ABSTRACT The increasing automation of accounting information makes it imperative for auditors to help organizations design and implement blockchain-based solutions to facilitate transactions. A precursor of this initiative is their acceptance of blockchain. From the task-technology fit and fit-as-mediation perspective, this paper proposes that the technological features of blockchain must fit the task needs of auditors to boost acceptance. A survey of 112 auditors confirms that auditors' task needs fully mediate the effect of blockchain features on acceptance. Not all blockchain features are equally important: While timestamping is most important for a shared database, the prevention of double-spending is most important for other task needs. It also finds that perceptions of blockchain features and task needs are influenced by auditors' accounting knowledge and accounting software knowledge, as well as their technology awareness. This shows the importance of strengthening auditors' knowledge and awareness to boost the acceptance of blockchain.
An Enterprise Resource-Planning (ERP) system is a complex, highly integrated software package for business organizations. However, an ERP system still has its limits, since the ERP business model is centered around individual enterprises. Today there is a great need for closer interactions between enterprises worldwide, a necessity that ERP systems face great difficulties with, when expanding to a full-on ecosystem. By integrating Blockchain Technology (BT) with ERP, we are entering a new epoch of decentralization, allowing organizations to function frictionless in a unified ecosystem. This study highlights the importance of integrating BT and ERP systems as well as explores the major prospective pillars for utilizing BT and ERP. This paper contributes to the academic literature, since there is little research evidence concerning the technical and business aspects of BT and ERP, so it fills the gap by exploring the main potential areas for deploying BT and ERP systems.
The emergence of blockchain technology makes it possible to address disparate distributed system security concerns in formerly ridiculous practices. A key factor of this ability is the decentralization of the symmetrically distributed ledgers of blockchain. Such decentralization has replaced several security functionalities of centralized authority with the use of cryptographic systems. That is, public or asymmetric cryptography is the key part of what makes blockchain technology possible. Recently, the blockchain experience introduces the chance for the healthcare field to implement these knowhows in their electronic records. This adoption supports retaining and sharing the symmetrical patient records with the appropriate alliance of hospitals and healthcare providers in a secure decentralized system, using asymmetric cryptography like hashing, digitally signed transactions, and public key infrastructure. These include specialized applications for drug tracking, applications for observing patients, or Electronic Health Records (EHR). Therefore, it is essential to notice that the principled awareness of the healthcare professionals is the leading point of the right perception ethics. In this work, we provide a thorough review of the issues and applications of utilizing blockchain in the healthcare and medical fields emphasizing the particular challenges and aspects. The study adopted a systematic review of secondary literature in answering the research question. Specifically, this paper aims to investigate how blockchain technology can be applied to improve the overall performance of the healthcare sector and to explore the various challenges and concerns of the application of blockchain in the healthcare system.
Sandra Matarneh, Faris Elghaish, Farzad Pour Rahimian, Nashwan Dawood
The potential of blockchain in the construction sector has been recognized in existing literature, as well as its capacity to be integrated into construction projects to automate financial transactions for increased transparency, security, and control. Permissioned blockchain, according to existing research, can be utilized to create a business network among project participants due to its features being compatible with the nature of the construction sector. This article lays out a framework for introducing permissioned blockchain technology, notably Hyperledger fabric, into the construction delivery process. The suggested framework comprises explicit procedures that show how to develop a network during the pre-construction, construction, and closeout stages. The suggested framework also displays the flow of financial transactions across the envisaged financial system. Because of the capabilities of Building Information Modelling/Management (BIM) and cost planning. As a result, the framework determines the data needed to enter the blockchain financial system from 4D/5D BIM. The benefits of employing blockchain in the construction business were emphasized in a systematic literature review, which also selected the best blockchain platform. The framework can also be used by academics and industry practitioners to recognise the architecture of smart contracts (chaincode) in the construction sector, such as formulating endorsement and validation policies. Finally, the findings of this article will be used to develop a proof-of-concept prototype that will be used to test and confirm the suggested conceptual framework's applicability using a real-world case study.
