The use of blockchain technology in supply chain finance promises to solve existing inefficiencies of conventional supply chain finance methods. With the help of a systematic literature review, these issues are uncovered, showing how blockchain could solve them. The main problems include the non-transparency of complex networks, insufficient risk control, information asymmetries, and inefficient processes. Blockchain-based SCF platforms can solve these problems with key features such as decentralization, transparency, traceability, and automation capability.
Zulfikri Zulfikri, Auwal Sadiq Adam, Salina Kassim, Anwar Hassan
There is an indication that zakat institutions are inefficient and lack transparency in terms of distributing and managing their funds. This leads to a lack of trust between Muzakee and zakat institutions; hence, they prefer to pay zakat to Mustahiq directly. This means that zakat institutions may be collecting far less in zakat funds than the maximum amount that is potentially available. Meanwhile, the invention of blockchain technology has disrupted the financial sector as it offers transparency in transactions, meaning intermediaries are no longer needed. The use of blockchain in zakat management is important for improving transparency in the distribution of zakat. The objective of this paper is to explore the determinant factors that influence trust in zakat institutions using blockchain technology as a mediating effect. The results of the literature review revealed that these factors are reputation, satisfaction with zakat distribution, service quality and disclosure practice. This study expects that trust in zakat institutions can be enhanced through the use of blockchain technology.
The research study focused on integrating blockchain technology with the internet of things. The study is necessitated by the need to come up with practical and feasible means to improve the accuracy, accountability and trust among various parties involved in blockchain transactions. The research recognizes the fact that there has been an increasing using of the cryptocurrency in the global market. This has lead to the emergence of blockchain, which is one of the disruptive technologies in the information and technology sector. The research study indicates that there is a need to improve on the architecture of blockchain and the IoT system. It shows that there is a need to develop a new model to improve its efficiency and accuracy. This research paper recommends the use of decentralized model to enhance the efficiency of the integration of the blockchain technology and IoT.
Abstract Blockchain is one of the technologies that can support digital transformation in industries in many aspects. This sophisticated technology can provide a decentralized, transparent, and secure environment for organizations and businesses. This review article discusses the adoption of blockchain in the ports and shipping industry to support digital transformation. It also explores the integration of this technology into the current ports and shipping ecosystem. Besides, the study highlighted the situation of the supply chains management in ports and shipping domain as a case study in this field. The investigated studies show that blockchain can be integrated into processes such as financial and document workflow. This review contributes to research by focusing on the adoption of blockchain in the ports and shipping industry to support digital transformation. It also aims to understand the existing port practice and map it with current tendencies based on blockchain. This study gives insight analysis to incorporate blockchain technology into ports and shipping processes globally.
Project delivery on time, with agreed quality and assigned budget, is the desire of project-based companies. Time, quality, and cost are determinants of project success; however, organisations suffer from achieving these three success criteria at the same time. Failures in project delivery cause the loss of the competitive advantage. The recent digital technologies introduce smart contracts to supply chain (SC) operations for improving SC processes. Project procurement is the area for smart contract implementation to deliver successful projects and gain sustainable competitive advantages. The aim of this study was in explaining how smart contracts benefit project organisations through project procurement. Qualitative research design guided this research with phenomenology. Semi-structured interviews generated the data. The obtained research data were analysed with thematic, textual, and discourse analysis. Published industry reports were used to triangulate the data. This study demonstrated an integrated relationship model to answer the research question. The research findings initially identified the fact that smart contracts improve procurement efficiency through cost, time, and quality. Secondly, smart contracts build a trust-less platform where reliability is delivered and reinforced with transparency, traceability, and security. This study found that enhanced procurement efficiency and reliability meet requirements to gain sustainable competitive advantages. This study intends to contribute to industry practices and future research. The correlation of project procurement management success, smart contracts, and sustainable competitive advantages are expected to guide feature research and business practices.
