Blockchain Application in Information Systems Research

Blockchain is a radical innovation with a core value proposition of shifting trust from institutions towards algorithms. Still, the potential of Blockchains remains vague due to the knowledge gap between computer science and socio-economic activities. Ninety percent of current Blockchain projects did not move from ideas to production-ready prototypes. Researchers and practitioners are searching for the meaningful leveraging of Blockchains for value creation. This dissertation aims to bridge the gap between technical and managerial knowledge of Blockchain that allows successful Blockchain system design and implementation. Therefore, the objective of the project is to identify the scope of Blockchain applications and introduce guidelines to make purposeful decisions of Blockchain implementations. The dissertation project covers four research questions. First, I consolidated knowledge of Blockchain technical configurations through the development of a taxonomy. Second, I considered the design patterns of smart contracts that represent the application logic of Blockchain systems. Third, I offered guidance for transforming initial conceptions of Blockchain ideas into working system prototypes by introducing a Blockchain configuration process model. Fourth, I investigated the common factors of Blockchain decisions to evaluate Blockchain implementations in the form of the framework. I employed a Design Science Research approach to developing four artefacts. The first three artefacts consider technical, application, and organizational aspects of Blockchain. The synergy reflects in the fourth, combinational artefact, which employs the high-level factors of Blockchain decisions. During the project, I have investigated the scientific and business studies, run Blockchain-based applications, conduct interviews, and evaluate the findings on Blockchain projects. The dissertation project contributes to research by bridging knowledge gaps between computer science and socio-economic research on a Blockchain that provides a fruitful ground for future conceptual and empirical studies. For practitioners, the developed artefacts are useful to identify and guide Blockchain projects that facilitate purposeful Blockchain adoption

Blockchain Technology and Operations Management: An Implementation Roadmap

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology. While it has grown in prominence, its full potential and possible downsides are not fully understood yet, especially with respect to Operations Management (OM). This thesis aims to provide a bibliometric literature review through which the current literature is studied and analyzed. In this regard, four main clusters have been identified: (1) Blockchain and Supply Chain Management, (2) Blockchain Technology Adoption in Supply Chain Management, (3) Blockchain and Sustainability, and (4) Blockchain Application in Food Supply Chain (FSC). As a result of this bibliometric literature review, some consistent gaps in the literature have been identified. Specifically, we have found that most of these recent studies focus their attention only on the possible benefits and risks of Blockchain implementation in the specific area of Supply Chain Management. Additionally, it is not clear how an enterprise should practically approach and transform its operations to implement Blockchain Technology. Hence, to fill these gaps, a case study has been conducted with a specific focus on the road mapping of the main steps and initiatives an organization should undertake when starting a Blockchain transformation journey as well as on its impacts inside the general company’s operations.Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology. While it has grown in prominence, its full potential and possible downsides are not fully understood yet, especially with respect to Operations Management (OM). This thesis aims to provide a bibliometric literature review through which the current literature is studied and analyzed. In this regard, four main clusters have been identified: (1) Blockchain and Supply Chain Management, (2) Blockchain Technology Adoption in Supply Chain Management, (3) Blockchain and Sustainability, and (4) Blockchain Application in Food Supply Chain (FSC). As a result of this bibliometric literature review, some consistent gaps in the literature have been identified. Specifically, we have found that most of these recent studies focus their attention only on the possible benefits and risks of Blockchain implementation in the specific area of Supply Chain Management. Additionally, it is not clear how an enterprise should practically approach and transform its operations to implement Blockchain Technology. Hence, to fill these gaps, a case study has been conducted with a specific focus on the road mapping of the main steps and initiatives an organization should undertake when starting a Blockchain transformation journey as well as on its impacts inside the general company’s operations

Blockchain Mediated Control: A Case Study of Implementation Strategies in Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain Projects

Blockchain could improve existing business processes by enabling networks of users, businesses, partners, and others to execute transactions trusted through cryptography, decentralization, and consensus. The financial technology (fintech) industry has been the first adopter of blockchain technology, which has set an example for other industries to translate blockchain’s unique attributes to other use cases. However, blockchain could disrupt existing organizational governance and decision-making. Lacking knowledge of the complex landscape in which blockchain operates, concerns arise, driving organizations and researchers alike to investigate technological- and organizational outcomes. In this dissertation, we investigate how Blockchain can function as a Technology-Mediated Control technology and how this can affect network participants. To evaluate various adoption intentions, we employ a case study in conjunction with a literature review. Interviews with project managers from various Norwegian organizations utilizing either permissioned or permissionless blockchains provided us with their perspective on the processes and potential structural changes. Legacy systems in processes outside the jurisdiction of the respective organizations was a common concern, according to both research papers and interviews. Consequently, the maturity of technological factors is a significant barrier for organizations to implement blockchain, necessitating a new standard of cooperation between organizations. According to the research, the most significant contribution is the theory of blockchain-mediated control, whereas blockchain functions as the technology that mediates control. In addition, we identified a potential risk propagation within the theory that eludes current solutions: the oracle problem in smart contracts

