DeFi or Decentralized Finance aims to automate and decentralize any form of traditional finance workflow done by a centralized institution. In this regard, cross border payments and transactions in SAP ERPs can be automated and secured using DeFi protocols. Thus, this study aims to design a payment interface that would fit into SAP ERP frameworks capable of meeting the low-cost, automated, and secure requirements for cross-border payment transactions. Traditionally, payments were made via SWIFT and SEPA. The proposed model intends to replace these with DeFi transactions handled through smart contracts, oracles, and payment middleware. Focusing on results, transaction latency, smart contract auditability, saved costs, and compliance assessments were measured for Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Polygon. Real SAP Business Environment pilots showed over 60% decrease in processing cost while settlement speed increased by up to 90%. The model is designed to handle enterprise risk and compliance by incorporating robust KYC/AML governance, validation, and logging controls. A roadmap for the incorporation of DeFi into enterprise ERPs at a large scale for finance automation will serve as the studyâs conclusion.
Abstract This study explores the factors that influence employeesâ intention to use distributed ledger-based smart contracts in supply chains, addressing a gap in current research by applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to this emerging technology within logistics contexts. Based on a quantitative survey of employees in German supply chain companies, the study measured constructs such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the findings reveal that performance expectancy is a key driver of behavioural intention. In contrast, effort expectancy and social influence have no significant impact. Additionally, demographic variables such as gender, age, experience, and voluntariness do not moderate these relationships. These results highlight the central role of perceived performance benefits in shaping adoption intentions. As the first study to apply an adoption framework to smart contract use specifically in supply chains, it offers valuable insights into the socio-technical dynamics of technology acceptance at the employee level. The findings suggest that supply chain managers should focus on communicating and demonstrating performance gains, supporting adoption through pilot implementations, and providing targeted training initiatives to encourage the integration of smart contracts in operational processes.
Digitalization is reshaping global consumption patterns and exposing the limits of value-added tax (VAT) regimes designed for an analogue economy. While Brazilian tax-reform proposals focus on merging six cascading levies into a single VAT-style tax, this structural simplification alone will not align the system with the realities of cross-border electronic commerce. Drawing on OECD guidelines and the BEPS Action 1 report, this article reviews two decades of international debate on destination-based VAT, especially for business-to-consumer supplies of intangibles. It highlights the practical impasse surrounding customer identification, jurisdictional allocation and collection in high-volume, real-time digital marketplaces. The paper argues that recent suggestions to shift liability to dominant e-commerce platforms, although politically feasible, still rely on âverified self-identificationâ and fragmented registration procedures that are ill-suited to the velocity of automated transactions. As a forward-looking alternative, the study explores how distributed-ledger technologyâparticularly smart-contract-enabled split-payment mechanisms executed on blockchain networks and settled with central-bank digital currenciesâcould embed compliance by design, enhance traceability, and lower administrative costs for both taxpayers and revenue authorities. Implementation prerequisites (digital identities, standardized e-invoicing, regulatory sandboxes) and technological hurdles (scalability, interoperability, tokenization) are mapped, providing a research agenda for a VAT 4.0 architecture. The conclusion contends that harnessing blockchainâs immutability and programmability is essential for a resilient, fraud-resistant indirect-tax system capable of addressing the borderless nature of 21st-century commerce.
The emergence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) presents a fundamental challenge to the traditional corporate form, which has dominated economic organization for over a century. Built on blockchain technology, DAOs propose a new model for coordinating economic activity. This study addressed the critical question of institutional efficiency by applying the lens of Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) to compare DAOs and traditional corporations. A comparative institutional analysis was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. We employed a multiple case study design, analyzing two representative DAOs and two analogous traditional corporations from Q1 2023 to Q4 2024. Data collection involved the systematic analysis of archival records, including 215 DAO governance proposals and corporate filings, and 32 semi-structured interviews with key participants. A novel analytical framework was developed to categorize transaction costs into ex ante (search, bargaining) and ex post (monitoring, enforcement), further distinguishing between 'on-chain' and 'off-chain' costs. The study revealed significant trade-offs between the two organizational forms. Traditional corporations exhibited high ex ante bargaining costs (legal, negotiation) and ex post monitoring costs (managerial overhead), but benefited from established legal frameworks that reduced enforcement uncertainty. Conversely, DAOs significantly lowered specific transaction costs through automation via smart contracts, particularly in on-chain bargaining and enforcement for codified tasks. However, DAOs incurred substantial, often hidden, new transaction costs related to off-chain social coordination, governance participation, and navigating legal ambiguity. This was termed the 'Governance Overhead Paradox'. In conclusion, DAOs do not represent a universally superior organizational form but rather a new point on an institutional possibility frontier. They are highly efficient for tasks that are global, permissionless, and computationally verifiable. Traditional firms retain advantages in contexts requiring complex, subjective decision-making and legal certainty. The future of the firm is likely not a replacement of one form by the other, but a pluralistic ecosystem where hybrid models emerge.
