The concept of cryptocurrency arose and the first cryptocurrency bitcoin was introduced in 2009 after the broken out of global financial crisis in 2008. In the 12-years development of cryptocurrency, the great and famous entrepreneur Elon Musk has occupied the most prominent role in recent years. Based on information retrieval and literature analysis, Elon Musk has a great effect on the development of cryptocurrencies. Therefore, it is assumed that Elon Musk holds a large number of cryptocurrencies, e.g., Bitcoin, Dogecoin. It is found that Elon Musk brings the cryptocurrency much media propagation, i.e., he is the biggest potential beneficiary. These results shed light on investigating the impact of famous celebrities on cryptocurrency, which can take control of its pulling and smashing. In future, more samples and cases can be analyzed into this topic by researchers to make it more objective and multiple.
Blockchain has evolved as one of the disruptive technologies in the landscape of business. The study aims to investigate drivers of consumer adoption of blockchain for product origin and track to trace history before making a purchase. An extended technology adoption model (TAM) has been proposed to examine the consumer perspective for blockchain adoption in the food supply chain. Based on the survey of 208 retail consumers the proposed model was validated using variance-based structure equation modeling. Findings of the study emphasize the significant role of perceived security and privacy in developing trust, ease of use, and usefulness of blockchain-enabled systems. The relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude is mediated through perceived usefulness. The strong influence of attitude on adoption intention represents the consumer interest for blockchain to understand the product provenance. Study provides vital insights for successful blockchain implementation to enhance supply chain effectiveness.
Purpose Given the increasing industry interest in blockchain technologies for supply chain management and product traceability, this paper aims to investigate consumer purchasing intentions for blockchain traceable coffee and their psychosocial antecedents, utilising an extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire study of 123 participants was deployed, using two traceability systems (one based on blockchain and one on a more established traceability certification) for organic coffee. Findings Adding variables such as environmental protections, trust and habits significantly increased the predictive power of TPB. The results suggest that attitude, perceived behavioural control and environmental protections drive intentions to purchase blockchain traceable coffee. Research limitations/implications Apart from establishing the factors affecting consumer intentions for blockchain traceable coffee, this study validates the TPB as a model of explaining coffee purchasing intentions and provides evidence of new variables that can significantly increase the model's predictive power. Practical implications The proposed format of presenting traceability information along with the significant variables revealed in our study can function as a guide for designing product features and marketing strategies for blockchain traceable organic coffee. Increasing consumer awareness on product traceability will also play a crucial role in the success of these products. Originality/value This study is the first to explore consumer purchasing intentions for blockchain traceable coffee and establish the psychosocial variables behind them contributing, in that way, to an understudied area in academic literature as well as providing insights for a more consumer-centric design of such products.
Open access
Environmental Sustainability in Business
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Abstract Technological innovation generates products, services, and processes that can disrupt existing industries and lead to the emergence of new fields. Distributed ledger technology, or blockchain, offers novel transparency, security, and anonymity characteristics in transaction data that may disrupt existing industries. However, research attention has largely examined its application to finance. Less is known of any broader applications, particularly in Industry 4.0. This study investigates academic research publications on blockchain and predicts emerging industries using academia‐industry dynamics. This study adopts latent Dirichlet allocation and dynamic topic models to analyze large text data with a high capacity for dimensionality reduction. Prior studies confirm that research contributes to technological innovation through spillover, including products, processes, and services. This study predicts emerging industries that will likely incorporate blockchain technology using insights from the knowledge structure of publications.
Cryptoeconomic incentives in the form of blockchain-based tokens are seen as an enabler of the sharing economy that could shift society towards greater sustainability. Nevertheless, knowledge of the impact of these tokens on human sharing behavior is still limited and this poses a challenge to the design of effective cryptoeconomic incentives. This study applies the theory of self-determination to investigate the impact of such tokens on human behavior in an information-sharing scenario. By utilizing an experimental methodology in the form of a randomized control trial with a 2x2 factorial design involving 132 participants, the effects of two token incentives on human information-sharing behavior are analyzed. Individuals obtain these tokens in exchange for their shared information. Based on the collected tokens, individuals receive a monetary payment and build reputation. Besides investigating the effect of these incentives on the quantity of shared information, the study includes quality characteristics of the information, such as accuracy and contextualization. The focus on quantity while excluding quality has been identified as a limitation in previous work. In addition to confirming previously known effects such as a crowding-out of intrinsic motivation by incentives, which also exists for blockchain-based tokens, the findings of this paper point to a hitherto unreported interaction effect between multiple tokens when applied simultaneously. The findings are critically discussed and put into the context of recent work and ethical considerations. The theory-based-empirical study is of interest to those investigating the effect of cryptoeconomic tokens or digital currencies on human behavior and supports the community in the design of effective personalized incentives for sharing economies.
Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the factors driving individuals’ behavioral intention to use cryptocurrency in Saudi Arabia using the extended TRA model. Background: Despite the great potential of cryptocurrencies and the exponential growth of cryptocurrency use throughout the world, scholarly research on this topic remained scarce. Whereas prior studies are mostly done in developed countries or specific cultural contexts, limiting the generalizability of their results, they mainly used technology adoption models that cannot fully explain the acceptance of new technology involved with financial transactions such as cryptocurrency and provided contradictory evidence. Entire regions have been excluded from the research on this topic, including Saudi Arabia which has a high potential to increase the volume of cryptocurrency use. Methodology: This study extends the theory of reasoned action (TRA) with the factors from technology adoption models that proved relevant for this topic, namely perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived innovativeness, and perceived risk with three sub-factors: security, financial, and privacy risk. Data are collected using a quantitative research methodology from 181 respondents residing in Saudi Arabia and then analyzed by several methods, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). Contribution: This study contributes to the scientific knowledge by extending the TRA model with a range of factors from the technology adoption field, thus enabling the analysis of this topic from human, financial, and technology perspectives and providing additional empirical evidence on the factors that previously either provided contradictory evidence or were not explored in this field. This research also provides the first empirical data on this topic in Saudi Arabia and enables further research on the topic and a comparison of the results. The study also contributes to practice by enhancing the actual understanding of the phenomena and providing valuable information and recommendations for governments, investors, merchants, developers, and the general population. Findings: The study found attitude, subjective norm, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness, privacy risk, and financial risk as significant predictors of the intention to use cryptocurrencies, whereas the influence of security risk was not found to be significant in Saudi Arabia. Recommendations for Practitioners: Using this study’s results, governments can create appropriate legal frameworks, developers can design fewer complex platforms, and merchants may create appropriate campaigns that emphasize the benefits of cryptocurrency use and transpire trust in cryptocurrency transactions by enhancing the factors with a positive impact, such as usefulness, enjoyment, and personal innovativeness while reducing concerns of potential users regarding the risky factors. By promoting a positive user experience, they can also improve attitudes and social norms towards cryptocurrencies, thus further stimulating the interest in their use. Recommendation for Researchers: As this study validated the influence of factors from technology, financial, and human-related fields, researchers may follow this approach to ensure a comprehensive analysis of this complex topic, especially as privacy risk was never examined in this context, while personal innovativeness, perceived enjoyment, financial, and security risk were explored in just a few studies. It is also recommended that researchers explore the impact of each part of subjective norms: social media, friends, and family, as well as how information on the benefits of cryptocurrencies affects the perception of the factors included. Impact on Society: Understanding the factors affecting cryptocurrency use can help utilize the full potential of cryptocurrencies, especially their benefits for developing countries reflected in safe, speedy, and low-cost financial transactions with no need for an intermediary. The research model of this study could also be used to investigate this topic in other contexts to discover similarities and differences, as well as to investigate other information systems. Future Research: Future studies should test this research model in similar and different contexts to determine whether its validity and study results depend on cultural and contextual factors. They can also include different or additional variables, or use mixed methods, as interviews would augment the comprehension of this topic. Future studies may also explore whether the impact of variables would remain the same if circumstances changed or use cases expanded, and how the preferences of the target population would change within a longitudinal time frame.
Gartner's Technology Hype Cycle has Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) at the peak of the hype cycle in 2021 while not even having appeared on the hype cycle in 2020. This exploratory study looks at the spread of the hype from a social media context by examining all tweets related to #NFT. We find evidence that the communities are highly dynamic in nature which is indicative of a decentralized social movement with no strong leaders. Sentiment regarding NFTs was strongly positive across all communities with no indication of any growing negative sentiment. The community expanded at exponential rates throughout the period of study with the communities becoming more interlinked and sharing more content over time. This analysis provides a foundation on which future NFT studies, or alternative emergent technology studies could build upon.
DPoS (delegated proof of stake) is one of the current mainstream blockchain consensus mechanisms,and the unique node election mechanism makes it form an evolving blockchain community.Analyzing the evolution model of the blockchain community can discover the potential risks of the consensus mechanism,which has very important research significance.For the DPoS consensus mechanism blockchain data,a novel combination analysis method of the consensus mechanism effectiveness is proposed,and a set of visual analysis methods are designed to help users analyze the evolutionary model of the blockchain community from multiple angles.First,it quantifies the difference between the degree of completion of the work and the voting ranking before and after the node ranking change and analyzes the selection efficiency and incentive efficiency of the consensus mechanism;then,it focuses on the combined efficiency of the consensus mechanism,the evolution of the geographical distribution of nodes,and the comparison of the evolutionary differences between nodes and designs visual views and interactive means;finally,it designs and implements a visual analysis system of blockchain community evolution based on the DPoS consensus mechanism based on the real data of the EOS main chain and verifies the usability and effectiveness of this method through case studies and expert evaluation.
