Zulfikri Zulfikri, Auwal Sadiq Adam, Salina Kassim, Anwar Hassan
There is an indication that zakat institutions are inefficient and lack transparency in terms of distributing and managing their funds. This leads to a lack of trust between Muzakee and zakat institutions; hence, they prefer to pay zakat to Mustahiq directly. This means that zakat institutions may be collecting far less in zakat funds than the maximum amount that is potentially available. Meanwhile, the invention of blockchain technology has disrupted the financial sector as it offers transparency in transactions, meaning intermediaries are no longer needed. The use of blockchain in zakat management is important for improving transparency in the distribution of zakat. The objective of this paper is to explore the determinant factors that influence trust in zakat institutions using blockchain technology as a mediating effect. The results of the literature review revealed that these factors are reputation, satisfaction with zakat distribution, service quality and disclosure practice. This study expects that trust in zakat institutions can be enhanced through the use of blockchain technology.
Poly Z. H. Sun, Zhiyang Chen, Sijia Cao, Xinguo Ming
The integration of the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain technology is changing the business and management model of the supply chain. Much work is focused on how to promote the application of blockchain-based industrial IoT in the supply chain from both academic research and industrial practice. However, due to the different industrial requirements in industrial scenes, the gap between technology researches and industrial applications is still large. Therefore, the article adopts the mixed method of enterprise survey and literature review to identify the actual industrial requirements in different supply chain scenes. Also, the characteristics and applicable scenarios of industrial IoT and blockchain have been analyzed. Then, the potential application opportunities of blockchain-based industrial IoT in nine scenes are discussed in detail. This study reveals the technical challenges and practical challenges of these applications, which potentially guides research on applying industrial IoT and blockchain technology in the supply chain.
Ihab K. A. Hamdan, Eli Sumarliah, Fauziyah Fauziyah
Purpose The study aims to deliver a decision support system for business leaders to estimate the potential for effective technological adoption of the blockchain (TAB) with a machine learning approach. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a Bayesian network examination to develop an extrapolative system of decision support, highlighting the influential determinants that managers can employ to predict the TAB possibilities in their companies. Data were gathered from 167 SMEs in the largest industrial sectors in Palestine. Findings The results reveal perceived benefit and ease of use as the most influential determinants of the TAB. Originality/value This research is an initial effort to examine factors influencing TAB in the perspective of SMEs in Palestine using machine learning algorithms.
The research study focused on integrating blockchain technology with the internet of things. The study is necessitated by the need to come up with practical and feasible means to improve the accuracy, accountability and trust among various parties involved in blockchain transactions. The research recognizes the fact that there has been an increasing using of the cryptocurrency in the global market. This has lead to the emergence of blockchain, which is one of the disruptive technologies in the information and technology sector. The research study indicates that there is a need to improve on the architecture of blockchain and the IoT system. It shows that there is a need to develop a new model to improve its efficiency and accuracy. This research paper recommends the use of decentralized model to enhance the efficiency of the integration of the blockchain technology and IoT.
Abstract Blockchain is one of the technologies that can support digital transformation in industries in many aspects. This sophisticated technology can provide a decentralized, transparent, and secure environment for organizations and businesses. This review article discusses the adoption of blockchain in the ports and shipping industry to support digital transformation. It also explores the integration of this technology into the current ports and shipping ecosystem. Besides, the study highlighted the situation of the supply chains management in ports and shipping domain as a case study in this field. The investigated studies show that blockchain can be integrated into processes such as financial and document workflow. This review contributes to research by focusing on the adoption of blockchain in the ports and shipping industry to support digital transformation. It also aims to understand the existing port practice and map it with current tendencies based on blockchain. This study gives insight analysis to incorporate blockchain technology into ports and shipping processes globally.
