This paper is aimed at studying the factors influencing the implementation of blockchain in supply chain management to solve the current issues faced in the supply chain ecosystem. Supply chains are part and parcel of every business and have multiple inefficiencies in the system. Some of these inefficiencies can be managed by usage of blockchain Platform .Technology, intracompany synergies, intercompany collaboration, extrinsic factors, and innovation are critically evaluated for adoption of blockchain in supply chain. A pilot study is conducted in form survey for analysis of these factors. Hypotheses are derived for these factors for quantitative research. Subsequently these hypotheses are examined with the help of ADANCO2.3 for structural equation modelling. As an outcome, it is evident that Innovation and Extrinsic factors are significantly impacting the adoption of blockchain in supply chain management.
Mohammed Alshamsi, Mostafa Al‐Emran, Khaled Shaalan
Blockchain technologies have received considerable attention from academia and industry due to their distinctive characteristics, such as data integrity, security, decentralization, and reliability. However, their adoption rate is still scarce, which is one of the primary reasons behind conducting studies related to users’ satisfaction and adoption. Determining what impacts the use and adoption of Blockchain technologies can efficiently address their adoption challenges. Hence, this systematic review aimed to review studies published on Blockchain technologies to offer a thorough understanding of what impacts their adoption and discuss the main challenges and opportunities across various sectors. From 902 studies collected, 30 empirical studies met the eligibility criteria and were thoroughly analyzed. The results confirmed that the technology acceptance model (TAM) and technology–organization–environment (TOE) were the most common models for studying Blockchain adoption. Apart from the core variables of these two models, the results indicated that trust, perceived cost, social influence, and facilitating conditions were the significant determinants influencing several Blockchain applications. The results also revealed that supply chain management is the main domain in which Blockchain applications were adopted. Further, the results indicated inadequate exposure to studying the actual use of Blockchain technologies and their continued use. It is also essential to report that existing studies have examined the adoption of Blockchain technologies from the lens of the organizational level, with little attention paid to the individual level. This review is believed to improve our understanding by revealing the full potential of Blockchain adoption and opening the door for further research opportunities.
A key aspect for the efficiency and security of maritime transport is linked to the associated information flows. The optimal management of maritime transport requires the sharing of data in real-time between the various participating organizations. Moreover, as supply chains become increasingly integrated, the connectivity of stakeholders must be ensured not only within the single port but also between ports. Blockchain could offer interesting opportunities in this regard and is believed to have a huge impact on the future of the digitization of the port and maritime industry. This document analyzes the state of art and practice of blockchain applications in the maritime industry and explores the application prospects and practical implications of blockchain for building an interport community. The paper uses SWOT analysis to address several research questions concerning the practical impacts and barriers related to the implementation of blockchain technology in port communities and develops a Proof of Concept (PoC) to concretely show how blockchain technology can be applied to roll-on roll-off transport and interport communities in real environments. In this regard, this study intends to contribute to the sector literature by providing a detailed framework that describes how to proceed to choose the correct blockchain scheme and implement the various management and operational aspects of an interport community by benefiting from the blockchain.
Mohammad Kabir, Farid Ahammad Sobhani, Norhayati Mohamed, Dewan Mehrab Ashrafi
In today's corporate environment, the success of external auditors for producing quality reports depends on internal audit functions. Hence, ensuring internal audit quality is a must. Auditors' integrity and the presence of a transparent internal auditing process may all help to ensure internal audit quality. In this regard, with its irreversible nature, evolving blockchain technology (BT) is playing a critical role in offering a triple entry accounting system. Thus, the purpose of this article is to describe how integrity (INTI) and internal audit transparency (TRPY) affect internal audit quality (AQLY). It also assesses the potential of blockchain technology as a moderating function in influencing AQLY. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to describe the causal connection in this research. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to obtain primary data from Bangladeshi accounts and audit practitioners. According to the results, integrity and internal audit transparency substantially influence AQLY. The potential application of blockchain (APBN) has been discovered to moderate the relation between INTI and AQLY. TRPY and AQLY have a similar relationship, which APBN moderates. Thus, this research established a unique model employing INTI, TRPY, and APBN as the determinants, which provided a novel outlook in explaining the factors that can help in improving audit quality.