Blockchain is thought to be the most recent innovation in technology. Trust is especially important in areas like the banking sector. Blockchain technology is a decentralised, coded security system which permits the development of novel digital platforms and services using this developing technology. The current research focuses on the usage of blockchain technology in the financial and e-finance sectors. The study focuses of research questions such as the development of blockchain technology, the adoption & challenges in blockchain technology and the application of blockchain technology in the financial sector. This study conducted a systematic review of 76 scientific articles on blockchain technology, narrowing down the selection to 59 articles. As a result, the author created classification framework with three dimensions: blockchain development, challenges and applications in the financial sector. This study recognizes consequences for blockchain research and practice in the future. The study reveals that blockchain has various unexplored application in finance sector and also there is a scope of improvement in technology. Also, the technology is unregulated, thus, it is still in its nascent stage and a lot is to be done in the field.
Dewi Noorain Bolhassan, Chai Changsaar, Ali Raza Khoso, Loo Siawchuing · 6 authors
The revolution of Malaysian Construction 4.0 through emerging technologies has brought a paradigm shift that has digitalized the construction sector. There is a need to adopt a computerized protocol to assist in automating the performance of a contract to meet future digital challenges. Therefore, this paper aims to serve as a pioneer study to investigate the implementation of the Malaysian construction industry to adopt smart contracts. This study adopted a qualitative scientific methodology, whereby a systematic review was conducted to gather the benefits and challenges of implementing smart contracts in the construction industry. Further, interview sessions were arranged to collect data from the construction contract management experts. The research findings unveil that due to the self-executing attribute of smart contracts, the implementation of smart contracts could provide a better apportionment of risks in a contract. The study also finds that the challenges in implementing smart contracts are severe. For instance, the smart contract is irreversible and immutable and prone to human error. The study concludes that it is more suitable to apply and implement a smart contract to a short-term contract that is not subjected to variation. Furthermore, a smart contract can enhance the efficiency in managing the contracts, such as reducing time and managing the conflicts and disputes that arise during the contract duration. The developed implementation framework is significant for the construction personnel, especially those dealing with the contract administration. The implementation of smart contracts in construction could boost contract administration and management discipline via investment in this new technology.
A significant advancement has been contributed by the break-through technologies like smart contracts and blockchain in banking industry, healthcare industry, and construction industry (Zhang 2020). Blockchain can be defined as the distributed public ledger that records all data transaction that is exchanged and shared between the parties within the systems (CEMEX Ventures 2020). The blockchain offers various opportunities and advantages for all the involved parties within an enterprise (Penzes 2018). A synchronized and secure record of transactions are provided to the involved parties. The confirmation of all participants within the system is required in order to finalize the data transaction (Nicosia 2019). Every sequence of transaction is recorded by the blockchain ledger, from beginning to end, in certain irreversible and verifiable records of all transactions which are ever made. There are abundant areas of application of blockchain technology. Smart contract has an important role in the digitalization of conventional paper contracts and provides grounds for the application of blockchain technology (Strategy 2019). This research intends to evaluate the use and application of smart contract, via blockchain technology, in the construction and infrastructure industry of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 pandemic condition has resulted in wider range of negative impacts on the construction sector in UAE, thereby affecting large parts of UAE economy (Gupta et al., 2020). There has been identified significant need of development and implementation of effective digital tools for data management that require least resources. In doing so, the concept of blockchain technology has emerged and investigated by the scholars in construction sector (Salama & Salama 2018). By employing the concepts of smart contracts under blockchain technology, the construction sector in UAE can be improved (Constructible 2020). This may also result in alleviating the negative impacts of COVID-19 in construction sector of UAE. The research findings will be important for the professionals in construction sector of UAE and in delivering the concept of blockchain technology for construction industry.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. When it comes to resolving business issues, it wields considerable power. Every transaction on the blockchain is encrypted, and each transaction is linked to a previous transaction or record. Blockchain transactions are validated by algorithms running on nodes. A single entity cannot start a transaction. Eventually, blockchain provides transparency by allowing any participant to view transactions at any moment. Smart contracts provide secure transactions, minimizing the risk of third-party interruptions. Ethereum is a decentralized platform based on smart contracts. It enables developers to create markets that transfer money according to the instructions given years ago. Blockchain is distinguished by two key characteristics: immutability and decentralization. Deals are completed faster; Transactions and authentication are completed in a matter of seconds, and much more.