Blockchain for humanitarian aid

Blockchain technology has proven to be an effective tool to increase performance in for-profit supply chains. Yet, we lack deep understanding of its impact on the humanitarian supply chain. This thesis aims at addressing this gap through a qualitative research. Evidence from expert interviews and secondary reports suggests that blockchain technology positively impacts the information and resource flow in humanitarian supply chains by either replacing traditional intermediaries or enhancing transparency. It further reveals that the impact on supply chain actors is very individual. Donors can particularly benefit from the increased transparency as this empowers them to track their donations. Humanitarian organizations can improve their internal efficiencies and enhance their collaboration with external stakeholders. For beneficiaries, blockchain technology offers a new infrastructure to access humanitarian services which are more dignified and empowering. The empirical findings of this thesis enhance our general understanding of blockchain technology in the humanitarian sector. Furthermore, this research provides concrete strategies for humanitarian organizations to leverage the full potential of blockchain technology. Thus, it is of particular relevance for humanitarians aiming to address current challenges in the humanitarian supply chain.A tecnologia blockchain provou ser uma ferramenta eficaz para melhorar a performance das cadeias de abastecimento. No entanto, não existe um entendimento profundo do seu impacto na cadeia de abastecimento humanitária. Esta tese visa abordar essa lacuna através de uma pesquisa qualitativa. Entrevistas realizadas com especialistas e relatórios secundários sugerem que a tecnologia blockchain afecta positivamente o fluxo de informações e recursos nas cadeias de abastecimento humanitárias, substituindo os intermediários tradicionais ou aumentando a transparência. Além disso, revela que o impacto sobre os actores da cadeia de abastecimento é muito individual. Os doadores beneficiam do aumento da transparência, pois melhora a capacidade de monitorização das doações. As organizações humanitárias podem incrementar a eficiência interna e aprimorar a sua colaboração com as partes interessadas. Para os beneficiários, a blockchain oferece uma nova infra-estrutura para tornar os serviços humanitários mais dignos e com maior impacto. As descobertas empíricas desta tese fortalecem o entendimento geral do impacto da TBC no sector humanitário. Adicionalmente, esta pesquisa fornece estratégias concretas para as organizações humanitárias aproveitarem todo o potencial da tecnologia blockchain, sendo particularmente relevante para ultrapassar os desafios actuais na cadeia de abastecimento humanitária

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT INTEGRATION WITH BLOCKCHAIN

Maintaining the integrity of data within the supply chain is a challenge. Many current implementations lack a capability to provide a trustworthy system for the stakeholders in a supply chain, making communication amongst stakeholders easy but unreliable. Organizations are considering blockchain technology as it provides access control, immutability, transparency and trust amongst the stakeholders in a supply chain. This project is an investigative study on the benefits and challenges of implementing blockchain technology in supply chain management, a framework for integration of blockchain technology, and a project prototype which shows a blockchain use case implementation in supply chain management. The research was based on questions addressing the issues of supply chain disruptions, disruption consequences, and ways blockchain technology can help, while showing the challenges in the blockchain technology. The use cases show the implementation of blockchain technology, the benefits of the implementation framework, and a prototype application. Based on the conclusions from the results of the case studies, this study provides a recommendation for organizations willing to implement blockchain technology in their supply chains. The areas for further research identified in this project include: building a prototype to ensure data integrity amongst stakeholders in a blockchain; contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of blockchain technology; showcasing the implementation of blockchain technology in various industries through case studies; establishing a framework for an organization to get them started on blockchain technology

Blockchain Mediated Control: A Case Study of Implementation Strategies in Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain Projects

Blockchain could improve existing business processes by enabling networks of users, businesses, partners, and others to execute transactions trusted through cryptography, decentralization, and consensus. The financial technology (fintech) industry has been the first adopter of blockchain technology, which has set an example for other industries to translate blockchain’s unique attributes to other use cases. However, blockchain could disrupt existing organizational governance and decision-making. Lacking knowledge of the complex landscape in which blockchain operates, concerns arise, driving organizations and researchers alike to investigate technological- and organizational outcomes. In this dissertation, we investigate how Blockchain can function as a Technology-Mediated Control technology and how this can affect network participants. To evaluate various adoption intentions, we employ a case study in conjunction with a literature review. Interviews with project managers from various Norwegian organizations utilizing either permissioned or permissionless blockchains provided us with their perspective on the processes and potential structural changes. Legacy systems in processes outside the jurisdiction of the respective organizations was a common concern, according to both research papers and interviews. Consequently, the maturity of technological factors is a significant barrier for organizations to implement blockchain, necessitating a new standard of cooperation between organizations. According to the research, the most significant contribution is the theory of blockchain-mediated control, whereas blockchain functions as the technology that mediates control. In addition, we identified a potential risk propagation within the theory that eludes current solutions: the oracle problem in smart contracts