الملخص ً حدثت الثورة في القوانين، فظهرت الحاجة إلى القوانين ًة كبيرة المعلوماتية مطلع تسعينيات القرن الماضي وأحدثت نقل ،ً وأدى ذلك إلى الجديدة التي تواكب نوع المعامالت التي تحدث في الفضاء المعلوماتي أو السب ارني كما يسمى أحيانا ظهور قوانين الجرائم المعلوماتية بعد أن أفرزت هذه التقنية المسرح اإللكتروني للجرائم إال أن اآلنسان ظل هو الالعب الرئيسي وظلت الدولة محتفظة بسيطرتها على العملة طريقة تداولها، ولم تطل التقنية المعلوماتية غير طريقة حمل العملة وتداولها بعد أن ظهرت بطاقات الدفع واالئتمان، لكننا نشهد اليوم تقنية سلسلة الكتل المو زعة أو البلوكتشين Blockchain وهي قاعدة الكتل الموزعة التي تعد حجر األساس في العملة الرقمية المشفرة currency Crypto ألن شبكة البلوكتشين هي بمنزلة دفتر أستاذ عالمي موزع على جميع المستخدمين تسجل فيه كل العمليات والتصرفات والتحويالت مما يغنيهم عن تدخل أي طرف ثالث، ألن هذه الشبكة ستكون هي الضامن ووسيلة اإلثبات للتصرف وهو ما جعل المجتمع الدولي يقف موقف حائرا، انعكس على تباين موقف الدول المختلفة من المسألة، خاصة عندما أراد أن ينظم مكافحة الجرائم الناتجة عن استخدام تقنية البلوكتشين، فهذه التقنية تتميز بالقدرة العالية على اإلثبات والتوثيق، ولكن في الوقت ذاته تتميز بالقدرة العالية على الحفاظ على سرية المعامالت، وتحقيق السرية التامة للمعامالت. الكلمات الدالة: شبكة الكتل الموزعة Blockchain، المنصة، دفتر األستاذ العالمي الموزع، الخوارزميات، العملة المشفرة. Abstract Information technology developed the “Block chain”: a computerized storage system distributed in a dis-centralized way to register facts, transactions and addresses. Each transaction is sent to a user. This system allowed the appearance of a “crypto currency”, an electronic currency far from the official monetary institutions ‘control. The spread and circulation of this currency between individuals through the network far from any governmental control services presented a real challenge to the monetary law systems and to the criminal protection of the public funds. Here we will face a big challenge when trying to regulate all crimes resulting from the use of Blockchain technology, this technology has a high ability to prove and authenticate, but at the same time, it has a high ability to maintain privacy, and achieve complete confidentiality of transactions. Keywords: Blockchain, Platform, Decentralized Global Ledger Chart, Algorithms, Crypto Currency
BACKGROUND: Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize information sharing in companies. Many studies suggest using blockchain-powered platforms to replace existing mechanisms for health information exchange (HIE) across healthcare organizations. However, very few blockchain-based projects have been implemented in the healthcare sector. This study takes a qualitative approach to explore benefits, concerns, and barriers to the rollout of blockchain in HIE projects from physicians' perspectives. METHODS: The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework was used to help us better understand root causes, existing problems, perceived risks, perceived benefits, and suggestions. In-depth interviews have been conducted with 38 physicians in six months. The data were analyzed and coded using NVIVO to classify conceptually similar themes mentioned by the interviewees. RESULTS: In total, seven themes have been identified. The key benefits are categorized into three themes: innovative technological features, collaborative ecosystem, and system performance. The main concerns and risks are categorized into four themes: individual, organizational, technological, and market-related issues. The findings can contribute to knowledge by highlighting key values expected from blockchain technology in HIEs. The results also explore obstacles to leveraging the blockchain in healthcare from the perspectives of an important stakeholder (physicians). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that although blockchain technology may create several benefits (e.g., innovative technological features, collaborative ecosystem, and system performance), its applications in healthcare are still in their early stages. The perceptions of the individual issues (e.g., lack of knowledge), organizational issues (e.g., implementation issues), technological issues (e.g., blockchain model types), and market-related issues (e.g., regulatory concerns) indicate that blockchain-based applications in healthcare continue to be an emerging field. This study has practical implications as understanding these concerns can help developers and healthcare managers identify potential issues in the planning, developing, and implementing blockchain-based HIE systems. Addressing these barriers would support the widespread use of blockchain-based HIEs in different healthcare settings and facilitate interoperability and connectivity in regional and community health information networks.
