Blockchain Research Research Articles

The Role of Blockchain in Medical Data Sharing

As medical technology advances, there is an increasing need for healthcare providers all over the world to securely share a growing volume of data. Blockchain is a powerful technology that allows multiple parties to securely access and share data. Given the enormous challenge that healthcare systems face in digitizing and sharing health records, it is not unexpected that many are attempting to improve healthcare processes by utilizing blockchain technology. By systematically examining articles published from 2017 to 2022, this review addresses the existing gap by methodically discussing the state, research trends, and challenges of blockchain in medical data exchange. The number of articles on this issue has increased, reflecting the growing importance and interest in blockchain research for medical data exchange. Recent blockchain-based medical data sharing advances include safe healthcare management systems, health data architectures, smart contract frameworks, and encryption approaches. The evaluation examines medical data encryption, blockchain networks, and how the Internet of Things (IoT) improves hospital workflows. The findings show that blockchain can improve patient care and healthcare services by securely sharing data.

A critical review of auditing at the time of blockchain technology – a bibliometric analysis

PurposeThis study aims to examine the present condition of blockchain technology (BT) applications in auditing by analyzing journal publications on the topic to acquire a better understanding of the field.Design/methodology/approachThis study makes use of the Bibliometric Analysis method and gathered 725 papers from the Web of Science and Scopus databases in the management and accounting, business, financial, economic and social science, as well as decision sciences fields from 2017 to 2021 using the R-Package Bibliometrix Analysis “biblioshiny”.FindingsThe findings revealed that blockchain research in terms of auditing has already increased and started to spark a quick rise in popularity, but is still in its initial phases with important quality though less in quantity. Moreover, the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting is the most prolific journal with 2019 as the highest publication year, with the United States and China as the most cited countries in this field. Furthermore, in this field, there are much research topics involving blockchain, audit and smart contracts; and there is less involving data analytics, governance, hyperledger, distributed ledger and financial reporting. Additionally, Sheldon (2019) and Smith and Castonguay (2020) are the most productive authors in the field in terms of the H-index.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has certain limitations such as the fact that it only looked at 105 papers in the domains of finance, business, economics, accounting, management as well as multidisciplinary science. Moreover, the research’s data and dates have an impact on the results dependability. As this is an original topic, fresh studies are anticipated to remain to shine a spotlight on and suggest answers to blockchain’s implications on auditing. Additionally, the period of time was limited to only the last five years, from 2017 to 2021. As a result, extensive study into the topic is required since there is currently a research deficit in the blockchain field in the setting of auditing. So, new research is required to offer new frameworks and understandings for describing the blockchain function in auditing, including processes, techniques, security, as well as timeliness. Investigations in unique circumstances and research employing innovative research methodologies for discovering the new issue would be valuable in acquiring a higher grasp of the complexities faced.Originality/valueThis research contributed to the field by assessing the present state of the art of research on the usage and use of BT in finding research gaps, the audit profession and, most importantly, recommending a future direction for researchers in the subject.

Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts in Insurance Service Delivery: A Conceptual Analysis

Blockchain is a revolutionary technology that offers a new kind of inventive service. It can handle a variety of sophisticated issues associated with the secrecy, integrity, and availability of fast and secure distributed systems. This concept paper begins by addressing the shift in people's attitudes towards the insurance industry, particularly in Malaysia, and then goes on to understand how the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Task Technology Fit (TTF), and Initial Trust Model (ITM), influence behavioural intentions in using blockchain smart contracts. A digital insurance platform must be redefined after the increase in online insurance sales transactions prompted by COVID-19 to satisfy the market's expectations. Whereas traditional paper contracts rely on middlemen for execution, blockchain smart contracts are now based on blockchains, which include an immutable record of data and the ability to remove single points of failure. Despite the growing popularity of blockchain research in recent years, research on blockchain smart contract adoption behaviour at the individual level concerning insurance services remains limited. Hence, this study utilises the three models to characterise how performance expectancy, technological context, and initial trust interact to forecast behavioural intention. Furthermore, we stressed the need for additional research to demonstrate the intention to employ blockchain smart contracts is impacted by performance anticipation, technical environment, and personal initial trust. Based on the review, we will design realistic research that will incorporate prospects for theoretical progress as well as empirical discoveries in blockchain smart contract studies. The findings are intended to assist policymakers in developing suitable and improved strategies for capturing interest in blockchain smart contract insurance services in the Malaysian market. We also believe that the evolution of blockchain technology in tandem with smart contracts will enable the creation of new sorts of innovative services, such as insurance.

