Blockchain technology in construction organizations: risk assessment using trapezoidal fuzzy ordinal priority approach

Abstract

Purpose In the digital transformation era, the construction industry is not immune to unintended consequences and disruptions of distributed ledger technologies like blockchain. At the micro-level, construction organizations need an in-depth understanding of blockchain risks to take proactive strategies for being on the safe side. This study seeks to answer “What are the risks associated with blockchain technology from the firm-level perspective? And how can this disruptive technology overshadow the business objectives and impact organizational criteria?” Design/methodology/approach The current research proposes a novel model for risk assessment based on the trapezoidal fuzzy ordinal priority approach (OPA-F) in the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) context. The proposed model handles uncertainties of experts' judgment around three primary parameters: the importance of organizational criteria, the impact of blockchain risks on criteria and the probability of risk occurrence. Findings The case study shows that organizational “communication and information” is exposed to the most blockchain risk. On the contrary, blockchain has less to do with an organization's “corporate social responsibility.” Furthermore, effective blockchain risk management can bring about cost efficiency, quality and improved customer experience for this case study. In the end, the authors develop a conceptual blockchain risk management framework based on findings. Research limitations/implications This study will broaden researchers' horizons regarding “blockchain in construction context” and “blockchain risk management.” Practical implications Furthermore, executives looking for blockchain-based solutions can benefit from research findings and lessons learned from this case study before decision-making. Lastly, the risk assessment model based on trapezoidal OPA-F can be used both for research purposes and industrial decision problems. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is for the first time that the OPA-F is employed in a risk assessment model. Also, the original OPA-F is extended to trapezoidal OPA-F using trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, and it is the first attempt to evaluate blockchain risks facing construction organizations and develop a blockchain risk management framework accordingly.