Aslı Pelin Gürgün, Mehmet Ilker Genc, Kerim Koç, David Arditi
Various stakeholders are involved in managing supply chain processes in construction. Suppliers can hardly tolerate upfront costs when faced with flaws in the payment pipeline. This is a serious problem in building construction that uses a large variety of materials as opposed to civil construction that requires fewer types of materials. Alternative secure payment systems are needed, and the use of cryptocurrencies can be an option. However, cryptocurrencies are seldom used in building construction projects due to several challenges that are mostly ignored in the existing literature. To fill this gap, this study investigates the use of cryptocurrencies in construction supply chains as an alternative payment solution to improve the financial performance of the stakeholders by taking advantage of this economical and traceable financial transaction system. The study involves exploratory, descriptive, and empirical survey research. Accordingly, a literature review, focus group discussions, and statistical analyses (Friedman test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann–Whitney U test) were performed. The results imply that a lack of technical knowledge about cryptocurrencies, fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrencies, limited market opportunities, security gaps, personal information required by cryptocurrency systems, no assurance of permanent use, and government actions limiting the use of cryptocurrencies were the most significant barriers against using cryptocurrencies in construction supply chain management. The findings are expected to provide critical information to construction professionals and regulatory agencies about the potential advantages and shortcomings of cryptocurrencies, hence motivating policymakers to create strategies that minimize the concerns of construction professionals about using cryptocurrencies in the building construction industry.
Countless enterprise blockchains fail to live up to high expectations, often because the supporting governance structures are insufficiently established or have become stagnant. Based on interviews with 153 blockchain executives and an analysis of publicly documented use cases, this article offers a guide for blockchain scholars and practitioners. Its framework highlights the coordination and control challenges that exist in blockchain governance contexts and presents four generic governance modes to address them: chief, clan, custodian, and consortium. Managers can use these governance modes as a basis for four strategic moves (connecting, isolating, loosening, and tightening) to navigate blockchain governance challenges.
This study investigates the influence of blockchain and smart contracts on partners’ trust, increasing visibility, competitiveness, and environmental performance when implemented in manufacturing supply chains. Partial least squares (PLS) was the main method used to test and verify the research model and hypotheses. According to the test results, blockchain and smart contracts positively influence partners’ trust. Increasing trust produces a positive effect on increasing visibility, further promoting competitiveness and environmental performance. However, the vulnerability of smart contracts still causes information security concerns. If smart contracts are adopted for an extended time, partners will worry about problems of information vulnerability stemming from the smart contract, further reducing trust and affecting visibility. Regarding academic implications, this study not only proves the relationship between blockchain, smart contracts, partners’ trust, increasing visibility, competitiveness, and environmental performance. In addition, we also proved the vulnerability of smart contracts; our test results fill these gaps. Regarding practical implications, with extended contract periods, partners may expand their doubt in the smart contract and reduce information sharing, further affecting visibility. Manufacturers are reminded that smart contracts may carry hidden trouble that disrupts the relationship between partners’ trust and visibility.