Project delivery on time, with agreed quality and assigned budget, is the desire of project-based companies. Time, quality, and cost are determinants of project success; however, organisations suffer from achieving these three success criteria at the same time. Failures in project delivery cause the loss of the competitive advantage. The recent digital technologies introduce smart contracts to supply chain (SC) operations for improving SC processes. Project procurement is the area for smart contract implementation to deliver successful projects and gain sustainable competitive advantages. The aim of this study was in explaining how smart contracts benefit project organisations through project procurement. Qualitative research design guided this research with phenomenology. Semi-structured interviews generated the data. The obtained research data were analysed with thematic, textual, and discourse analysis. Published industry reports were used to triangulate the data. This study demonstrated an integrated relationship model to answer the research question. The research findings initially identified the fact that smart contracts improve procurement efficiency through cost, time, and quality. Secondly, smart contracts build a trust-less platform where reliability is delivered and reinforced with transparency, traceability, and security. This study found that enhanced procurement efficiency and reliability meet requirements to gain sustainable competitive advantages. This study intends to contribute to industry practices and future research. The correlation of project procurement management success, smart contracts, and sustainable competitive advantages are expected to guide feature research and business practices.
Blockchain is thought to be the most recent innovation in technology. Trust is especially important in areas like the banking sector. Blockchain technology is a decentralised, coded security system which permits the development of novel digital platforms and services using this developing technology. The current research focuses on the usage of blockchain technology in the financial and e-finance sectors. The study focuses of research questions such as the development of blockchain technology, the adoption & challenges in blockchain technology and the application of blockchain technology in the financial sector. This study conducted a systematic review of 76 scientific articles on blockchain technology, narrowing down the selection to 59 articles. As a result, the author created classification framework with three dimensions: blockchain development, challenges and applications in the financial sector. This study recognizes consequences for blockchain research and practice in the future. The study reveals that blockchain has various unexplored application in finance sector and also there is a scope of improvement in technology. Also, the technology is unregulated, thus, it is still in its nascent stage and a lot is to be done in the field.
Dewi Noorain Bolhassan, Chai Changsaar, Ali Raza Khoso, Loo Siawchuing · 6 authors
The revolution of Malaysian Construction 4.0 through emerging technologies has brought a paradigm shift that has digitalized the construction sector. There is a need to adopt a computerized protocol to assist in automating the performance of a contract to meet future digital challenges. Therefore, this paper aims to serve as a pioneer study to investigate the implementation of the Malaysian construction industry to adopt smart contracts. This study adopted a qualitative scientific methodology, whereby a systematic review was conducted to gather the benefits and challenges of implementing smart contracts in the construction industry. Further, interview sessions were arranged to collect data from the construction contract management experts. The research findings unveil that due to the self-executing attribute of smart contracts, the implementation of smart contracts could provide a better apportionment of risks in a contract. The study also finds that the challenges in implementing smart contracts are severe. For instance, the smart contract is irreversible and immutable and prone to human error. The study concludes that it is more suitable to apply and implement a smart contract to a short-term contract that is not subjected to variation. Furthermore, a smart contract can enhance the efficiency in managing the contracts, such as reducing time and managing the conflicts and disputes that arise during the contract duration. The developed implementation framework is significant for the construction personnel, especially those dealing with the contract administration. The implementation of smart contracts in construction could boost contract administration and management discipline via investment in this new technology.
Purpose To empirically study the direct and mediating relationships between blockchain technology adoption strategy (BCTAS), electronic supply chain management diffusion (eSCMD), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and human resources information system (HRIS) in Egyptian banks. This paper aims to connect the dots and show the relationships linking these related constructs after the emergence of this breakthrough blockchain technology. Design/methodology/approach The authors have undertaken a thematic review of relevant multidisciplinary business management literature and then developed a conceptual model. This model was examined through adopting a mixed-methods approach, through which 300 quantitative questionnaires were filled by information technology (IT) staff at 12 banks in Egypt utilising a snowball sample. Besides, 20 qualitative interviews were carried out with international and Egyptian blockchain experts for exploratory and explanatory purposes. The suggested hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. Findings The results revealed that EO affects positively and significantly BCTAS and HRIS. BCTAS affects positively and significantly both HRIS and eSCMD. Concerning the linkage between external/supply chain and internal/organisational information diffusion, HRIS has a positive and significant effect on eSCMD. The direct EO–eSCMD relationship is not supported. Yet, indirectly, BCTAS mediates significantly EO–eSCMD and EO–HRIS relationships. Further, HRIS mediates significantly the indirect BCTAS–eSCMD relationship. Practical implications The findings of this research shed light on the benefits and challenges of adopting BCTAS within emerging markets in general and Egyptian banking in specific, which can support an effective and efficient decision-making process undertaken by strategic and functional banking managers with EO in similar emerging economies. Originality/value Conceptually and empirically, it is the first article that investigated direct and mediating EO–BCTAS–HRIS–eSCMD relationships in a promising banking industry of an emerging market. It solved an interdisciplinary research puzzle by piecing together the relevant contemporary literature on production, operations and SC management, entrepreneurship, HR management and strategic technology adoption.