ABSTRACT Blockchainâbased platforms can facilitate data sharing and coordination in interorganizational ecosystems by enabling secure, tamperâevident recordkeeping and streamlined, trustâminimized transactions across organizational boundaries. However, their decentralized architecture may conflict with the centralized control exercised by platform sponsors, giving rise to a centralizationâdecentralization paradox. This study explores how this paradox unfolds in a large, blockchainâbased logistics platform that was ultimately discontinued. Through an inâdepth, longitudinal case study, we identify three interrelated governance contradictionsâregarding ownership, trust, and growthâthat triggered destabilizing oscillations between centralized and decentralized governance modes. We introduce the concept of semirigid limits to capture the bounded flexibility within which governance can be made and adapted under such paradoxical conditions. Our findings show that the centralizationâdecentralization paradox is especially difficult to navigate when strategic boundary conditionsâhere, industry competition, fragmented coordination, and high interdependenciesâare present. Our study contributes to the paradox and governance literature by theorizing how governance contradictions emerge and persist and by identifying the mechanisms that constrain alignment and adaptation. We also offer guidance for managers in regard to addressing the competing demands of centralization and decentralization in interorganizational platforms.
Lending protocols are one of the main applications of Decentralized Finance (DeFi), enabling crypto-assets loan markets with a total value estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. Unlike traditional lending systems, these protocols operate without relying on trusted authorities or off-chain enforcement mechanisms. To achieve key economic goals such as stability of the loan market, they devise instead trustless on-chain mechanisms, such as rewarding liquidators who repay the loans of under-collateralized borrowers by awarding them part of the borrower's collateral. The complexity of these incentive mechanisms, combined with their entanglement in low-level implementation details, makes it challenging to precisely assess the structural and economic properties of lending protocols, as well as to analyze user strategies and attacks. Crucially, since participation is open to anyone, any weaknesses in the incentive mechanism may give rise to unintended emergent behaviours, or even enable adversarial strategies aimed at making profits to the detriment of legit users, or at undermining the stability of the protocol. In this work, we propose a formal model of lending protocols that captures the essential features of mainstream platforms, enabling us to identify and prove key properties related to their economic and strategic dynamics.
The purpose of this article is to develop a smooth digital payment environment by combining cryptocurrency with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Utilizing the decentralized nature of cryptocurrency and UPI's real-time payment capabilities, the suggested method tackles issues including security, interoperability, and regulatory compliance. In order to facilitate fiat-crypto interactions, the framework assesses the roles of centralized and decentralized exchanges and uses smart contracts based on block chains for safe transactions. Enhancing financial inclusion, expediting access to digital assets, and encouraging innovation in payment methods are the goals of this integration. By offering insights into technological and regulatory factors, the study opens the door to a cohesive financial ecosystem that is prepared for the future.
In recent years, technological advancements have significantly transformed the financial and business sectors. These innovations have introduced new payment methods, reshaping consumer perceptions of money and influencing their payment behaviors. Among these innovations, cryptocurrenciesâparticularly Bitcoinâhave emerged as novel alternatives with strong growth potential in retail and consumer services. This study investigates the factors influencing Bitcoin adoption by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The extension includes usersâ predisposition to adopt new technologies, their risk acceptance, and the moderating role of familiarity. Data were gathered through an online survey from a validated sample of 515 active Bitcoin users, and the findings were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that performance expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, and risk predisposition significantly impact the intention to use Bitcoin, with familiarity as a partial moderator. The study offers practical insights for companies and retailers integrating cryptocurrency payments.
AI-, ML-, and blockchain-based supply chain innovations are aimed at maximizing system efficiency. The technologies dispense inefficiencies by decentralizing digital identity management via self-sovereign identities and P2P lending to make vendor-financed systems secure, flexible, and scalable financial operations. The proposed framework features predictive forecasting along with cognitive-driven capabilities, P2P financing for support of financing, and self-sovereign digital identities for authentication independent of central control. It maximizes vendor-managed inventory (VMI) through optimal transparency on the blockchain and embracing self-directed digital identities in networks. Platform trials demonstrate that it works, with 92% prediction rate, 91% success with performing operations, and 93% recall of useful data. Such performance demonstrates that the system maximally enhances supply chain efficiency, maximizes data security, and enables dynamic financial operations. The convergence of cognitive technologies, self-sovereign digital identities, and P2P lending is a scalable solution to establish secure and efficient supply chain systems for vendor-controlled ecosystems.