Systematic review on blockchain research for sustainability accounting applying methodology coding and text mining

Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) are often considered major improvements in the capability of certain areas in sustainability accounting research. As such, it is argued that blockchains could be used for validation, data management, transactions settlements and objective measurement for corporate sustainability indicators, such as Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions during production processes. Following a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) methodology in data collection and database formation, the current work provides an analysis of the existing literature consisting of 59 contributions on blockchain applications in sustainability accounting. Several analysis steps containing bibliometric analyses were performed and presented, including novel coding of methodologies and industrial applications. Additionally, text mining analysis of the meta-data of contributions was conducted for the purpose of topic generation and retrieval of comparative insights. Results provide insights into the mapping of baseline technologies, regulatory environment, and practical factors outlined by previous contributions that influence the applications of blockchains for this cause. Future research areas include blockchains paired with other future-proof technologies, such as digital accounting tools (e.g. XBRL) or hardware IoT technologies in smart factories, to aid in the development of new pipelines of measurable and traceable sustainability information.

A review of blockchain cross‐chain technology

AbstractAlong with the continuous breakthroughs and innovations in blockchain technology, various blockchain application scenarios are emerging, such as healthcare, e‐voting, and Internet of Things. However, in general, these applications need to be supported by blockchain systems with different characteristics. Different blockchain systems have significant differences in architecture, security, efficiency, and so on, which makes the exchange of information between applications have certain barriers. Therefore, the research of blockchain cross‐chain technology brings hope for breaking the information barriers between blockchain systems. This paper describes the basic principles and latest research of three mainstream cross‐chain technologies; then analyzes three innovative cross‐chain solutions of cross‐chain routing, smart contracts, and multi‐chain consensus; furthermore, discusses the application and security risks of cross‐chain technologies, and finally summarizes and outlooks on cross‐chain technologies.

A multivocal literature review of decentralized finance: Current knowledge and future research avenues

While decentralized finance (DeFi) has the potential to emulate and, indeed, outperform existing financial systems, it remains a complex phenomenon yet to be extensively researched. To make the most of this potential, its practitioners must gain a rigorous understanding of its intricacies, as must information systems (IS) researchers. Against this background, this study uses a multivocal literature review to capture the state of research in DeFi. Thereby, we (1) present a consolidating definition of DeFi as we (2) analyze, synthesize, and discuss the current state of knowledge in the field of DeFi. We do so while adapting the blockchain research framework proposed by (Risius and Spohrer, Business & Information Systems Engineering 59:385–409, 2017). Furthermore, we (3) identify gaps in the literature and indicate future research directions in DeFi. Even though our findings highlight several shortcomings in DeFi that have prevented its widespread adoption, our literature review shows a large consensus on DeFi’s many promising features and potential to complement the traditional financial system. To that end, this paper is presented to encourage further research to mitigate the current risks of DeFi, the payoff of which will be an enriched financial ecosystem.

Decentralized tendering of construction projects using blockchain-based smart contracts and storage systems

Existing tendering methods for construction projects are centralized and rely on a third party's involvement during the process, hence, the methods raise critical concerns regarding data security, transparency, and traceability, as the bidders have to trust the organizer for the legitimacy and fairness of the process. This paper focuses on how the recent developments in decentralized blockchain technologies can be adopted for tendering of construction projects to improve the traditional process by eliminating intermediaries and ensuring transparency as well as data security. A novel, decentralized blockchain-based tendering system is presented for construction projects, leveraging (i) decentralized smart contracts to execute the tendering steps, including storage of the information throughout the process, management of the bid bonds, evaluation of the bids, and awarding of the contract according to the preset conditions, (ii) blockchain-integrated decentralized storage systems to exchange and store off-chain documents that are related to tendering, and (iii) decentralized application to facilitate the participants' interaction with the proposed system during the tendering process. The proposed system presents a new method for achieving a decentralized, secure, trustworthy, and transparent tendering environment among project participants. The outcomes of the system indicate the potential of future blockchain research for achieving autonomous and decentralized tendering sytems.