Ammara Karim Noon, Omer Aziz, Insia Zahra, Muhammad Awais Anwar
Blockchain is an emerging technology to ensure the security and trustworthiness for data sharing in different areas such as the economic sector, supply chain management, food industry, energy sector, education, internet of things, and healthcare. In healthcare, balancing patient care with the privacy of information, ease of accessibility and comprehensiveness has been a challenge. Healthcare directly affects humanity and so is one of the first areas where blockchain is implemented because the healthcare system has various problems that should be addressed. Blockchain can solve not only the data management issues between different stakeholders but also saves millions of dollars, reduce forging, and empower the patients. It has contributed to the transparency of insurance claims, management of Electronic Health Record (EHR), and also helps in genome research and so much more. This paper presents a systematic review of the recent research done in the application and major challenges for blockchain technology in the healthcare system. We have reviewed almost 56 papers selected from various search engines. This review focuses on some key areas that are discussed in many pieces of research such as interoperability, security management, fraud prevention, and financial issues. Major challenges and opportunities in the implementation of this technology are also discussed in this review. The basic issue in the healthcare industry is extraordinary costs of the medical facility and subsequent insurance claims. Where the involvement of various parties (hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, and government) makes it very difficult to ensure transparency which casts doubts among stakeholders. It is also observed that despite the favorite area for researchers the technology is not yet implemented on vast levels. Still, a lot of work is required to identify and then resolve the major challenges and issues in the way to transform the health system. The investors need to be convinced about the benefits of blockchain in the healthcare system so that the technology can be implemented on large scale.
The research intends to examine the impacts of the technology, organization, and environmental factors on the implementation of blockchain in the supply chains of SMEs in the Kingdom of Tonga. These include regulatory support, competitive pressure, cost, upper management support, complexity, and relative advantage. The research uses SEM-PLS to test the hypotheses and the Artificial Neural Network method to analyze and classify survey data from 201 SMEs. Findings show that relative advantage, cost, complexity, and competitive pressure significantly affect implementing blockchain in the supply chains. As SMEs frequently have limited capital to invest in technology but meets the same obligations to streamline business operations to optimize profits, blockchain provides a feasible choice for the firms’ sustainability with its characteristics of security, transparency, and immutability that are prospective to develop SMEs’ performance. Thus, the paper provides novel insight regarding the determinants of SMEs' intention to implement blockchain in their supply chains.
Tendering & Bidding generally involve many construction units participating in a project bidding. The purchaser selects the best bidder with a short construction period, low cost, high quality, and good reputation. There are huge economic benefits and points of concern behind it. Tendering suffers an increased risk of data tampering due to the centralized database architecture, resulting in huge financial losses and unnecessary consumption of human resources. Blockchain technology has gained increasing attention in the construction industry because of its high transparency, information traceability, non-repudiation, and non-tampering characteristics. Initial explorations have been carried out to discuss blockchain benefits in the e-tendering process. However, existing studies are limited to conducting qualitative analysis or proposing conceptual frameworks. A workable blockchain-based that supports basic functions in the e-tendering process still lacks. Therefore, as an initial exploration, this paper presents a secure blockchain-based framework for tender evaluation. Besides, technical components such as tendering smart contracts are developed to support framework functionalities. The framework feasibility is validated in a tendering evaluation example. Results show that the proposed framework guarantees secure tender evaluation by keeping data traceability and immutability.