Blockchain's economic value lies in enabling financial and economic transactions without relying on trusted, centralized intermediaries. In practice, however, transactions pass through a fragmented chain of intermediaries before being included on-chain. Because standard blockchain data reveal only the winning block, this process is largely unobservable. We address this limitation by constructing a novel dataset of 15,097 non-winning Ethereum blocks, that is, blocks proposed but not selected for inclusion. We show that 21% of user transactions are delayed: they appear in candidate blocks but not in the winning block, implying that fragmented routing materially affects inclusion time. We further show that execution quality varies substantially across candidate blocks: for the same swap, both execution probability and execution price differ across proposed blocks. To study these differences, we examine competition between two arbitrage bots trading between decentralized and centralized exchanges. We find that, conditional on inclusion in a block that also contains transactions from these bots, user swaps in the same (opposite) direction are less likely (more likely) to execute and receive worse (better) prices. These results show that routing and block composition are central determinants of execution quality and market quality in on-chain markets.
Ethereumâs transaction pool (mempool) dynamics and fee market efficiency critically affect transaction inclusion, validator workload, and overall network performance. This research empirically analyzes gas price variations, mempool clearance rates, and block finalization times in Ethereumâs proof-of-stake ecosystem using real-time data from Geth and Prysm nodes. We observe that high-fee transactions are consistently prioritized, while low-fee transactions face delays or exclusionâdespite EIP-1559âs intended improvements. Mempool congestion remains a key factor in validator efficiency and proposal latency. We provide empirical evidence of persistent fee-based disparities and show that extremely high fees do not always guarantee faster confirmation, revealing inefficiencies in the current fee market. To address these issues, we propose congestion-aware fee adjustments, reserved block slots for low-fee transactions, and improved handling of out-of-gas vulnerabilities. By mitigating prioritization bias and execution inefficiencies, our findings support more equitable transaction inclusion, enhance validator performance, and promote scalability. This work contributes to Ethereumâs long-term decentralization by reducing dependence on high transaction fees for network participation.
We construct an empirically founded model of a repo trade intermediated by two broker-dealers and prove multiple equilibrium and the existence of equilibrium at the joint profit maximizing volume of trade. We then present a smart contract that resolves multiple equilibrium by requiring each broker-dealer to report its client schedule and its minimum hurdle spread, and implementing a selection rule that filters out hurdle-infeasible outcomes. Whenever there exists an equilibrium that exceeds both hurdle spreads, the protocol selects the joint profit maximizing feasible trade and thereby avoids a collapse to no trade. The smart contract is a machine executed algorithm which eliminates the need for trust. Hardware and cryptography are used to prevent leakage of broker-dealer client trade schedules, and to enable privacy-protected auditing with zero-knowledge proofs of the integrity of computations. The outcome can be implemented by a myopic strategy where a broker-dealer truthfully reports its own variables without anticipating its counterparty's reports. This minimizes cognitive and computational complexity, thereby making our smart contract suitable for real-world deployment.
The accelerating wave of digitalization is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of innovation and entrepreneurship, creating unprecedented opportunities and introducing complex new challenges. This study examines the intricate interplay between digital technologies and the processes of innovation, entrepreneurial activity, and organizational transformation. Drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives, it explores key technological drivers such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, and their role in enabling new business models and entrepreneurial ecosystems. The analysis highlights the evolution of platform-based economies, the rise of digital startups, the transformation of organizational cultures toward agility and intrapreneurship, and the emergence of lean innovation methodologies. It also addresses critical ethical, social, and regulatory considerations, including algorithmic bias, data privacy, digital inclusion, and the need for agile governance frameworks. Future research directions are outlined with a focus on decentralized innovation models such as Web3 and the imperative of green, sustainable digital entrepreneurship. The paper concludes that succeeding in the digital era requires more than technological adoption. It demands a strategic fusion of innovation, ethical responsibility, and sustainable development. By offering a comprehensive and forward-looking framework, this research contributes valuable insights to scholars, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and innovators seeking to navigate and shape the future of a digitally mediated global economy.