This research explores the role of Blockchain Technology (BCT) integrated with Reverse Supply Chain Networks (RSCN) and evaluates the relationship between BCT and sustainability performance. A qualitative research design was employed to develop a conceptual framework for BCT in RSCN. This research collected and analysed primary and secondary data from four cases as focal-actors. These focal-actors are from multi-industries in Jordan, namely food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and toys. These actors are lead-firms and have experience working with RSCNs and technology applications such as BCT. Primary data were acquired from interviews with managers working in these industries, which were supported by the analysis of secondary data that identified two types of themes: internally focused and externally focused BCT-integrated drivers of RSCNs. The analysis also identified how they leverage sustainability performance improvements, including their use of RSCN approaches and features. This research is one of the few attempts to explore BCT integrated into RSCN for better sustainability performance that contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge of supply chains within emerging economies. All types of actors-as-stakeholders involved with national programs and projects can adopt the new framework. The key findings contribute to the field of RSCN where the adoption of BCT as a broad-based strategy to attain sustainability goals and reverse chain activities along the supply chain is a goal.
COVID-19 has had a huge impact on workers and workplaces across the world while putting regular work practices into disarray. Apart from the obvious effects of COVID-19, the pandemic is anticipated to have a variety of social-psychological, health-related, and economic implications for individuals at work. Despite extensive research on psychological contracts and knowledge sharing, these domains of pedagogic endeavor have received relatively little attention in the context of employee creativity subjected to the boundary conditions of the organization's socialization and work-related curiosity. This study investigates, empirically, the role of psychological contracts in escalating employee creativity through knowledge sharing by considering the moderating role of an organization's socialization and work-related curiosity. The response received from 372 employees of the manufacturing sector has been investigated and analyzed through Smart PLS software. The results have revealed that knowledge sharing is mediating the relationship between psychological contract and employee creative performance, whereas the moderators significantly moderate the relationships between psychological contract and knowledge sharing and between knowledge sharing and employee creative performance accordingly. It has also been depicted that the moderating impact shown by both moderators is significantly high.
Cristina Rodrigues dos Santos Ramos, Maciel M. Queiroz
Purpose This paper aims to investigate the influence of trust on adopting and implementing blockchain technology in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory qualitative approach to understand the construct of trust in the context of the educational sector. Data were collected through semistructured questionnaires and online interviews. Findings The research identified that, for most potential blockchain users, trust positively influences the HEIs, because benefits such as secure data sharing and transaction transparency could optimize the daily routine and avoid fraud in academic documents, providing a cooperative and reliable working environment. In addition, the results suggest that trust is needed to overcome challenges related to issues such as costs and privacy. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the advances in the emerging literature on blockchain in the educational sector as a system with the potential to generate trust, as well as the literature on the technology acceptance models. Practical implications For HEI managers and practitioners, this study highlights the need for a greater understanding of the influence of trust in the relationships between HEIs and other stakeholders. Social implications This work shows that adopting blockchain technologies would allow users to build social relationships of trust in a cooperative work environment and develop trusted behavior by sharing data securely and transparently. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies on the adoption and implementation of blockchain in the education sector in Brazil.
Today, the visibility of information and the traceability of physical flows have become a challenge to the supply chain's smooth operation, especially because they are difficult to process. Several studies have been done in response to this complexity to uncover practical solutions and more effective strategies for delivering services at the level of client expectations. This paper proposes blockchain technology as a solution that has the potential to deliver encouraging results in terms of supply chain sustainability, trust, traceability, and transparency.
The tremendous shift in technology has led to many unconnected things getting interconnected via IoT. IoT is one of the major modes of collecting data from various networked resources and other connected devices. The broad range of IoT, with its huge heterogeneity in handling data, addresses many challenges in the realm of healthcare. Blockchain technology has elevated the use of distributed storage in a positive way. The recent emergence of this technology has paved way for potentially enormous utilization in various fields. Blockchain technology in the fields of IT, finance, industries, government, healthcare, media, and law enforcement has altered the service quality levels to an ethical ideal. Blockchain, in conjunction with IoT, facilitates decentralized collection and storage of data. Integrating blockchain with IoT has emerged as a cutting-edge tool for the decentralized sharing of medical records, monitoring of patients, ensuring the privacy of patient records, predicting the quantum of insurance, and managing supply chains.