Blockchain application in consumer services: A review and future research agenda

AbstractThe potential of blockchain technology (BCT) to modify and innovates established business structures and frameworks has received widespread attention. Academia and businesses are becoming increasingly curious about how this technology could be used to improve and refine consumer services and operations. Despite the growing popularity of blockchain research in consumer services, there remains a dearth of detailed summaries in the literature. Hence, this bibliometric analysis, combined with a systematic literature review (SLR) using SPAR‐4‐SLR protocol with the theories, characteristics, contexts, and methods framework (A hybrid review), aims to convey qualitative and quantitative knowledge on the ever‐evolving subject of blockchain application in consumer services in an organized manner. Specifically, this article analyses: (1) the current publication trends in studies devoted to blockchain‐based applications for consumers, (2) the most important publications and themes of research in this field, (3) the evolution of blockchain in consumer service over the years, and the most current trends in this field, (4) the advantages and challenges of incorporating BCT into consumer services, (5) gaps in the existing literature that future researchers should investigate. In addition, this review also describes the widely used theories, characteristics, and methods in the application of blockchain in consumer service research by examining the most applied theories, methods, constructs, and study contexts and paving the way for new research directions. The review includes 417 documents after searching for scholarly publications in two databases (Web of Science and Scopus) and choosing documents based on their relevance to the stated goals.

Review on Blockchain Technology : Architecture, Characteristics, Benefits, Algorithms, Challenges and Applications

Today, blockchain technology is playing a vital role in the professional world as one of the most important discoveries and creative developments. Blockchain technology is continuously advancing and revolutionizing our society. An overview of blockchain technology is presented in this paper. The blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that allows different transactions and operations to be recorded in a chain of blocks without requiring a third party. A growing number of businesses and industrial communities are exploring blockchain technology as a technological option. In the last decade, blockchain technology has completely changed the paradigm of computer applications. Blockchain was created with the vision of creating an immutable, confidential, open-source, decentralized P2P network located on a decentralized network to facilitate data sharing. An overview of blockchain applications in different areas is presented. We provide a timely summary of blockchain research for individuals and organizations interested in this field. This paper presents an overview of blockchain technology, listing all the key characteristics, benefits, and features which make blockchain technology both superior and unique. We also discuss popular consensus protocols and taxonomy for blockchain systems.

A Bibliometric Review of the Evolution of Blockchain Technologies.

Bitcoin was created in 2008 as the first decentralized cryptocurrency, providing an innovative data management technology, which was later named blockchain. It ensured data validation without intervention from intermediaries. During its early stages, it was conceived as a financial technology by most researchers. It was not until 2015, when the Ethereum cryptocurrency was officially launched worldwide, along with its revolutionary technology called smart contracts, that researchers began to change their perception of the technology and look for uses outside the financial world. This paper analyzes the literature since 2016, one year after Ethereum, analyzing the evolution of interest in the technology to date. For this purpose, a total of 56,864 documents created between 2016 and 2022 from four major publishers were analyzed, providing answers to the following questions. Q1: How has interest in blockchain technology increased? Q2: What have been the major blockchain research interests? Q3: What have been the most outstanding works of the scientific community? The paper clearly exposes the evolution of blockchain technology, making it clear that, as the years go by, it is becoming a complementary technology instead of the main focus of studies. Finally, we highlight the most popular and recurrent topics discussed in the literature over the analyzed period of time.

A Quantitative and Qualitative Review of Blockchain Research from 2015 to 2021

Blockchain has the potential to reconfigure the contemporary economic, legal, political and cultural landscape, causing a flood of research on this topic. However, limited efforts have been made to conduct retrospective research to appraise the blockchain studies in the recent period, easily leading to a neglect of new technological trends. Consequently, the present research designs a quantitative- and qualitative-analysis procedure to review the latest research status. Adopting a four-step workflow, six research hotspots (i.e., the specific application areas of blockchain technology, the integration of blockchain and other technologies, the driving factors of blockchain, the values of blockchain technology, the types of blockchain and the core technologies of blockchain) and five research frontiers (i.e., entrepreneurship, contract, industrial internet, data management and distributed ledger technology) were detected using quantitative analysis. Furthermore, three other topics (i.e., the Internet of things, access control and trust) and two research gaps (i.e., the true effect of blockchain technology on firms’ operational efficiency and the regulation of the “dark sides” of blockchain technology) were also identified, using qualitative analysis. Finally, the evolutionary paths were qualitatively analyzed, and then three phases of blockchain research were summarized. The conclusions are able to provide a more comprehensive enlightenment regarding blockchain’s research hotspots, research frontiers, evolutionary paths and research gaps in the recent period, from 2015 to 2021, and to provide a reference for future research.