Marina Efthymiou, Katie A. McCarthy, Chris Markou, John F. O’Connell
The aircraft maintenance sector has high complexity with many intermediaries, multiple actors sharing data and needs to ensure high data security. The implementation of Blockchain technology can significantly contribute to the aforementioned characteristics. This research explores the implementation of Blockchain technology in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO). For this research, a mixed-method approach was followed to obtain a holistic view of the adoption of Blockchain technology in an aircraft maintenance facility. Semi-structured interviews and a case study were used. The interview findings related to the current status of maintenance records management. The findings also highlighted the value of data storage within MRO’s and the benefits of Blockchain. The paper also discusses the readiness/willingness of aircraft maintenance facilities to implement Blockchain and the barriers to implementation. Recommendations and areas for further research are identified.
The concept of blockchain has emerged as an effective solution for data-sensitive domains, such as healthcare, financial services, etc., due to its various attributes like immutability, non-repudiation, and availability. Thus, implementation of this technology in various domains rose exponentially; one of such fields is the healthcare supply chain. Managing healthcare supply chain processes effectively is very crucial for the healthcare system. Despite various innovations in the method of treatment methodologies, the healthcare supply chain management system is not up to the mark and lacks efficiency. The traditional healthcare supply chain system is time-consuming and lacks the work synergy among the various stakeholders of the supply chain. Thus, In this paper, we propose a framework based on blockchain smart contracts and decentralized storage to connect all the supply chain stakeholders. Smart contracts in the framework enforce and depict various interactions and transactions among the stakeholders, thus helping to automate these processes, promote transparency, improve efficiency, and minimize service time. The preliminary results show that the proposed framework is more efficient, secure, and economically feasible.
Blockchain is a promising breakthrough technology that is highly applicable in manifold sectors. The adoption of blockchain technology is accompanied by a range of issues and challenges that make its implementation complicated. To facilitate the successful implementation of blockchain technology, several blockchain adoption frameworks have been developed. However, selecting the appropriate framework based on the conformity of its features with the business sector may be challenging for decision-makers. This study aims to provide a systematic literature review to introduce the adoption frameworks that are most used to assess blockchain adoption and realize business sectors that these models have been applied. Thus, the blockchain adoption models in 56 articles are reviewed and the results of the studies are summarized by categorizing the articles into five main sections including supply chain, industries, financial sector, cryptocurrencies, and other articles (excluded from the former fields). The findings of the study show that the models based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), technology–organization–environment (TOE), and new conceptual frameworks were the focus of the majority of selected articles. Most of the articles have focused on blockchain adoption in different industry fields and supply chain areas.
Technological adoption has become a key goal of digital transformation within firms, affecting many facets of an organisation such as attaining competitive advantage, increased revenue, reduction of operational costs, and improving operational efficiency. Blockchain as a decentralised peer to peer technology appears uniquely suited to being deployed within complex food supply chains such as the fisheries industry, which is the focus of this study. In this context, blockchain technology can be used for a variety of purposes such as providence authentication, handling and storage, transparency, counterfeit prevention, food forensics, and enhanced supply chain resilience. The purpose of this study is to synthesize existing research on the interrelationship between Blockchain technology and the factors that determine adoption, as well as identifying the enablers and barriers. This preliminary work identified key themes emerging from the blockchain literature suggesting that adoption factors are wide ranging, encompassing aspects including organisational readiness, security, complexity, partnerships, competition, governmental influence, and transparency. The thematic analysis of enablers and barriers to blockchain adoption identified the broad theme of resources as the key enabler and integration as the key barrier. These preliminary findings add to the growing body of research including increased understanding of the current state of academic research in the areas of blockchain adoption factors, blockchain adoption in supply chains, blockchain adoption in the fisheries industry and the enablers and barriers to adoption. This study is the initial step in a large scale study with the next phase comprising case studies of specific fishery supply chain stakeholders.