A successful construction safety management process involves systematic collection, management, and distribution of a significant amount of data through various means including stakeholders’ safety records, inspection procedures, risk assessment analyses, daily reports, preventive control tasks, incidents reports, and post-incident investigations. Despite the tremendous efforts and research in construction safety, still little is known about a systematic method for safety data management that provides accessibility, transparency, reliability, consistency, and traceability. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by developing a novel information management framework for construction safety processes using blockchain. The proposed framework utilizes distributed ledger technology (DLT) to offer a new architecture of trust for reliably sharing information among all entities involved in a construction project who may not trust one another. The proposed method is designed based on a private blockchain system that maintains a decentralized control of information through permissioned channels to provide a shared view of reliable safety data and records that are accessible, traceable, and immutable. The outcomes of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge and current state of practice in integrated safety management (ISM) systems that aim to protect construction workers and public through providing timely, reliable, and complete information to all entities involved in a project.
Taher M. Ghazal, Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Haitham M. Alzoubi, Mohammed Al Hmmadi · 8 authors
Recent years have witnessed substantial advancement in the subject of smart cities. The purpose of smart city development is to enhance the quality of life for citizens. This was accomplished via the use of IoT and cloud computing technologies. Another promising technology is blockchain, which has the ability to deliver a myriad of value services to its end users. For virtual assets with value, such as Bitcoin, it is a programmable digital register that is immutable. To properly exploit blockchain technology's services inside smart cities, it is necessary to identify the technology's features, as well as its main needs and research obstacles. As such, this essay will try to define the properties of blockchain technology. Additionally, the critical needs for integrating blockchain technology into smart cities are outlined. A possible use case for blockchain technology is used to show how a smart city could be protected. There is also an overview of how a real-world three-blockchain-based smart city case study works. Finally, a number of critical research issues are highlighted and explored.
Composed of an assortment of countries with vast differences in economic and political development, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has historically been slow to embrace integration. The region consists of a diverse mix of countries with complex colonial legacies, ongoing warfare, tribal and religious enmity, and extreme wealth disparity. Recent advances in technology have the potential to enable greater cohesion and development. One such innovation is blockchain, an immutable distributed ledger technology that eliminates intermediaries and revolutionizes how transactions take place over the Internet. While originating as the technology underlying Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain has been applied in many other areas in which data integrity and transparency is vital and has been adopted around the world. This paper explores blockchain adoption in the MENA region, focusing on the financial systems, government policies, and innovation ecosystems within the member countries. Huge discrepancies in the levels of development and adoption of the technology in the MENA countries are revealed, with Israel and several of the oil-rich Gulf states being the most advanced. Examples of blockchain-related collaborations among MENA nations are presented and the future trajectory of blockchain adoption is explored. Keywords: MENA, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Middle East, North Africa, Regional integration
Jacob Lohmer, Elias Ribeiro da Silva, Rainer Lasch
Scholars are increasingly examining how the distributed blockchain technology can counter specific supply chain and operations management challenges. Various research approaches emerge from different scholarly backgrounds, but the interrelation of research areas and current trends has not been adequately considered in a systematic review. We employ a data-driven content analysis approach to examine previous research on blockchain technology in operations management and supply chain management. We investigate the extent to which blockchain technology was considered in scholarly works, structure the research efforts, and identify trends, interrelated themes, and promising research opportunities. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis is conducted on an extensive literature sample of 410 articles. Results indicate an optimistic attitude due to potentials such as tracking and tracing abilities, efficiency increases, and trust-building. Conceptual studies dominate the literature set, with increasing qualitative research efforts. Grand theories are seldomly addressed in the studies. Blockchain technology is outlined as particularly useful when combined with other technologies like IoT. We also identified sustainability implications of the technology, such as enabling transparency for SC stakeholders. Cryptocurrencies can facilitate further efficiency gains if legal uncertainties are reduced. The study is concluded with managerial and theoretical implications and future research opportunities.
This research aims to determine the role of the leadership and potential benefits that blockchain adoption may bring to SME financing in the Kingdom, as well as the foreseeable challenges that may hinder small businesses from benefiting from the adoption of blockchain. It is interesting aspect to see how leadership manages to adopt new changes amid several challenges and threats. This article also outlines policy and regulatory trends that SMEs can save operating costs and improve efficiency, thereby increasing transparency and easier access to funds. Digital technology and creative business models have the potential to help narrow the financing gap for SMEs. E-commerce and the sharing economy provide SMEs with more market access and new business models, as well as the data-driven business prospects generated through data sharing under the framework of open banking. This study provides recommendation that there is a dire need to pay attention on the complete mechanism of the SME's in order to support them as well as promote them to show their distinction in the contribution of social and economic development. This study provides implications for the financial institutions, government agencies and society to come forward equally for the common interest.