Exploring blockchain-based innovations for economic and sustainable development in the global south: A mixed-method approach based on web mining and topic modeling

Information and Communication Technologies such as blockchain can significantly contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South (GS). Grounded in the innovation forecasting literature, this paper explores blockchain-based innovations and research in the context of economic and sustainable development to answer the following research questions: what is the status quo of blockchain innovations and research in the Global South?; and further, how can blockchain innovations contribute to economic and sustainable development? We follow a mixed-method approach based on web mining and topic modeling with unstructured empirical data on blockchain innovators from Crunchbase, their websites, and academic publications to address these research questions. Our results indicate that blockchain innovators already engage in various application areas beyond the financial sector, addressing critical development issues. However, the empirical data on blockchain research and innovations suggests a largely untapped potential in various promising application areas relevant for the SDGs, such as sustainable energy or integrity verification. The major contributions of this paper are an overview and status quo of entrepreneurial innovation activities and research on blockchain technology in the GS, an analysis of these areas in the context of the SDGs, and a lean methodological approach for innovation forecasting.

Emerging advances of blockchain technology in finance: a content analysis

Blockchain hasbecome a widely used information system technology recently because of its effectiveness as an intermediary-free platform. While the use of blockchain in various fields, such as finance, supply chains, healthcare, education, and energy consumption, is increasingly enabling the development of Internet-enabled “distributed databases,” there are not many exploratory studies available to provide an understanding of how the field is progressing. Therefore, it is imperative to explore the status quo of blockchain technology in the finance sector, particularly highlighting how blockchain architectures can aid the finance sector to gain competitive advantage. This systematic literature review analyzes the content of the 50 most relevant articles and professional industry reports through peer-reviewed relevant academic literature in the finance sector from 2008 to 2022 to identify several possible features of blockchain research in the financial sector. This study highlighted the dimensions of blockchain technology, blockchain in finance, its competitive advantages, the current status of finance, and various challenges that keep the implementation of blockchain-based financial information systems at the initial stage. We identified three main areas that require research attention in order for blockchain technology to become the “next-generation networks” that will revolutionize the financial sector.

A systematic literature review of the tension between the GDPR and public blockchain systems

Blockchain technology has been rapidly growing since Bitcoin was invented in 2008. The most common type of blockchain system, public (permissionless) blockchain system, has some unique features that lead to a tension with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other similar data protection laws. In this paper, we report the results of a systematic literature review (SLR) on 114 research papers discussing and/or addressing such a tension. To the best of our knowledge, our SLR is the most comprehensive review of this tension, leading to a more in-depth and broader analysis of related research work on this important topic. Our results revealed three main types of issues: (i) difficulties in exercising data subjects’ rights such as the ‘right to be forgotten’ (RTBF) due to the immutable nature of public blockchains; (ii) difficulties in identifying roles and responsibilities in the public blockchain data processing ecosystem (particularly on the identification of data controllers and data processors); and (iii) ambiguities regarding the application of the relevant law(s) due to the distributed nature of blockchains. Our work also led to a better understanding of solutions for improving the GDPR compliance of public blockchain systems. It can help inform not only blockchain researchers and developers but also policymakers and law markers to consider how to reconcile the tension between public blockchain systems and data protection laws (the GDPR and beyond).

Blockchain Application in Healthcare Systems: A Review

In the recent years, blockchain technology has gained significant attention in the healthcare sector. It has the potential to alleviate a wide variety of major difficulties in electronic health record systems. This study presents an elaborate overview of the existing research works on blockchain applications in the healthcare industry. This paper evaluates 144 articles that discuss the importance and limits of using blockchain technologies to improve healthcare operations. The objective is to demonstrate the technology’s potential uses and highlight the difficulties and possible sectors for future blockchain research in the healthcare domain. The paper starts with an extensive background study of blockchain and its features. Then, the paper focuses on providing an extensive literature review of the selected articles to highlight the current research themes in blockchain-based healthcare systems. After that, major application areas along with the solutions provided by blockchain in healthcare systems are pointed out. Finally, a discussion section provides insight into the limitations, challenges and future research directions.

Resistance to innovation: A dynamic capability model based enquiry into retailers’ resistance to blockchain adaptation

Blockchain research is significantly growing, yet the practical implementation of blockchain among retailers is still in the novice stage. This research aims to study the underlying factors that build resistance toward blockchain among retailers. The study has used innovation resistance theory (IRT) and the dynamic capability model to build the conceptual model. The study used a single cross-sectional design to investigate the proposed model with data collected from 360 retailers. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling estimated with the maximum likelihood model. The study's results showed that the threat of data ownership is the most significant factor that builds resistance towards blockchain, followed by threat severity. The results also showed that managerial capability and innovation capability could indirectly influence the relationship of IRT variables to resistance towards blockchain. The research extends the knowledge in the blockchain and contributes to relevant literature and business practitioners concerned with the results.

