Business Leadership in E-Commerce in the USA: The Impact of Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Due to the evolution of digital finance and the active development of cryptocurrencies, blockchain is no longer just a tool for cryptocurrency extraction or database management but a technology that has a wider range of benefits for every trader who wants to conduct transactions using electronic payment instruments (cost improvement, effective tracking and traceability, verifiable record-keeping, transparency, etc.). The impact of blockchain technology on e-commerce can be viewed through the prism of unprecedented technological capabilities, legal and regulatory issues, customer data analysis, the design of communication channels along the supply chain, and trust and security. The article investigates the effect and the direction of the impact made by changes in digital blockchain technologies on retail prices in US e-commerce during 2014-2023 based on the VECM error correction model (software package – Eviews 12). The stability of the time series of the studied variables was confirmed by the Phillips-Perron test, and the Granger causality test showed the absence of a causal relationship between the studied factors in both directions. Instead, the Johansen Juselius Joint Integration Test showed a long-term balance between the studied variables (this is what allows using the VECM model). The results of the delay test of the studied model by two criteria (AIC and SC) showed that the optimal number of delays for the studied variables is 2. When conducting validity tests of the VECM model (joint integration test, LM test, heterogeneity test, unit root test, etc.), it was found that the model does not suffer from the problem of heterogeneity or self-correlation and meets the stability conditions. The study results indicate a positive impact of changes caused by blockchain technology on e-commerce in the long run (changes in digital blockchain technology explain 44% of retail e-commerce changes), with no short-term effect. Any shock in retail e-commerce will quickly affect changes in digital blockchain technology and vice versa (from the first period).