Owing to blockchain characteristics such as transparency, traceability, and disintermediation, blockchain technology has been widely employed in sustainable supply chain management. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of blockchain technology in the supply chain. Although most companies have realized the importance of blockchain technology, they often lack understanding of how to plan, measure, cultivate, and improve their own blockchain operation capabilities. Academic research has insufficiently explored the connotations and internal structure of blockchain operation capabilities and does not provide a clear understanding of how to transform blockchain operation capabilities to produce effective performance. In this context, we proposed a concept of blockchain operation capabilities for first time. We took the perspectives of the resource-based view and sociomaterialism theory, based on IT capabilities, big data analysis capabilities, and existing blockchain supply chain research, and explored the relationship between blockchain operation capabilities and competitive performance. We then constructed a hierarchical model for blockchain operation capabilities. To test our proposed research model, we used an online survey to collect data from 1206 firm managers with blockchain technology supply chain experience. The results showed that blockchain operation capabilities has a positive impact on supply chain integration and competitive performance, while supply chain integration has a strong mediating effect on the blockchain operation capabilities and competitive performance relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Incorporating blockchain into Halal traceability systems is developing in nature; the research aspires to examine the participation intent in blockchain-empowered Halal fashion traceability (BHFT) system via a joint framework that includes diffusion of innovation theory, institutional theory, and Halal-oriented approach. The study uses a simple random sampling method to collect the data from 165 Indonesian Halal fashion manufacturing companies. PLS-SEM is employed to examine the conceptual framework. Findings show that Halal-oriented approach significantly affects institutional pressures, while institutional pressures significantly affects perceived desirability, and perceived desirability significantly affects the participation intent. The companies operating an inclusive Halal-oriented approach will be more aware of the institutional pressures that expect them to partake in a BHFT. The paper enhances the existing literature in Halal supply chains, blockchain, operation management, and information systems via a cohesive framework and empirical insight.
Asif Irshad Khan, Abdullah Alghamdi, Fawaz Alsolami, Yoosef B. Abushark · 9 authors
The blockchain technology plays a significant role in the present era of information technology. In the last few years, this technology has been used effectively in several domains. It has already made significant differences in human life, as well as is intended to have noticeable impact in many other domains in the forthcoming years. The rapid growth in blockchain technology has created numerous new possibilities for use, especially for healthcare applications. The digital healthcare services require highly effective security methodologies that can integrate data security with the available management strategies. To test and understand this goal of security management in Saudi Arabian perspective, the authors performed a numerical analysis and simulation through a multi criteria decision making approach in this study. The authors adopted the fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for evaluating the effectiveness and then applied the fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) technique to simulate the validation of results. For eliciting highly corroborative and conclusive results, the study referred to a real time project of diabetes patients’ management application of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results discussed in this paper are scientifically proven and validated through various analysis approaches. Hence the present study can be a credible basis for other similar endeavours being undertaken in the domain of blockchain research.
Purpose-Blockchain has emerged as high impact disruptive technology and surpassed most of the aggressive predictions in banking and finance domain. The changing landscape in digital banking has forced the entire banking sector to look at blockchain technology as future of transactions. Blockchain is disrupting the banking industry and contributing to the increased efficiency and speed in banking. However, there exists a gap in research and development into block-chained processes in banking from an academic perspective, and this paper ia an attempt to put together the research work done in the field of blockchain adoption in banking. Methodology-This paper's literature review process follows common and established guidelines (Levy and Ellis, 2006; Okoli, 2015; von Brocke et al., 2009; Webster and Watson, 2002) and is summarized thoroughly. We considered the IS literature in both the blockchain and the banking context. In the first step, we conduct a separate review on both streams of literature to derive a general understanding of their current state of development. In the second step, we then conflate the relevant literature and discuss it within a joint analytical framework. In doing so, we identify paths for future research and discuss the potential of blockchain technology for banking and finance sector. Findings-In this paper we discuss the impact that blockchain will have on banking in future and show the increasing importance of distributed ledger based transactions for the banking industry. Finally, this paper brings together the research work published in several reputed databases, in hope of motivating more active engagement by academics, researchers and bankers alike. A comprehensive review of the blockchain adoption in banking to date and across the geographic areas is presented as a result of comprehensive review of literature.