Sustainable finance and blockchain: A systematic review and research agenda

Sustainable finance and blockchain studies have garnered considerable interest recently. but there has been no systematic analysis of blockchain in sustainable finance to far. To fill this gap, based on the theme structure of blockchain research in the field of renewable finance from November 1, 2008 to January 31, 2022, this paper proposes a multi-level and all-round comprehensive bibliometric method (Co-occurrence Analysis method, Natural Language Processing method, and Exploratory Factor Analysis method) to comprehend the mode, process, and mechanism of the integration of them. The findings indicate that: (1) Blockchain has been widely used in many industries involved in sustainable finance; (2) Blockchain will have a long-term impact on Sustainable Finance in the fields of smart city and sharing economy; (3) Blockchain can be deeply integrated with other technologies to promote the diversified development of sustainable finance. Additionally, we highlight trends and research directions regarding blockchain in sustainable finance research.

Determinants of blockchain adoption in news media platforms: A perspective from the Vietnamese press industry

Blockchain technology is being applied worldwide. Although a large body of blockchain research has been conducted in various fields, little is known about press perspectives on adopting blockchain in journalism. This study explores the determinants of applying blockchain in journalism activities in Vietnam. Based on Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and previous research, we surveyed 287 people working at press agencies in Vietnam. The results from testing nine research hypotheses show that five factors, namely Technology Affinity, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Condition, Technology Readiness, and Regulatory Support, positively impact the intention of applying Blockchain in journalism activities in Vietnam. Two factors, namely Performance Expectancy and Trust, were not positively strongly correlated to the use of blockchain. Besides, Regulatory Support is found to have a moderating effect on the relationship between Facilitating Condition and Behavioral Intention.

Factors affecting the blockchain application in construction management in China: an ANP-SWOT hybrid approach

ABSTRACT As a decentralised ledger and data management technology, blockchain has attracted increasing interest and has been effectively applied in various areas. Despite its promising potential, there are few studies proposing effective strategies for promoting blockchain, particularly in providing a strategic analysis of blockchain in China's construction management. This study aims to investigate the external and internal environments of blockchain application and determine the roadmaps and strategies for blockchain application in construction management in China. A strength, weaknesses, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis is employed to draw a panorama of the blockchain development status. Six roadmaps and strategies for blockchain application are proposed. By using the Analytic Network Process (ANP), a quantitative analysis was conducted to determine the ranking of SWOT sub-factors and roadmaps and strategies. The results show that ‘traceability of information’, ‘high application threshold’, ‘national policy support’, and ‘low informatization level of the construction industry’ are the most important sub-factors in strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats respectively. The best roadmaps and strategies are ‘improving the informatization level of the construction industry’, followed by ‘promoting the technological innovation of blockchain’ and ‘providing standard’. This study facilitates an in-depth understanding of the blockchain application in China's construction management. It will not only help researchers to conduct targeted blockchain research for more efficient project management, but also help practitioners to develop effective strategies for adopting blockchain.

Supply chain finance: What are the challenges in the adoption of blockchain technology?

As an emerging information technology, blockchain has aroused extensive discussions around the world and been suggested as a solution to address current issues in supply chain finance (SCF). The Chinese government also attaches great importance to this technology, and many Chinese state-owned enterprises have invested in establishing their own blockchain research and development centres. However, there is a lack of studies on identifying challenges when deploying this technology; theoretical framework and conceptual exposition are also scarcely seen. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the challenges and obstacles in the adoption of blockchain technology in SCF. An exploratory case study of a Chinese state-owned enterprise was conducted to build up an initial conceptual framework. Semi-structured interview was applied to collect data from the case firm's employees, top management, and technical specialists. The results of the analysis indicate that in the adoption of blockchain technology, there are technological, operational, and other challenges. From a technological perspective, framework identification, cross-chain interoperability, and data governance are major barriers; whereas, from an operational perspective, the new business process and transformation in the entire supply chain are identified as challenges. Besides, other obstacles such as the elimination of jobs and regulatory issues are also not neglectable. This study contributes to research on blockchain and supply chains by shedding light on the challenges of blockchain adoption through an exploratory case study of a Chinese state-owned enterprise. A conceptual framework was generated as a basis for future research, and the findings also provide insights for companies that may or are planning to adopt blockchain technology.