In recent years, knowledge hiding has gained much popularity in the knowledge management literature. Apart from that, antecedents and consequences of knowledge hiding are being scrutinized at present. There have been many studies on the triggering forces of knowledge hiding; however, the uncivil behaviors at the workplace have led the organizations and employees in trouble due to its possible associating factors, which is well explained by social influence theory. One such factor that this study has identified is knowledge hiding behavior at the workplace. This is a quantitative cross-sectional study based on a survey. The population taken in this study is the middle and low-level managerial staff of the software houses located in China. The respondents were selected based on convenient random sampling, and a sample size of 287 is used in this study. The data collected were employed with the partial least square structural equation modeling using Smart-PLS 3. The findings of this study show that apart from evasive hiding, playing dumb and rationalized hiding plays a significant role in predicting workplace incivility. In addition, psychological contract breach (PCB) has been taken as the mediating variable. The violation of psychological contracts among employees can indulge them in negative feelings that may convert to workplace incivility at any available opportunity of revenge which is well explained by social influence theory. Workplace incivility cannot be completely eradicated from the organizations; however, it can be controlled by making relevant policies. The civility among the employees can be attained by due managerial interventions and training of the employees considering the protection of victims and due punishment to the perpetrator.
The literature so far has been focused on technological sophistication rather than the aspects of blockchain adoption that can hinder or facilitate the use of the technology. To address this gap this paper aims to study the cognitive factors underpinning adoption decision-making moderated by user characteristics. Using a cross-sectional research design, the study recruited 506 respondents to participate and test the relationships hypothesised in the research model. The results of the analysis demonstrated that perceived threat vulnerability, response cost, response efficacy and self-efficacy determine adoption intention. These factors have varying effects on intention depending on users' subjective knowledge, objective knowledge and innovativeness. This evidence contributes to the understanding of users’ perspectives on blockchain adoption, which has been under-researched so far. The findings shed light on the cognitive factors motivating blockchain-based technology use and the individual characteristics of users who are likely to adopt the technology in the context of data privacy and security. In turn, these findings can inform practitioners about the aspects of user behaviour that should be considered while developing and marketing the technology.
BACKGROUND: Blockchain technology is a part of Industry 4.0's new Internet of Things applications: decentralized systems, distributed ledgers, and immutable and cryptographically secure technology. This technology entails a series of transaction lists with identical copies shared and retained by different groups or parties. One field where blockchain technology has tremendous potential is health care, due to the more patient-centric approach to the health care system as well as blockchain's ability to connect disparate systems and increase the accuracy of electronic health records. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to systematically review studies on the use of blockchain technology in health care and to analyze the characteristics of the studies that have implemented blockchain technology. METHODS: This study used a systematic review methodology to find literature related to the implementation aspect of blockchain technology in health care. Relevant papers were searched for using PubMed, SpringerLink, IEEE Xplore, Embase, Scopus, and EBSCOhost. A quality assessment of literature was performed on the 22 selected papers by assessing their trustworthiness and relevance. RESULTS: After full screening, 22 papers were included. A table of evidence was constructed, and the results of the selected papers were interpreted. The results of scoring for measuring the quality of the publications were obtained and interpreted. Out of 22 papers, a total of 3 (14%) high-quality papers, 9 (41%) moderate-quality papers, and 10 (45%) low-quality papers were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Blockchain technology was found to be useful in real health care environments, including for the management of electronic medical records, biomedical research and education, remote patient monitoring, pharmaceutical supply chains, health insurance claims, health data analytics, and other potential areas. The main reasons for the implementation of blockchain technology in the health care sector were identified as data integrity, access control, data logging, data versioning, and nonrepudiation. The findings could help the scientific community to understand the implementation aspect of blockchain technology. The results from this study help in recognizing the accessibility and use of blockchain technology in the health care sector.
