Blockchain Papers

Leon Pikor

This dissertation explores the impacts of blockchain-based audit trails and stakeholder feedback loops on ethical conduct in U.S. federal and state public administration. The study addresses ongoing ethical problems in government, such as low levels of accountability, inadequate procedures, policy manipulation, and a waning public confidence in government, despite the existence of government ethics codes and oversight bodies. Ethical adherence is considered using two complementary theories: the virtue theory (Honesty, Fairness, Integrity, Responsiveness, Trust) and the deontological theory (Duty fulfillment, Rule following, Documentation, Accountability, Procedural compliance). The study was conducted with closed and open-ended answers from public administration participants who have experience in ethics, compliance, audit, procurement, oversight, stakeholder engagement, or other related areas using an anonymous online survey via Google Forms. Ten responses were received and nine valid responses were analyzed. The findings revealed that audit trails linked to blockchain were seen as the most beneficial for holding accountable, tracing, ensuring record integrity, reviewing and ensuring duty-based compliance. Stakeholder feedback loops were seen as most beneficial for fairness, honesty, telling the truth, responsiveness and public trust. The two tools were perceived as complementary tools and not as competing tools. The results, however, also showed that transparency instruments are not necessarily the drivers of ethical behavior. They rely on leadership, staff development, correct data entry, active data review, meaningful follow-up to feedback, and follow-through on actions. The study brings to the public administration literature a connection between mechanisms of transparency and ethical adherence in both virtue-based and duty-based approaches. It provides pragmatic advice to agencies that want to build ethical governance through technology, participation, and organizational culture in complex federal, state, and government-adjacent administrative contexts, in everyday practice.

Mohammad Nazmul Huda*

Local government institutions (LGIs) are widely recognized as the cornerstone of democratic governance and sustainable local development. In Bangladesh, Union Parishads, Municipalities (Pourashavas), Upazila Parishads, Zila Parishads, and City Corporations play a vital role in delivering public services, promoting participatory governance, and fostering socio-economic development. Despite significant progress in decentralization, the financial autonomy of local governments remains limited due to excessive dependence on central government transfers and grants. The inadequate mobilization of own-source revenue (OSR) restricts the capacity of LGIs to finance infrastructure, maintain essential public services, and respond effectively to local development needs. This conceptual paper examines the relationship between strengthening local government institutions and improving own-source revenue mobilization in Bangladesh. Drawing upon theories of fiscal decentralization, public financial management, and good governance, the paper argues that sustainable local development requires financially autonomous local governments capable of generating, managing, and utilizing local revenues efficiently and transparently. The study identifies key institutional, legal, administrative, technological, and political constraints affecting local revenue collection while proposing policy options to enhance fiscal capacity. The paper further emphasizes that digital transformation, improved tax administration, citizen participation, institutional accountability, and fiscal transparency can significantly strengthen local revenue systems. Effective utilization of locally generated revenue not only improves service delivery but also reinforces public trust and democratic accountability. The findings contribute to the growing literature on decentralization and local public finance by providing a conceptual framework for strengthening local government finance in Bangladesh.

CHAIMAA EL HAMDANI, Jamaa LAMKIES, Zakaria ELMEKHLOUFI, Mohammed Kehel

Résumé : Objectif : Cet article examine dans quelle mesure le contrôle de gestion territorial peut servir de levier de résilience et d'agilité organisationnelles dans les collectivités territoriales marocaines, dans un contexte de contraintes budgétaires et institutionnelles. Malgré l'abondance des travaux sur le pilotage de la performance publique, la résilience et l'agilité organisationnelles, la littérature n'offre à ce jour aucune articulation systématique entre contrôle de gestion territorial, résilience et agilité dans les collectivités locales marocaines ; combler précisément cette lacune constitue l'objet du présent article. Méthodologie : Il s'agit d'un article conceptuel (conceptual paper) fondé sur une revue narrative de la littérature indexée dans Scopus et sur une analyse documentaire des réformes institutionnelles marocaines (Constitution de 2011, loi organique relative aux lois de finances de 2015), complétée par une grille d'analyse comparative public-privé destinée à identifier les pratiques de gestion transférables. Apports : L'article formule des propositions théoriques, et non des résultats empiriques, selon lesquelles le contrôle de gestion territorial peut renforcer la résilience et l'agilité par l'alignement stratégique, les systèmes de mesure de la performance, les mécanismes d'apprentissage organisationnel et les processus décisionnels adaptatifs. L'analyse conceptuelle met en évidence un écart de maturité significatif entre les dispositifs de contrôle de gestion des secteurs privé et public, tout en montrant que le cadre constitutionnel de 2011 et la réforme budgétaire de 2015 offrent des conditions favorables à une gouvernance territoriale plus agile. Trois facteurs critiques de succès sont dégagés de la littérature : l'alignement stratégique du contrôle de gestion avec les objectifs de développement local, l'investissement dans le capital humain et les infrastructures numériques, et une hybridation progressive et sélective des outils privés adaptée aux valeurs du service public. Implications : L'étude propose aux décideurs territoriaux des recommandations hiérarchisées selon leur horizon de mise en œuvre et identifie des pistes de validation empirique du modèle proposé. Originalité : La contribution de l'article réside dans l'intégration, au sein d'un cadre analytique unifié, de trois corpus jusque-là juxtaposés, appliquée au contexte des collectivités territoriales marocaines et transposable avec prudence à des contextes de décentralisation comparables. Mots clés : Contrôle de gestion territorial, résilience organisationnelle, agilité organisationnelle, collectivités territoriales, Nouveau management public, Maroc. Classification JEL : H70, H83, L38, M48 Type du papier : Recherche Théorique Abstract : Purpose: This paper examines the extent to which territorial management control can serve as a lever for organizational resilience and agility in Moroccan local governments facing budgetary and institutional constraints. Despite a growing body of literature on public sector performance management, organizational resilience, and organizational agility, no systematic articulation between territorial management control, resilience, and agility has been proposed for Moroccan local governments; addressing this precise gap constitutes the purpose of this study. Design/methodology/approach: The article is a conceptual paper based on a narrative review of Scopus-indexed literature and a documentary analysis of Moroccan institutional reforms (2011 Constitution, 2015 Organic Law on Finance Laws). A comparative public-private analytical grid is used to identify transferable management practices. Findings: The study derives theoretical propositions rather than empirical results. It suggests that territorial management control may enhance resilience and agility through strategic alignment, performance measurement systems, organizational learning mechanisms, and adaptive decision-making processes. The conceptual analysis points to a significant maturity gap between private and public sector management control systems, while indicating that the 2011 Constitution and the 2015 budget reform provide enabling conditions for more agile territorial governance. Three critical success factors are inferred from the literature: strategic alignment of management control with local development objectives, investment in human capital and digital infrastructure, and progressive, selective hybridization of private-sector tools adapted to public service values. Originality/value: The contribution of the paper lies in integrating three previously separate bodies of literature within a unified analytical framework applied to Moroccan local governments, with cautious transferability to comparable decentralizing contexts. Practical implications: The study offers local decision-makers recommendations prioritized by implementation horizon and identifies avenues for future empirical validation of the proposed model. Keywords: Territorial management control, organizational resilience, organizational agility, local government, New Public Management, Morocco. JEL Classification: H70, H83, L38, M48 Paper type: Theoretical Research