Exploring Blockchain Governance

Blockchain systems continue to attract significant interest from both practitioners and researchers. What is more, blockchain systems come in various types, such as cryptocurrencies or as inter-organizational systems in business networks. As an example of a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, one of the most prominent blockchain systems to date and born at the time of a major financial crisis, spearheaded the promise of relying on code and computation instead of a central governing entity. Proponents would argue that Bitcoin stood the test of time, as Bitcoin continues to operate to date for over a decade. However, these proponents overlook the never-ending, heated debates “behind the scenes” caused by diverging goals of central actors, which led to numerous alternative systems (forks) of Bitcoin. To accommodate these actors’ interests in the pursuit of their common goal is a tightrope act, and this is where this dissertation commences: blockchain governance. Based on the empirical examples of various types and application domains of blockchain systems, it is the goal of this dissertation to 1) uncover governance patterns by showing, how blockchain systems are governed, 2) derive governance challenges faced or caused by blockchain systems, and, consequently, to 3) contribute to a better understanding to what blockchain governance is. This dissertation includes four parts, each of these covering different thematical areas: In the first part, this dissertation focuses on obtaining a better understanding of blockchain governance’s context of reference by studying blockchain systems from various application domains and system types, for example, led by inter-organizational networks, states, or an independent group of actors. The second part, then, focuses on a blockchain as an inter-organizational system called “cardossier”, a project I was involved in, and its governance as a frame of reference. Hereupon, for one, I report on learnings from my project involvement in the form of managerial guidelines, and, for two, I report on structural problems within cardossier, and problems caused by membership growth and how they can be resolved. The third part focuses on a wider study of blockchains as inter-organizational systems, where I summarize findings of an analysis of 19 blockchain consortia. The findings, for one, answer the question of why blockchain consortia adopt blockchain technology, and, for two, show internal and external challenges these systems faced to derive managerial recommendations. The fourth and last part studies blockchain governance’s evolution and contributes an analysis of blockchain’s governance features and its contrast to established modes of governance. These four parts, altogether, have scientific value as they increase our understanding on blockchain governance. Consequently, this dissertation contributes to the body of knowledge on modes of governance, distributed system governance, and blockchain governance in general. I do so, by grounding the concept of blockchain governance in empirical detail, showing how these systems are governed on various application domains and system types, and by studying empirical challenges faced or caused by these systems. This approach is relevant and necessary, as blockchain systems in general, but particularly outside of cryptocurrencies, mostly still are in pursuit of a sustainable blockchain governance. As blockchains can be expected to continue to mature, the upcoming years offer very fruitful ground for empirical research along the empirical insights and theoretical lines shown in this dissertation

Block the Root Takeover: Validating Devices Using Blockchain Protocol

This study addresses a vulnerability in the trust-based STP protocol that allows malicious users to target an Ethernet LAN with an STP Root-Takeover Attack. This subject is relevant because an STP Root-Takeover attack is a gateway to unauthorized control over the entire network stack of a personal or enterprise network. This study aims to address this problem with a potentially trustless research solution called the STP DApp. The STP DApp is the combination of a kernel /net modification called stpverify and a Hyperledger Fabric blockchain framework in a NodeJS runtime environment in userland. The STP DApp works as an Intrusion Detection System (IPS) by intercepting Ethernet traffic and blocking forged Ethernet frames sent by STP Root-Takeover attackers. This study’s research methodology is a quantitative pre-experimental design that provides conclusive results through empirical data and analysis using experimental control groups. In this study, data collection was based on active RAM utilization and CPU Usage during a performance evaluation of the STP DApp. It blocks an STP Root-Takeover Attack launched by the Yersinia attack tool installed on a virtual machine with the Kali operating system. The research solution is a test blockchain framework using Hyperledger Fabric. It is made up of an experimental test network made up of nodes on a host virtual machine and is used to validate Ethernet frames extracted from stpverify

Wikipedia and Digital Currencies: Interplay Between Collective Attention and Market Performance

The production and consumption of information about Bitcoin and other digital-, or 'crypto'-, currencies have grown together with their market capitalisation. However, a systematic investigation of the relationship between online attention and market dynamics, across multiple digital currencies, is still lacking. Here, we quantify the interplay between the attention towards digital currencies in Wikipedia and their market performance. We consider the entire edit history of currency-related pages, and their view history from July 2015. First, we quantify the evolution of the cryptocurrency presence in Wikipedia by analysing the editorial activity and the network of co-edited pages. We find that a small community of tightly connected editors is responsible for most of the production of information about cryptocurrencies in Wikipedia. Then, we show that a simple trading strategy informed by Wikipedia views performs better, in terms of returns on investment, than classic baseline strategies for most of the covered period. Our results contribute to the recent literature on the interplay between online information and investment markets, and we anticipate it will be of interest for researchers as well as investors