Due to the high amount of electronic health records, hospitals have prioritized data protection. Because it uses parallel computing and is distributed, the security of the cloud cannot be guaranteed. Because of the large number of e-health records, hospitals have made data security a major concern. The cloud's security cannot be guaranteed because it uses parallel processing and is distributed. The blockchain (BC) has been deployed in the cloud to preserve and secure medical data because it is particularly prone to security breaches and attacks such as forgery, manipulation, and privacy leaks. An overview of blockchain (BC) technology in cloud storage to improve healthcare system security can be obtained by reading this paper. First, we will look at the benefits and drawbacks of using a basic cloud storage system. After that, a brief overview of blockchain cloud storage technology will be offered. Many researches have focused on using blockchain technology in healthcare systems as a possible solution to the security concerns in healthcare, resulting in tighter and more advanced security requirements being provided. This survey could lead to a blockchain-based solution for the protection of cloud-outsourced healthcare data. Evaluation and comparison of the simulation tests of the offered blockchain technology-focused studies can demonstrate integrity verification with cloud storage and medical data, data interchange with reduced computational complexity, security, and privacy protection. Because of blockchain and IT, business warfare has emerged, and governments in the Middle East have embraced it. Thus, this research focused on the qualities that influence customers' interest in and approval of blockchain technology in cloud storage for healthcare system security and the aspects that increase people's knowledge of blockchain. One way to better understand how people feel about learning how to use blockchain technology in healthcare is through the United Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). A snowball sampling method was used to select respondents in an online poll to gather data about blockchain technology in Middle Eastern poor countries. A total of 443 randomly selected responses were tested using SPSS. Blockchain adoption has been shown to be influenced by anticipation, effort expectancy, social influence (SI), facilitation factors, personal innovativeness (PInn), and a perception of security risk (PSR). Blockchain adoption and acceptance were found to be influenced by anticipation, effort expectancy, social influence (SI), facilitating conditions, personal innovativeness (PInn), and perceived security risk (PSR) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as providing an overview of current trends in the field and issues pertaining to significance and compatibility.
With a Fourth Industrial Revolution making inroads, encompassing all sectors of the industry with numerous concepts of disruptive technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics and 3D Printing we have barely scratched the surface of its Scope, Implication, and Applications in various branches of the Construction Industry. This research aims to investigate the potential of Blockchain technology in the context of Smart Contracts and Supply chain management (SCM) applications in the construction sector. Most of the time, cost overruns have been attributed to the sluggish pace of contractual impediments or inefficacy of material and machinery procurement processes. The executive of material and data stream is a crucial need for development organizations. Effective execution in these regions can give significant benefits and permit more main incentives for customers. The industry is regularly censured for being delayed to grasp the change it needs and at the exact moment has been referred to as ready for the interruption because of the intricacy of work and a sheer number of guidelines and gauges, trust and check issues in regards to consistency to work principles still loom to a great extent. The momentum built by BIM infusion in the industry could be leveraged to bring Blockchain technology to the fore to mitigate Information Asymmetry by -distributing information to generate decentralized consensus building among various stakeholders involved.
Cryptocurrencies have transgressed ever-changing economic trends in the global economy, owing to their conveyance, security, trust, and the ability to make transactions without the aid of formal institutions and governing bodies. However, the adoption of cryptocurrency remains low among stakeholders, including e-retailers. Thus, the current work explores the intentions of e-retailers in the Asia and Pacific region to adopt cryptocurrencies. This study considers the TAM-based SOR, with a combination of non-cognitive attributes (compatibility and convenience) proposed as stimuli for e-retailers to adopt the examined cryptocurrencies. The findings indicate that the proposed non-cognitive attributes are critical in determining e-retailers’ technostress (emotional state). Moreover, it was found that technostress among e-retailers profoundly impacts their intentions to adopt cryptocurrency in business settings. Meanwhile, regulatory support communication can be used to help regulatory bodies and governing institutions control the future economy worldwide. The proposed study offers significant theoretical and practical contributions through its investigation of e-retailers’ intentions to adopt cryptocurrency for the first time in the particular context of technostress and regulatory support.