In the digital age, the virtual economy has become a disruptive force that is changing consumer behavior, economic structures, and industries. The virtual economy, which is made possible by digital platforms, blockchain technology, and artificial intelligence, consists of digital experiences, goods, and services that are not limited by physical boundaries. The growth of digital transactions has given consumers, businesses, and entrepreneurs access to previously unheard-of options, ranging from e-commerce and digital banking to virtual assets like cryptocurrencies. The accessibility of the virtual economy, which permits worldwide involvement with little barriers to entry, is one of its main benefits. Digital marketplaces open up new sources of income, and the gig and create economies enable people to make money off of their talents. The blockchain-based technologies and decentralized finance provide financial inclusion to marginalized communities. This chapter offers perspectives on how virtual economy may affect the societal advancement and economic expansion in the digital era.
The rise of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is revolutionizing financial systems, introducing innovations such as programmable payments, and allowing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) payments, which are essential for Industry 4.0. Despite their potential, DLT-based financial systems face barriers, including operational efficiency, regulatory uncertainty, limited institutional acceptance, and challenges in integrating with conventional financial systems. Trigger solutions emerge as a promising approach to bridge these gaps by combining the programmability and immutability of DLT systems with the regulatory certainty and established trust of conventional financial systems. This work explores key requirements for trigger solutions to support interoperability between DLT-based and conventional financial systems, enabling high-frequency programmable payments and regulatory compliance for industry 4.0. We present a state channelâbased trigger solution ( SCTS ) tailored to meet industryâs requirements, offering a blueprint for integrating advanced payment capabilities into conventional financial systems. SCTS leverages the concept of justified trust-building on technological advantages to enable scalable programmable payments. We find that SCTS enables businesses to adapt to the technological demands of Industry 4.0.
This paper presents a novel cash-on-delivery method for e-commerce, combining blockchain-based smart contracts and parcel lockers to enhance transparency, trust, and efficiency in last-mile delivery. The system reduces payment risks for suppliers while ensuring timely deliveries and tracking customers. By integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain, this approach addresses key challenges like fraud and delivery inefficiencies, paving the way for more secure and sustainable e-commerce logistics. Furthermore, this study serves as a roadmap for other academics and blockchain professionals, encouraging further experimentation and research to refine and validate this approach through practical applications and real-world testing.
Chrysostomos Apostolidis, Anthony Devine, Abdul Jabbar, YaĆanur Kayıkçı · 5 authors
Purpose Despite the increasing interest of organisations in integrating advanced digital technologies, many digital transformation efforts fail to deliver long-term, sustainable value to the organisations and the stakeholders. Focusing on the impact of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the Peer-to-Peer economy, as a case of digital transformation towards Industry 4.0, this conceptual study explores the role of algorithmic and organisational trust as facilitative drivers of sustainable digital transformation. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Lewinâs change theory model, the study reviews and considers relevant literature on digital transformation, innovation and digital business models to support the development of a conceptual framework that explains the sustainable digital transformation process and explores the role of trust. Findings Drawing on Lewinâs change theory model and technology adoption literature, we reconceptualise digital transformation as a dynamic, non-linear process and identify four key phases in the sustainable digital transformation process (Initiating, Transforming, Re-positioning and Sustaining). We then explain the important role of algorithmic and organisational trust in sustainable digital transformation. Practical implications The study highlights the importance of trust for organisations, and explains how organisations can use blockchain-based technologies as intermediaries who take on the role of trust and the impact this has on the digital transformation process. Originality/value This paper contributes to existing literature on digital transformation in several ways. First, we reconceptualise the digital transformation process as a dynamic, non-linear process and develop a conceptual model for sustainable digital transformation following a âplan-action-result-evaluationâ strategic approach. Second, we argue that there is a relocation of trust, towards technology and organisations, which impacts further upstream in the digital transformation process. This paper integrates the discussion between trust (algorithmic and organisational) and digital transformation, highlighting the need for parallel processes in creating the conditions for a sustainable transformation process.
Flavio Corradini, Alessandro Marcelletti, Andrea Morichetta, Barbara Re
Blockchain technology has been widely adopted to enhance the security and the decentralisation of smart applications in large-scale pervasive systems. In such a context, data extraction is crucial as it provides a better understanding of the systemâs behaviours. However, several challenges arise in automatically extracting data, due to the variety of data sources, such as transactions, events, contract storage, and the complexity of the blockchain structure. In particular, retrieving smart contract state changes remains unexplored despite its potential usage for discovering unexpected behaviour. For such reasons, in this work, we propose a novel methodology and a supporting application for extracting smart contract state changes and other execution-related data. The obtained data is then decoded and offered in a standard format to be easily reused. The methodology provides additional functionalities such as transaction filtering and capabilities for querying over extracted data. The effectiveness and the performance of the methodology were evaluated on three real-world projects from different EVM-based blockchains.