Studien syftar till att undersöka hur influencer marketing påverkar konsumenternas attityd och trovärdighet gentemot marknadsförda Non-Fungible Token (NFT) projekt. Begreppet influencer marketing syftar till marknadsföringsstrategin som handlar om att utveckla relationer med influencers som sedan marknadsför en produkt eller varumärke för att påverka sina följare. Strategin används av företag inom olika marknadsområden för att kunna förmedla och rekommendera produkter på ett mer trovärdigt sätt. Många konsumenter upplever att marknadsföring av företag är för kommersiellt vilket leder till mindre trovärdighet. Genom att använda sig av influencers för att marknadsföra produkter, kan detta stärka trovärdigheten och information som förmedlas. Influencer marketing används även för att påverka konsumenter vid köp av NFT som blivit en populär trend att investera i eftersom det är en digital tillgång i form av konst och samlarobjekt. NFT köps online genom kryptovalutor och certifierar sedan en unik digital tillgång till sin ägare. Däremot finns det stora kunskapsluckor inom NFT vilket ställer högre krav på influencers expertis för att kunna få en högre trovärdighet av konsumenter, dessutom är NFT-marknaden volatil då priset korrelerar med Herding behavior och inlägg från sociala medier. Den instabila NFT-marknaden ihop med osäkerheten kring influencers trovärdighet skapar en försämrad effekt av förtroende i två olika led, dels influencer marketing och NFT. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med totalt 8 respondenter. Frågorna som formats i intervjuguiden har utgått från det teoretiska ramverket med teorier om influencer marketing, AIDA, Source Credibility, Herding behavior och Electronic word-of-mouth. Teorierna är viktiga faktorer för att förstå och generera kunskap om hur konsumenter påverkas av influencers gällande NFT. Resultatet av studien visar att influencers har en tydlig och allmän stor påverkan på konsumenter. Dock är denna påverkan till en viss gräns och skiljer sig beroende på konsumenters tidigare erfarenheter. Om konsumenter är nya inom NFT har influencers haft en direkt påverkan på köpbeslut, medans för de kunniga konsumenterna, blir påverkan endast till att bli uppmärksamma konsumenterna om NFT-projekt som presenteras. Sedan tas egna analyser och beslut självständigt av konsumenterna. Resultatet visar även att expertis är en vital faktor för att öka influencers trovärdighet, samt att nyansering och perspektiv av NFT-projekt är något som uppskattas av konsumenter.
Pod koniec 2021 roku szacowano, że 300 milionów osób na całym świecie posiadało jakąś formę kryptowaluty. Dwie największe dźwignie popularności kryptowalut to DeFi i NFT. Gdy na początku 2021 roku NFT, czyli niewymienialne tokeny, wzbudziły lawinę transakcji detalicznych, duże marki zaczęły zwracać na to uwagę. NFT dają możliwość zachowania cyfrowego IP i aktywowania społeczności internetowych w sposób, który nigdy wcześniej nie był osiągalny. Jednakże, jak dotąd, nie obserwuje się "web3-natywnego" podejścia do NFT ze strony dużych marek. Oznacza to, że żadna marka nie zmieniła swojej architektury Web 2.0 i nie zastąpiła jej całkowicie strukturą Web 3.0. Zamiast tego, globalne firmy przyjęły bardziej ostrożne podejście, udostępniając kolekcje NFT jako odrębne człony swojej oferty, a zarazem stymulując rozwój skupionych wokół nich społeczności. Tę fazę, którą można określić mianem Web 2.5, cechuje stopniowe wdrażanie nowych technologii, takich jak NFT, z korzyścią zarówno do samej lansującej je marki, jak i dla konsumentów. Producenci połączyli to, co najlepsze w Web 3.0, ze sprawdzonymi modelami rozwoju i promocji Web 2.0. Zasadniczo tym właśnie jest Web 2.5: stapianiem innowacyjnych technologii web3, m.in. NFT, z infrastrukturą Web 2.0 i tworzeniem środowiska, które zapewnia odbiorcom silne immersyjne doświadczenia kształtujące więź z marką. Procesy te przedstawiam w artykule na przykładzie marek z sektora mody i sztuki.