This paper is aimed at studying the factors influencing the implementation of blockchain in supply chain management to solve the current issues faced in the supply chain ecosystem. Supply chains are part and parcel of every business and have multiple inefficiencies in the system. Some of these inefficiencies can be managed by usage of blockchain Platform .Technology, intracompany synergies, intercompany collaboration, extrinsic factors, and innovation are critically evaluated for adoption of blockchain in supply chain. A pilot study is conducted in form survey for analysis of these factors. Hypotheses are derived for these factors for quantitative research. Subsequently these hypotheses are examined with the help of ADANCO2.3 for structural equation modelling. As an outcome, it is evident that Innovation and Extrinsic factors are significantly impacting the adoption of blockchain in supply chain management.
Mohammed Alshamsi, Mostafa Al‐Emran, Khaled Shaalan
Blockchain technologies have received considerable attention from academia and industry due to their distinctive characteristics, such as data integrity, security, decentralization, and reliability. However, their adoption rate is still scarce, which is one of the primary reasons behind conducting studies related to users’ satisfaction and adoption. Determining what impacts the use and adoption of Blockchain technologies can efficiently address their adoption challenges. Hence, this systematic review aimed to review studies published on Blockchain technologies to offer a thorough understanding of what impacts their adoption and discuss the main challenges and opportunities across various sectors. From 902 studies collected, 30 empirical studies met the eligibility criteria and were thoroughly analyzed. The results confirmed that the technology acceptance model (TAM) and technology–organization–environment (TOE) were the most common models for studying Blockchain adoption. Apart from the core variables of these two models, the results indicated that trust, perceived cost, social influence, and facilitating conditions were the significant determinants influencing several Blockchain applications. The results also revealed that supply chain management is the main domain in which Blockchain applications were adopted. Further, the results indicated inadequate exposure to studying the actual use of Blockchain technologies and their continued use. It is also essential to report that existing studies have examined the adoption of Blockchain technologies from the lens of the organizational level, with little attention paid to the individual level. This review is believed to improve our understanding by revealing the full potential of Blockchain adoption and opening the door for further research opportunities.
A key aspect for the efficiency and security of maritime transport is linked to the associated information flows. The optimal management of maritime transport requires the sharing of data in real-time between the various participating organizations. Moreover, as supply chains become increasingly integrated, the connectivity of stakeholders must be ensured not only within the single port but also between ports. Blockchain could offer interesting opportunities in this regard and is believed to have a huge impact on the future of the digitization of the port and maritime industry. This document analyzes the state of art and practice of blockchain applications in the maritime industry and explores the application prospects and practical implications of blockchain for building an interport community. The paper uses SWOT analysis to address several research questions concerning the practical impacts and barriers related to the implementation of blockchain technology in port communities and develops a Proof of Concept (PoC) to concretely show how blockchain technology can be applied to roll-on roll-off transport and interport communities in real environments. In this regard, this study intends to contribute to the sector literature by providing a detailed framework that describes how to proceed to choose the correct blockchain scheme and implement the various management and operational aspects of an interport community by benefiting from the blockchain.
Mohammad Kabir, Farid Ahammad Sobhani, Norhayati Mohamed, Dewan Mehrab Ashrafi
In today's corporate environment, the success of external auditors for producing quality reports depends on internal audit functions. Hence, ensuring internal audit quality is a must. Auditors' integrity and the presence of a transparent internal auditing process may all help to ensure internal audit quality. In this regard, with its irreversible nature, evolving blockchain technology (BT) is playing a critical role in offering a triple entry accounting system. Thus, the purpose of this article is to describe how integrity (INTI) and internal audit transparency (TRPY) affect internal audit quality (AQLY). It also assesses the potential of blockchain technology as a moderating function in influencing AQLY. The Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to describe the causal connection in this research. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to obtain primary data from Bangladeshi accounts and audit practitioners. According to the results, integrity and internal audit transparency substantially influence AQLY. The potential application of blockchain (APBN) has been discovered to moderate the relation between INTI and AQLY. TRPY and AQLY have a similar relationship, which APBN moderates. Thus, this research established a unique model employing INTI, TRPY, and APBN as the determinants, which provided a novel outlook in explaining the factors that can help in improving audit quality.