A significant advancement has been contributed by the break-through technologies like smart contracts and blockchain in banking industry, healthcare industry, and construction industry (Zhang 2020). Blockchain can be defined as the distributed public ledger that records all data transaction that is exchanged and shared between the parties within the systems (CEMEX Ventures 2020). The blockchain offers various opportunities and advantages for all the involved parties within an enterprise (Penzes 2018). A synchronized and secure record of transactions are provided to the involved parties. The confirmation of all participants within the system is required in order to finalize the data transaction (Nicosia 2019). Every sequence of transaction is recorded by the blockchain ledger, from beginning to end, in certain irreversible and verifiable records of all transactions which are ever made. There are abundant areas of application of blockchain technology. Smart contract has an important role in the digitalization of conventional paper contracts and provides grounds for the application of blockchain technology (Strategy 2019). This research intends to evaluate the use and application of smart contract, via blockchain technology, in the construction and infrastructure industry of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 pandemic condition has resulted in wider range of negative impacts on the construction sector in UAE, thereby affecting large parts of UAE economy (Gupta et al., 2020). There has been identified significant need of development and implementation of effective digital tools for data management that require least resources. In doing so, the concept of blockchain technology has emerged and investigated by the scholars in construction sector (Salama & Salama 2018). By employing the concepts of smart contracts under blockchain technology, the construction sector in UAE can be improved (Constructible 2020). This may also result in alleviating the negative impacts of COVID-19 in construction sector of UAE. The research findings will be important for the professionals in construction sector of UAE and in delivering the concept of blockchain technology for construction industry.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. When it comes to resolving business issues, it wields considerable power. Every transaction on the blockchain is encrypted, and each transaction is linked to a previous transaction or record. Blockchain transactions are validated by algorithms running on nodes. A single entity cannot start a transaction. Eventually, blockchain provides transparency by allowing any participant to view transactions at any moment. Smart contracts provide secure transactions, minimizing the risk of third-party interruptions. Ethereum is a decentralized platform based on smart contracts. It enables developers to create markets that transfer money according to the instructions given years ago. Blockchain is distinguished by two key characteristics: immutability and decentralization. Deals are completed faster; Transactions and authentication are completed in a matter of seconds, and much more.
Owing to blockchain characteristics such as transparency, traceability, and disintermediation, blockchain technology has been widely employed in sustainable supply chain management. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the use of blockchain technology in the supply chain. Although most companies have realized the importance of blockchain technology, they often lack understanding of how to plan, measure, cultivate, and improve their own blockchain operation capabilities. Academic research has insufficiently explored the connotations and internal structure of blockchain operation capabilities and does not provide a clear understanding of how to transform blockchain operation capabilities to produce effective performance. In this context, we proposed a concept of blockchain operation capabilities for first time. We took the perspectives of the resource-based view and sociomaterialism theory, based on IT capabilities, big data analysis capabilities, and existing blockchain supply chain research, and explored the relationship between blockchain operation capabilities and competitive performance. We then constructed a hierarchical model for blockchain operation capabilities. To test our proposed research model, we used an online survey to collect data from 1206 firm managers with blockchain technology supply chain experience. The results showed that blockchain operation capabilities has a positive impact on supply chain integration and competitive performance, while supply chain integration has a strong mediating effect on the blockchain operation capabilities and competitive performance relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Today, artificial intelligence (AI) can use the most powerful edge computing systems in the Internet of Things (IoT) for finding the information extracted from vast sensory data such as cyber effects or models in physical environments for classification, identification, and prediction. Heterogeneous IoT devices produce isolated and dispersed information parts, and knowledge sharing and exchange in IoT intelligent applications with several selfish nodes are necessary for complex tasks. In both academia and business, IoT is driving a digital revolution. However, protection and IoT privacy problems are challenged. It offers comfort for everyday lives. Blockchain, a shared cryptographic database, is a promising IoT encryption solution for several manufacturing, finance, and trade sectors. The IoT-based blockchain architecture is an interesting contrast to the conventional, centralized paradigm that struggles to fulfill specific IoT requirements. New concepts for applying data and resources management protection procedures in distributed networks and cloud computing are introduced. Cloud management services can be linked to the application through blockchain technology and distributed leader, a stable cognitive information system that facilitates management operations and securing data. This document provides many ideas for applying personal and behavioral characteristics to security and cryptography protocols, blockchain based on the cognitive cloud computing (BC-CCC) pattern. The simulation result shows that the proposed strategy can significantly enhance data transmission rate (96.2%), security ratio (94.5%), throughput ratio (92.4%), scalability ratio (91.5%), trust rate (93.8%), data trading ratio (96.2%), and reduce storage cost rate (25.1%) compared to other existing methods.