Awsan Mohammed, Ahmad Almousa, Ahmed M. Ghaithan, Laith A. Hadidi
Construction is prone to disputes similar to other business dealings. Construction delays are the most common causes of disputes in construction projects. Most of the time, construction projects are delayed not only because of a lack of funding, but also because of disputes between the contractor and the client. Blockchain Technologies (BCT) have the potential to make the construction industry more efficient, inexpensive, or completely automated. In this paper, an extensive literature review is conducted to locate authoritative sources about the most common applications of blockchain technology in the construction industry. The study aims to identify the potential, benefits, challenges, and uses of blockchain in the construction industry. Furthermore, this paper explores the roles of BCTs in improving and enhancing the workflow efficiency of construction projects. In addition, this paper identifies the major causes of disputes and delays in the construction industry. These causes were used as the baseline for identifying the most relevant solutions provided by blockchain technologies to develop a matching model to find applicable solutions from the literature cases to resolve the identified causes of disputes and delays. The research findings indicated that the common cases of BCT including administrative purposes, smart contracts for transactions, permanent transaction records, and permanent ownership records contribute to solving the causes of disputes and delays in construction projects. The findings of this paper recommend that both public and private stakeholders in the construction sector adopt blockchain technologies and blockchain-based Building Information Models (BIMs) to improve construction workflows and processes.
Owing chiefly to the lack of suitable technology solutions, India is experiencing both shortage and wastage of blood units. In addressing such a challenge, we explore the unique role of Blockchain and Internet-of-things technologies in the overall blood supply chain management as an appropriate technology solution. Our study employs an integrated Task-Technology Fit and Technology Acceptance Model to empirically test and identify key factors influencing the adoption intention of the Blockchain and Internet-of-things enabled system. With the need to preserve donor and recipient data integrity and data privacy, the respective state and national health departments strictly regulate blood banks. Accordingly, our study also explores the role of government in supporting and overseeing security concerns in the future adoption of the Blockchain and Internet-of-things technologies. Finally, a solution based on the Blockchain and Internet-of-things technologies to ensure the sufficient availability of blood units at the national level is envisioned.
Yi Xie, Jiayao Zhang, Honglin Wang, Pengran Liu · 10 authors
BACKGROUND: As a distributed technology, blockchain has attracted increasing attention from stakeholders in the medical industry. Although previous studies have analyzed blockchain applications from the perspectives of technology, business, or patient care, few studies have focused on actual use-case scenarios of blockchain in health care. In particular, the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to some new ideas for the application of blockchain in medical practice. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to provide a systematic review of the current and projected uses of blockchain technology in health care, as well as directions for future research. In addition to the framework structure of blockchain and application scenarios, its integration with other emerging technologies in health care is discussed. METHODS: We searched databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, IEEE, and Springer using a combination of terms related to blockchain and health care. Potentially relevant papers were then compared to determine their relevance and reviewed independently for inclusion. Through a literature review, we summarize the key medical scenarios using blockchain technology. RESULTS: We found a total of 1647 relevant studies, 60 of which were unique studies that were included in this review. These studies report a variety of uses for blockchain and their emphasis differs. According to the different technical characteristics and application scenarios of blockchain, we summarize some medical scenarios closely related to blockchain from the perspective of technical classification. Moreover, potential challenges are mentioned, including the confidentiality of privacy, the efficiency of the system, security issues, and regulatory policy. CONCLUSIONS: Blockchain technology can improve health care services in a decentralized, tamper-proof, transparent, and secure manner. With the development of this technology and its integration with other emerging technologies, blockchain has the potential to offer long-term benefits. Not only can it be a mechanism to secure electronic health records, but blockchain also provides a powerful tool that can empower users to control their own health data, enabling a foolproof health data history and establishing medical responsibility.
This study aims to build smart supply chains for the first time using the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain. Classification and clarification of causal relationships can provide a useful framework for researchers and professionals who seek to implement an intelligent supply chain using IoT tools in a blockchain platform, and it also demonstrates the intensity of communications indicating such relationships. The research methodology is mixed method, comprised of qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative method includes the Delphi method used for selecting indigenous components and features proper for the pattern. The quantitative method is the Dematel method used for assessing the relationships between the available concepts in the pattern and accessing the network structure between components. Interpretative Structural Modeling is also employed to classify the network structure obtained from the Dematel technique. The findings of the study identify indicators of IoT and blockchain as causes based on Dematel, application of tools, components interconnectedness, optimal decision making, automatedness, integration, innovation and learning, which are indicators of smart supply chain, are the effects in this study.
