communication methods of IoT are used in existing robotic systems, which sensors and actions are incorporated in IoT-based robots, as well as in which application areas. Finally, the current application of WoT in robotics is examined and discussed

FinBook: literary content as digital commodity

This short essay explains the significance of the FinBook intervention, and invites the reader to participate. We have associated each chapter within this book with a financial robot (FinBot), and created a market whereby book content will be traded with financial securities. As human labour increasingly consists of unstable and uncertain work practices and as algorithms replace people on the virtual trading floors of the worlds markets, we see members of society taking advantage of FinBots to invest and make extra funds. Bots of all kinds are making financial decisions for us, searching online on our behalf to help us invest, to consume products and services. Our contribution to this compilation is to turn the collection of chapters in this book into a dynamic investment portfolio, and thereby play out what might happen to the process of buying and consuming literature in the not-so-distant future. By attaching identities (through QR codes) to each chapter, we create a market in which the chapter can ‘perform’. Our FinBots will trade based on features extracted from the authors’ words in this book: the political, ethical and cultural values embedded in the work, and the extent to which the FinBots share authors’ concerns; and the performance of chapters amongst those human and non-human actors that make up the market, and readership. In short, the FinBook model turns our work and the work of our co-authors into an investment portfolio, mediated by the market and the attention of readers. By creating a digital economy specifically around the content of online texts, our chapter and the FinBook platform aims to challenge the reader to consider how their personal values align them with individual articles, and how these become contested as they perform different value judgements about the financial performance of each chapter and the book as a whole. At the same time, by introducing ‘autonomous’ trading bots, we also explore the different ‘network’ affordances that differ between paper based books that’s scarcity is developed through analogue form, and digital forms of books whose uniqueness is reached through encryption. We thereby speak to wider questions about the conditions of an aggressive market in which algorithms subject cultural and intellectual items – books – to economic parameters, and the increasing ubiquity of data bots as actors in our social, political, economic and cultural lives. We understand that our marketization of literature may be an uncomfortable juxtaposition against the conventionally-imagined way a book is created, enjoyed and shared: it is intended to be

Scanning the European Ecosystem of Distributed Ledger Technologies for Social and Public Good: What, Why, Where, How, and Ways to Move Forward

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), such as blockchains, are primarily tamper-resistant and time-stamped databases. They allow multiple parties to record, verify and share data on a peer-to-peer basis across a network, in decentralised, synchronised and transparent ways, with limited human intervention and reduced intermediate steps. These technologies are mostly known for business use cases, from cryptocurrencies to asset track and tracing. But there are numerous organisations nowadays searching for alternative ways to harness the potential of DLTs in the pursuit of public and social good, from local to global challenges, and towards more inclusive, cooperative, sustainable, ethical or accountable digital and physical worlds. This Science for Policy report explores the current status of this particular field both theoretically and empirically, in the framework of the project #DLT4Good: Co-creating a European Ecosystem of DLTs for Social and Public Good. Part One offers a conceptual overview of the connections between main features of DLTs and their potential for social and public good goals. Emphasis is placed on different approaches to decentralisation, and on core building blocks of DLTs linked with values such as trust, privacy, self-sovereignty, autonomy, inclusiveness, transparency, openness, or the commons. Part Two comprises a scanning of the current European ecosystem of DLT projects with activities in this field. It contains a summarized version of a database published online with 131 projects, and a quantitative review of main trends. It also includes a qualitative assessment of 10 projects selected from the larger sample to showcase this field and its diversity. Part Three concludes with six independent position papers and recommendations from experts and advisors of the #DLT4Good project. The main topics addressed range from decentralized governance to collaborative economies, with highlights on issues such as trust, verifiability, transparency, privacy or bottom-up coordination

Web3 Ticket

he present work aims to make the transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 in the ticket selling market. For this purpose, the use of Blockchain technology to implement the system in question is justified, based on transparency, security, reduced costs, and traceability, advantages that are taken into account when developing the system. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) will have a strong role in the task of defining the concept of the project because it is the element that bridges the gap between the traditional and the decentralized market, as they have similarities with tickets, such as uniqueness, for allowing verification of identity and for guaranteeing to belong to an individual. Research is also made of current knowledge about blockchain, of projects carried out in the artistic area that took advantage of this technology, of the problems that can be encountered in terms of security, and the justification for choosing one blockchain among others. Finally, the added value that the project has in the market in which it fits is demonstrated, through analytical processes to support decision-making, and the planning of experimentation of the developed solution is carried out, following strategies of experiments and tests with the target audiences. The project can be considered a success, thanks to the successful development and imple mentation of the key requirements, as well as the positive evaluation provided by the users who tested the applicationO presente trabalho tem como objetivo fazer a transição da Web 2.0 em Web 3.0 no mercado da venda de bilhetes. Para o efeito é justificada a utilização da tecnologia Blockchain para implementar o sistema em causa, tendo como base a transparência, a segurança, os custos reduzidos e a rastreabilidade, vantagens que são tidas em conta ao desenvolver o sistema. Os Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) terão um forte paper na definição do conceito do projeto porque é o elemento que faz a ponte entre o mercado tradicional e o descentralizado, por terem semelhanças com bilhetes, passes VIP (very important person), diplomas ou certificados, tais como, a irrepetibilidade, por permitem a verificação de identidade e por garantirem a pertença a um indivíduo. Desta forma, com a utilização de NFTs, pode ser armazenada informação relevante, como o assento a que o bilhete corresponde, é possível garantir que o bilhete pertence a uma pessoa específica e é praticamente impossível burlar os compradores, salvo contacto direto com as private keys (PK) que geram o bilhete ou negligência do comprador. É também feito um levantamento do conhecimento atual sobre blockchain, dos projetos realizados na área artística que tiram proveito desta tecnologia, dos problemas que podem ser encontrados a nível de segurança e a justificação de escolha de uma blockchain entre as outras. Por fim, é demonstrado o valor acrescentado que o projeto tem no mercado em que se enquadra, através de processos analíticos de apoio à tomada de decisão, e faz se um planeamento de experimentação da solução desenvolvida, seguindo estratégias de questionários e testes com o público alvo. O projeto pode ser considerado um sucesso, graças ao sucesso no desenvolvimento e im plementação dos principais requisitos, bem como à avaliação positiva dos utilizadores que testaram a aplicação