The paper undertakes a bibliometric study to analyse and identify emerging themes for future research in blockchain technology, focusing on agriculture and supply chain management domains. A sample of 1322 articles from Web of Science for 2015–2020 is the basis of the study. The publications are grouped into five clusters, of which Cluster 1 is consistently dominant in the Information Systems publication landscape. Clusters 2, 3, and 4 are evolving, and topics with scant coverage are primarily in Cluster 5, indicating saturation in the area of interdisciplinary studies. The results provide valuable insights for potential contributors and global audiences.
Mohd Fairuz Iskandar Othman, Nor Ratna Masrom, Ismail Fauzi Isnin, Raja Zuraidah Raja Mohd Rasi · 6 authors
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that continues to make headlines as a potential silver bullet for companies wanting to harness its benefits like transparency, integrity, and the ability to track and trace. Pioneered by the financial industry, other sectors are beginning to follow through with adoption, including the logistics and transportation sector. However, current studies on adoption by this specific sector remains underrepresented in the literature. This research uses qualitative data from in-depth interviews of a single third-party logistics (3PL) company to elicit feedback on their perceived benefits of blockchain adoption and the factors that might drive or inhibit adoption. The results show that factors identified support previous literature as well as providing rich qualitative data explaining the barriers that inhibit adoption. The results contribute to both literature and practice, providing insights to other companies within the 3PL industry.
Incorporating blockchain into Halal traceability systems is developing in nature; the research aspires to examine the participation intent in blockchain-empowered Halal fashion traceability (BHFT) system via a joint framework that includes diffusion of innovation theory, institutional theory, and Halal-oriented approach. The study uses a simple random sampling method to collect the data from 165 Indonesian Halal fashion manufacturing companies. PLS-SEM is employed to examine the conceptual framework. Findings show that Halal-oriented approach significantly affects institutional pressures, while institutional pressures significantly affects perceived desirability, and perceived desirability significantly affects the participation intent. The companies operating an inclusive Halal-oriented approach will be more aware of the institutional pressures that expect them to partake in a BHFT. The paper enhances the existing literature in Halal supply chains, blockchain, operation management, and information systems via a cohesive framework and empirical insight.
In today’s scenario, every organization is dependent on the use of computers for automating business and work. The data generated by the organization is huge and has great significance in analyzing the processes. It can be rightfully described as the lifeblood of any organization. The world of computing requires three technologies: IoT, machine learning and blockchain. The confluence of these technologies is inevitable in the future due to the benefits which are involved in future applications. There is barely any activity today which cannot apply the use of these three technologies; e.g. healthcare, automation, education, and the Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined as interconnection of various autonomous devices which are capable of communicating with each other. IoT requires an intermittent Internet connection and address for every device. The user of these devices can remotely monitor and manage by retrieving the information on a handheld device such as a cell phone. This way, the devices are connected 24/7 and continuously generating data. Challenges of IoT involve security, connectivity problems, and huge amounts of data. The devices can be made capable of making intelligent decisions by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning technology. Machine learning is a sub-branch of AI. It has huge potential to detect the patterns and anomalies in the data which is generated by the wireless sensor nodes in IoT. The advanced decision-making process of machine learning has already influenced our daily routines in, for example, healthcare, the banking sector, interactive gaming, transportation, and missions for exploration of space. Challenges faced by ML include data security, centralization, and limitations in resources. To cover the security aspect of these two technologies, blockchain technology is the perfect answer. It is a decentralized peer-to-peer network which stores the records and transactions in blocks which cannot be altered. This technology secures the communication by eliminating the need for any trusted third party. The blocks are stored in such a manner that it is impossible to hack or tamper with the data by taking control of device or capturing the records. This chapter will present a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of the existing research in these fields and how these technologies can be used for a transformative impact in accessing information by the users. The convergence of blockchain, machine learning, and IoT will provide scalability and high-level intellectual functioning which will be secure to bring a new paradigm of digital transformation.