In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, all aspects of the industrial domain are being affected by emerging technologies. Digitalization of every process is taking place or under process. One of the most important components common to every domain is the supply chain process. Organizations employ a digital supply chain to track the delivery of their products or materials. The digital supply chain is still suffering from a few issues such as no provenance, less transparency, and a trust issue. Blockchain technology, one of the emerging technologies, can be integrated with the supply chain to deal with the existing issues and to improve its performance. In this paper, a model is proposed to integrate blockchain technology with the supply chain to improve performance. The proposed model uses the combination of the Ethereum blockchain and the interplanetary file system to maintain the traceability, transparency, and trustworthiness of the supply chain.
Blockchain-based applications can enhance the sharing of information in processes involving multiple types of stakeholders, as in Supply Chain Management (SCM). A supply chain network can benefit from the visibility of the flow of goods, money, and information enabled by blockchain technology. So far, only limited evidence is available on the perspective of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) on the adoption of blockchain-based applications in their business processes. This may lead to a heavily diminished role for SMEs in SCM if large consortia unilaterally decide to adopt a blockchain-based architecture to improve the performance of the entire supply chain. Therefore, we conducted a study to explore which factors influence SMEs’ intention to adopt blockchain technology. Based on a literature review into technology adoption frameworks, we derived the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) factors that can play a role in their decision-making process. We distributed a survey amongst European SMEs using the multi-criteria decision-making method of the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to elicit the relative weights of these factors. The data analyses show that in contrast to other studies into technology adoption, the SMEs’ intention to adopt blockchain-based applications is primarily influenced by organizational rather than by technological and environmental factors. This implies that SMEs are best supported by showing blockchain’s organizational benefits and by training senior executives at their company.
Katharina Sigalov, Xuling Ye, Markus König, Philipp Hagedorn · 10 authors
Construction projects usually involve signing various contracts with specific billing procedures. In practice, dealing with complex contract structures causes significant problems, especially with regard to timely payment and guaranteed cash flow. Furthermore, a lack of transparency leads to a loss of trust. As a result, late or non-payment is a common problem in the construction industry. This paper presents the concept of implementing smart contracts for automated, transparent, and traceable payment processing for construction projects. Automated billing is achieved by combining Building Information Modeling (BIM) approaches with blockchain-based smart contracts. Thereby, parts of traditional construction contracts are transferred to a smart contract. The smart contract is set up using digital BIM-based tender documents and contains all of the relevant data for financial transactions. Once the contracted construction work has been accepted by the client, payments can be made automatically via authorized financial institutions. This paper describes the framework, referred to as BIMcontracts, the container-based data exchange, and the digital contract management workflow. It discusses the industry-specific requirements for blockchain and data storage and explains which technical and software architectural decisions were made. A case study is used to demonstrate the current implementation of the concept.
Blockchain is one of the most disruptive innovations in the field of technology in 21st century. Blockchain, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) and smart contracts, has emerged as a ground-breaking application in the financial sector. The three key properties of Blockchain technology, Decentralization, Transparency and Immutability have created a huge impact on the banking and finance industries. As technology is the main driving force in Blockchain and its various applications, it will also act as an enabler to sustainable finance which will ultimately lead towards achieving sustainable economy and also sustainable development. This study is an attempt to understand the far-reaching potential of Blockchain technology and its applications such as Bitcoin in the banking and financial services sector. This study has also highlighted the benefits and disadvantages of using Blockchain technology on the banking and finance industries. This study is entirely a theoretical overview based on the available research in the area of Blockchain technology and its application in financial sector. This study will help to understand the future of financial sector in the advent of incorporation of Blockchain technology.
Purpose/objectives: in the last ten years, the implementation of blockchain (BC) technology offers many opportunities for all economic sectors such as finance, health, trade, agriculture, etc. This technology based on distributed digital ledger collects and stores data permanently and in an ordered way, allowing stakeholders to have access to information cryptologically protected. Since 2014, the blockchain technology has been introduced in the tourism industry with the goal to improve this sector. In this contest the present study intents to: 1) carrying out a systematic literature review (SLR) on the implementation of BC technology in tourism economic sector; 2) providing an analysis of its advantages and future challenges.