Abstract Decision-making is a prolific research area in the internet era, which has propelled globalization and the virtual elimination of many country border barriers. However, effective decision-making in the shipping industry is a time consuming and often complicated process. Digital evolution has provided new innovative organizational operation methods. Blockchain technology—a basic component of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—is one such innovation that promises to alter the process of decision-making. However, only a few academic studies have explored the decision-making aspect of blockchain technology. Moreover, there is a dearth of comprehensive research on how blockchain affects decisions in the shipping industry. This study explored how this novice technology can address issues, such as vast documentation and information asymmetry in the shipping industry. Specifically, grounded theory was used to qualitatively investigate extant practices and examine the potential impact of blockchain technology on decision-making in the shipping industry and the potential of using blockchain technology to emancipate decision-making. The study results indicate that the instant and reliable data-sharing capability of blockchain can significantly impact the shipping industry, while transforming its decision-making processes.
Based on the case analysis of recent accounting scandal of Luckin Coffee, the paper studies whether and how the blockchain technology would help to prevent and detect accounting fraud, using the fraud triangle model. I find that the three characteristics of the blockchain technology would help to break the fraud triangle. First, the decentralization (rather than centralized authorization) will largely increase the fraud cost, discouraging fraudulent behavior in financial reporting. Second, the append-only linear form of transactional data (rather than relational database) enhances the tracking of tokenized assets, making the data much more difficult to be modified than the data in a traditional relational database with many data operation possibilities. Third, with smart-contracts serving as automatic controls, the blockchain removes the human factor, thus enhancing the control environment. My findings shed light on how blockchain, as one of the most disruptive and promising emerging technologies, will significantly cause landscape changes in the accounting and auditing fields.
Marinela Mircea, Marian Stoica, Bogdan Ghilic-Micu
Most countries in the world are currently faced with a series of public procurement challenges. Moreover, the large volumes of public procurement and the impact it may have of the global economy, the environment and the society at large justify a research study aimed at achieving sustainable and smart procurement. Smart public procurement intensively relies on emerging technologies and it is both an international priority and a challenge to achieve it. This paper is aimed at addressing such procurement-specific challenges. This study reflects the current status and the trends in public procurement, as well as the manner in which Blockchain and the Internet of Things (BIoT) may lead to a beneficial change in the field. In order to analyse the impact of BIoT, we are putting forward an assessment model comprising the definition and the description of six hypotheses. They are validated both by reference to the current knowledge status and via the analysis of the data collected in a survey which was conducted in Romania. It was aimed at collecting and analysing the data from the main stakeholders as well as at formulating recommendations/actions related to the modernisation of the current system. The study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to validate the proposed model and to establish the relationships between the adoption of BIoT and smart, sustainable and transparent public procurement. At the same time, we analyse the links between the adoption of BIoT and aspects such as corruption and fraud, the challenges related to technological integration and the need to reengineer organisations, as well as national and international policies. Following our analyses, there emerged that BIoT adoption has a positive impact on the achievement of sustainable public procurement processes (the highest effect), on transparency and the trust in public procurement, on reducing corruption and fraud in public procurement and on the achievement of smart public procurement. The paper provides theoretical and practical contributions that should support solutions to the current major challenges and represent a vehicle for innovation and sustainable development alike.
Blockchain has aroused widespread interest in many fields.As a distributed digital ledger, blockchain has transparency, traceability, and irreversibility in recording transaction information, and has been welcomed by many industries and investors.This paper aims to discuss two main applications of blockchain: in supply chain management and reducing transaction costs in the financial field.By analyzing relevant cases and data, this paper discusses the significant impact of blockchain technology in these two fields.Potential risks of adaptation are also considered.Blockchain can enhance the traceability and efficiency of supply chain management and avoid losses caused by fraud and transaction costs in the financial field.As blockchain has not been widely used, its technical cost and use standard setting deserve attention.Considering the risks of adoption, it is very important to set standards for the scope of participants and the type of blockchain to ensure security before applying blockchain to specific fields.