The explosive growth of blockchain technology mechanisms has spurred the evolution of a variety of decentralized designs that offer increased transparency, security, and trust. Nonetheless, there are still great challenges on the road of the blockchain in particular the public blockchain, mainly the inefficiency of the consensus mechanism (e.g. Proof of Work, Proof of Stake) and the issue of scalability. Although safe, these mechanisms require lengthy transaction processing times and are energy-intensive so that current blockchain solutions can only be used for small scale and not real time applications. This study investigates the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically, machine learning (ML) algorithms, to enhance and streamline blockchain consensus protocols. For example, the study explores the types of decentralized networks that can be accelerated with less energy consumption and lower transaction latency using AI methods including reinforcement learning, supervised learning, and deep learning. The paper also provides a comprehensive overview of recently proposed AI (ML in particular) solutions for optimizing some fundamental components of consensus protocols. For instance, ML models may be used to preemptively predict and adjust network circumstances, dynamically tune consensus parameters, and maximize block generation rates to reduce overall latency. Moreover, the research delves into the potential of AI to address problems such as network congestion, transaction bottlenecks, and the centralization of power in PoW systems. Such AI-powered methods may transform the current blockchain frameworks, making them agile and sustainable through decentralized consensus mechanisms catering to large players without causing significant harm to the environment. Lastly, the study highlights the challenges and limitations of integrating AI into blockchain systems, such as data privacy issues, the complexity of AI integration, and the trade-off between decentralization and efficiency. Large-scale, high-performance applications in domains such as finance, healthcare, and supply chain management can be enabled by AI driving this next generation of blockchain technologies.
Purpose Developing countries are recording high cryptocurrency adoption rates surpassing more advanced economies. Considering that this is the opposite of the realities of most other technologies in these areas, this high uptake is puzzling. With a case study of crypto use for cross-border payments in the Nigerian context, this paper aims to address the paucity of empirical research on the phenomena of cryptocurrency adoption and diffusion in developing countries. We put forward a sociotechnical and empirically grounded innovation translation account of the high rates of crypto transactions in developing countries that overcome criticisms against extant arguments in the literature. Design/methodology/approach We take a case study approach and analyse the use of cryptocurrency for cross-border payments. Data collection involved two rounds of interviews with retailers from Nigeria, suppliers from China, informal exchangers, crypto brokers and mediators. We analysed themes using an approach sensitised by actorânetwork theory (ANT) constructs. Our methodological approach focuses on ANTâs relational dynamics to examine how human and non-human actors enable cryptocurrency adoption in a developing-country context. Findings We show evidence to suggest that crypto adoption and diffusion in developing countries occurs through an iterative process of technology transformation and appropriation, a strong coalition of the interests of diverse actors and a dynamic relationship between the technical elements of crypto and contextual political, economic, social, technological, legal, environmental influences. Findings have implications for crypto-focused companies, development institutions and policymakers who increasingly show interest in the popularity of cryptocurrencies in developing countries. Originality/value This research breaks ground as a sociotechnical and empirically grounded description of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies in developing countries. The study provides an insightful approach to understanding technology adoption as a relational and context-sensitive process. Insights from the framework might be useful for addressing adoption challenges and designing inclusive financial systems in similar contexts.
Mengyuan Cheng, HeapâYih Chong, Yongshun Xu, Ming Chi · 5 authors
Purpose Despite the well-documented benefits of blockchain-smart contracts (SC), the effective adoption among the coordination of key stakeholders remains unclear. Limited studies have considered the perspective from complex interactions of key stakeholders for different stages of contract development during the SC adoption process. Therefore, this research developed a tripartite evolutionary game model to analyze the dynamic interplay among government, private owners and general contractors for SC adoption across contract development stages. Design/methodology/approach Resorting to evolutionary game theory, this study develops a theoretical model grounded on the strategic interactions between government and construction stakeholders from the different sectors, whose co-evolving choices influence (and are influenced by) different SC policies. Key factors were numerically modeled their decision-making for each contract stage. This study further examines incentive subsidies, supervision costs and penalties for the key stakeholders. Findings The results reveal the choice of SC adoption strategy is influenced by the different interactive behaviors of participants across contract development stages, revealing a complex interplay where the likelihood of private ownersâ development strategies inversely affects government promotion and positively influences general contractorsâ application of SC. Originality/value The research contributes to the effective adoption of SC through clarifying key stakeholdersâ interactions from the perspectives of distinct evolutionary stages in contract development and government interventions in the decision-making process.