Cryptocurrencies have experienced exponential growth in the 10 years after their discovery in 2009.Despite the popularity of cryptocurrencies as an investment, there is still much to be understood about the factors that influence cryptocurrency investment.This study seeks to find the influence of behavioral finance factors, specifically herding, heuristics, and prospects on investment decision for millennials and gen Z in Indonesia.The research method used is multiple regression with several stages including reliability and validity tests, descriptive analysis, and hypothesis testing analysis.With a sample of 140 respondents, it is concluded that herding and heuristic factors have a significant influence on investment decisions in the cryptocurrency market, while the prospect factor does not have a significant influence on investment decisions in the cryptocurrency market.The results of this study indicate that non-fundamental factors are still high as reflected in herding and heuristics on millennials and gen Z investors in Indonesia.Another implication is that many investment decisions are "not yet" sound in a very dynamic situation in the cryptocurrency market.
With advances in internet technologies, innovative industrialization applying big data-based artificial intelligence is leading Industry 4.0. However, opportunities for the public to learn about virtual cryptocurrency or utilities based on blockchain technology are limited, except for Bitcoin. This lack of opportunities generates misunderstandings. This study ascertained and examined the determinants affecting the acceptance of new technologies on Jeju Island, Korea, where tourism is the dominant business. A total of 537 Jeju-do residents and potential visitors from the mainland were analyzed by conducting a partial least squares (PLS)- structural equation modeling (SEM) and one-group pretest–posttest design through a survey after observing a video clip on blockchain implementation on YouTube. The empirical analysis results showed the effect of blockchain trust transparency on the performance and effort expectancy. Facilitating conditions were found to be the most influential in blockchain technology acceptance. Following a video experiment introducing blockchain implementation as a currency for Jeju tourism, a significant positive change towards the implementation of blockchain was observed. This paper presents a concrete application of blockchain technology and shows the possibility of using social media (YouTube) to elicit user awareness and potential interest in the domestic tourism market.
Simone Casale-Brunet, Mirko Zichichi, Lee Hutchinson, Marco Mattavelli · 5 authors
This paper presents an analysis of the role of social media, specifically Twitter, in the context of non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs. Such emerging technology framing the creation and exchange of digital object, started years ago with early projects such as "CryptoPunks" and since early 2021, has received an increasing interest by a community of people creating, buying, selling NFT's and by the media reporting to the general public. In this work it is shown how the landscape of one class of projects, specifically those used as social media profile pictures, has become mainstream with leading projects such as "Bored Ape Yacht Club", "Cool Cats" and "Doodles". This work illustrates how heterogeneous data was collected from the Ethereum blockchain and Twitter and then analysed using algorithms and state-of-art metrics related to graphs. The initial results show that from a social network perspective, the collections of most popular NFTs can be considered as a single community around NFTs. Thus, while each project has its own value and volume of exchange, on a social level all of them are primarily influenced by the evolution of values and trades of "Bored Ape Yacht Club" collection.
Open access
3 source records
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Social Media and Politics
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
Non-fungible token (NFT) trade has grown drastically over recent years. While scholarship on the technical aspects and potential applications of NFTs has been steadily increasing, less attention has been directed to the human perception of or attitudes toward this new type of digital asset. The aim of this research is to investigate what concerns are expressed in relation to non-fungible tokens by those who engage with NFTs on the social media platform Twitter. In this study, data was gathered through online social media data mining of NFT-related posts on Twitter. Two datasets (with 18,373 and 36,354 individual tweet records, respectively) were obtained. Topic modeling was used as a method of data analysis. Our results reveal 19 overall themes of concerns around NFTs as expressed on Twitter, which broadly fall into two categories: concerns about attacks and threats by third parties; and concerns about trading and the role of marketplaces. Overall, this study offers a better understanding of the expressions of concern, uncertainty, and the perception of possible barriers related to NFT trading. These findings contribute to theoretical insight and can, moreover, function as a basis for developing practical design and policy interventions.
Open access
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Δαμιανός Π. Σακάς, Nikolaos T. Giannakopoulos, Νίκος Κανέλλος, Stavros P. Migkos
Nowadays, the cryptocurrency market is thriving, through the rise in cryptocurrency trading, opening the way for cryptocurrency trading websites’ optimization. Optimization of customer satisfaction is a vital part of cryptocurrency trade organizations’ digital marketing problems. It is vital to keep digital advertisement costs low while driving more traffic to a website. This study aims to define a digital marketing strategy for cryptocurrency trading websites by utilizing digital behavior metrics. Web analytics data were gathered from 10 world-leading cryptocurrency trade websites over 80 days. Statistical analysis of cryptocurrency trade web analytics, Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping modeling, and Agent-Based Model development have been deployed. Enhancement of cryptocurrency trade digital engagement levels can boost organizations’ SEO and SEM strategy campaigns. Outputs of the study provide a handful of insights regarding cryptocurrency trading websites’ digital promotion strategy optimization and the parameters of digital behavior mostly connected with websites’ digital marketing costs and traffic. Cryptocurrency trade organizations should utilize both organic and paid campaigns, observe regularly their website KPIs connected with visitors’ behavior and enhance their website users’ experience, by increasing their engagement.