الملخص ً حدثت الثورة في القوانين، فظهرت الحاجة إلى القوانين ًة كبيرة المعلوماتية مطلع تسعينيات القرن الماضي وأحدثت نقل ،ً وأدى ذلك إلى الجديدة التي تواكب نوع المعامالت التي تحدث في الفضاء المعلوماتي أو السب ارني كما يسمى أحيانا ظهور قوانين الجرائم المعلوماتية بعد أن أفرزت هذه التقنية المسرح اإللكتروني للجرائم إال أن اآلنسان ظل هو الالعب الرئيسي وظلت الدولة محتفظة بسيطرتها على العملة طريقة تداولها، ولم تطل التقنية المعلوماتية غير طريقة حمل العملة وتداولها بعد أن ظهرت بطاقات الدفع واالئتمان، لكننا نشهد اليوم تقنية سلسلة الكتل المو زعة أو البلوكتشين Blockchain وهي قاعدة الكتل الموزعة التي تعد حجر األساس في العملة الرقمية المشفرة currency Crypto ألن شبكة البلوكتشين هي بمنزلة دفتر أستاذ عالمي موزع على جميع المستخدمين تسجل فيه كل العمليات والتصرفات والتحويالت مما يغنيهم عن تدخل أي طرف ثالث، ألن هذه الشبكة ستكون هي الضامن ووسيلة اإلثبات للتصرف وهو ما جعل المجتمع الدولي يقف موقف حائرا، انعكس على تباين موقف الدول المختلفة من المسألة، خاصة عندما أراد أن ينظم مكافحة الجرائم الناتجة عن استخدام تقنية البلوكتشين، فهذه التقنية تتميز بالقدرة العالية على اإلثبات والتوثيق، ولكن في الوقت ذاته تتميز بالقدرة العالية على الحفاظ على سرية المعامالت، وتحقيق السرية التامة للمعامالت. الكلمات الدالة: شبكة الكتل الموزعة Blockchain، المنصة، دفتر األستاذ العالمي الموزع، الخوارزميات، العملة المشفرة. Abstract Information technology developed the “Block chain”: a computerized storage system distributed in a dis-centralized way to register facts, transactions and addresses. Each transaction is sent to a user. This system allowed the appearance of a “crypto currency”, an electronic currency far from the official monetary institutions ‘control. The spread and circulation of this currency between individuals through the network far from any governmental control services presented a real challenge to the monetary law systems and to the criminal protection of the public funds. Here we will face a big challenge when trying to regulate all crimes resulting from the use of Blockchain technology, this technology has a high ability to prove and authenticate, but at the same time, it has a high ability to maintain privacy, and achieve complete confidentiality of transactions. Keywords: Blockchain, Platform, Decentralized Global Ledger Chart, Algorithms, Crypto Currency
BACKGROUND: Blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize information sharing in companies. Many studies suggest using blockchain-powered platforms to replace existing mechanisms for health information exchange (HIE) across healthcare organizations. However, very few blockchain-based projects have been implemented in the healthcare sector. This study takes a qualitative approach to explore benefits, concerns, and barriers to the rollout of blockchain in HIE projects from physicians' perspectives. METHODS: The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework was used to help us better understand root causes, existing problems, perceived risks, perceived benefits, and suggestions. In-depth interviews have been conducted with 38 physicians in six months. The data were analyzed and coded using NVIVO to classify conceptually similar themes mentioned by the interviewees. RESULTS: In total, seven themes have been identified. The key benefits are categorized into three themes: innovative technological features, collaborative ecosystem, and system performance. The main concerns and risks are categorized into four themes: individual, organizational, technological, and market-related issues. The findings can contribute to knowledge by highlighting key values expected from blockchain technology in HIEs. The results also explore obstacles to leveraging the blockchain in healthcare from the perspectives of an important stakeholder (physicians). CONCLUSIONS: The results show that although blockchain technology may create several benefits (e.g., innovative technological features, collaborative ecosystem, and system performance), its applications in healthcare are still in their early stages. The perceptions of the individual issues (e.g., lack of knowledge), organizational issues (e.g., implementation issues), technological issues (e.g., blockchain model types), and market-related issues (e.g., regulatory concerns) indicate that blockchain-based applications in healthcare continue to be an emerging field. This study has practical implications as understanding these concerns can help developers and healthcare managers identify potential issues in the planning, developing, and implementing blockchain-based HIE systems. Addressing these barriers would support the widespread use of blockchain-based HIEs in different healthcare settings and facilitate interoperability and connectivity in regional and community health information networks.