Blockchain Papers

David Zargaran, Alexander Zargaran, Tim Weyrich, Afshin Mosahebi

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets created and traded on the internet. Over the past year, they have gained significant traction and investment, being heralded as a revolution in authentication and ownership. Employing blockchain technology, an immutable ledger of transactions is held, maintained across thousands of computers around the world. The application of NFTs has seen digital art gain early traction, although the “use-cases” are still being established in this nascent technology.1 Within the health care sphere, some have suggested the role of NFTs in supply-chain tracking of medications.2 An extension of the technology has been proposed to validate credentials and degree certificates, leveraging a key strength of the blockchain technology: transparency. Responding to the 2013 Keogh review into the regulation of cosmetic interventions, the Royal College of Surgeons in the United Kingdom has created the Cosmetic Surgery Certification Scheme.3 This recently re-launched scheme runs in parallel to a multitude of independent societies, including the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the British Association of Plastic and Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the UK Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the British Society of Facial Plastic Surgeons, the British Oculoplastic Surgical Society, the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, the British College of Aesthetic Medicine, the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, and the General Medical Council specialist register. Furthermore, licensing organizations such as licensing boards or the General Medical Council do not provide a centralized credential for aesthetic practice. In the United States, a few of the organizations available include (without limitation) the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine, American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, American Academy of Dermatology, American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Aesthetic Society, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Foundation for Facial Aesthetic Surgery, National Coalition of Estheticians, National Aesthetic Spa Network, Professional Beauty Association, Society for Clinical and Medical Hair Removal, Society of Dermatology SkinCare Specialists, Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals, Society of Plastic Surgical Skin Care Specialists, The Spa Association, and Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Aesthetic Dermatology. This trend is observed around the world, with a multitude of organizations offering professional support, information, guidance, and oversight within a single country. The proliferation of associations above reporting to regulate and oversee their members could potentially dilute the value of membership. It also presents a challenging landscape for patients looking to verify the credentials of their practitioner. Although there are many benefits to joining professional societies beyond authentication, NFTs could prove valuable in helping prospective patients safely and quickly identify whether their practitioner is qualified to provide their care. Furthermore, beyond their role in identification and authentication of credentials, holding an NFT would enable formation of communities to share information and resources, building a collaborative hub that could potentially enhance training and development opportunities. It is important to note, however, that the technology is in its infancy, and further developments and refinements are inevitable. The described application of NFTs would, however, require a centralized body to ensure appropriate award and oversight of these tokens and would not solve the problem of multiple professional bodies, should each look to provide their own NFT. This suggests that rather than further creation of professional bodies, a consensus should be achieved for a singular body to govern the safe practice of cosmetic interventions. NFTs may therefore find a role in the future landscape of cosmetic practice as part of a greater overarching strategy. A transparent and open form of communication enabled by NFTs may hold the key for future optimism in improving patient safety. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article. Dr Mosahebi is a Research section co-editor for Aesthetic Surgery Journal. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Shreya Sangal, Achint Nigam, Chitrakshi Bhutani

Purpose This study aims to identify the challenges in the healthcare industry as it adopts an omnichannel setup in an emerging economy context. Further, the study determines the scope of blockchain in addressing these challenges. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative approach to understand the challenges in the omnichannel healthcare industry and know the scope of blockchain in building an omnichannel healthcare system. In the first stage, it did an in-depth analysis of the extant literature, followed by a Delphi study with 24 healthcare experts. Findings The study presents the current challenges in the omnichannel healthcare sector in an emerging economy. Further, it develops a novel conceptual framework for blockchain adoption in the omnichannel healthcare industry. The study also presents propositions that will help healthcare service providers enhance decision-making concerning the adoption of blockchain in the healthcare industry. Research limitations/implications The research results may lack generalizability due to the exploratory approach and emerging economies context. Theoretically, in this study, the authors extend the theory of swift trust and organization information processing theory in an omnichannel healthcare context. Practical implications The propositions provided in this paper can help healthcare managers make strategic decisions on the scope of adoption of blockchain for omnichannel healthcare. Originality/value This study explores the understudied area of challenges in omnichannel healthcare and the scope of blockchain for omnichannel healthcare in an emerging economy context.

Ying Liu

Digitalization plays an integral role in the transformation of the Omni structure. This study aims to investigate the effect of digital marketing capabilities (DMCs) and blockchain technology on customer-linking capabilities (CLCs), market-sensing capabilities (MSCs), consumer-brand engagement (CBE), and firm performance in China. The study was quantitative, and a simple random sampling technique was adopted for data collection. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, 311 questionnaires were distributed, and a 5-point Likert scale was used to collect the data from the respondents who were employed in the Omni structure industries. The research hypothesis was tested using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results have identified a significant correlation and direct effect between DMCs, CLCs, MSCs, and firm performance. Remarkably, the effect of DMCs on CBE is significant. The mediating effect of MSCs and CLCs is significant between the relationship of DMCs and firm performance. The organization performance in the Omni structure depends on how well the DMCs have been employed. The DMCs influence MSCs, CLCs, and CBE. Henceforth, this study contributes by analyzing the role of DMCs in blockchain technology.

Symeon Dionysis, Thomas Chesney, Derek McAuley

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.

Nermain Al‐Issa, Marsela Thanasi-Boçe, Omar Ali

No abstract is available for this record.

Anne-Marthe Rekdal Remme, Stine-Mari Stange, Asle Fagerstrøm, Lester Allan Lasrado

This study explores the relative impact of blockchain-enabled sustainability labeling on consumers purchasing behavior when shopping for fashion products. A conjoint experiment was conducted where participants (n=84) assigned scores to stimuli cards according to preference in a specific shopping scenario. Results showed that “blockchain trademarked” did not have much impact relative to “low price” and “high product rating”. Further analysis showed that “blockchain trademarked” had a relatively stronger impact towards those participants (n=22) who indicated that living a sustainable lifestyle is important. Our findings show that there is a need for educating consumers about blockchain and the associated benefits for improving future transparency in sustainability in the fashion industry. Overall, these findings provide valuable grounds for further research on how blockchain-enabled sustainability labeling can create value for both consumers and companies within the fashion industry.

Marsela Thanasi-Boçe, Nermain Al‐Issa, Omar Ali

No abstract is available for this record.

Chris Meyns, Fisnik Dalipi

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.

Reto Hofstetter, Emanuel de Bellis, Leif Brandes, Melanie Clegg · 9 authors

Abstract In this article, we argue that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) challenge established marketing understanding of digital ownership, uniqueness, and value; authenticity, status, and sharing; and branding and distribution. We propose a set of preliminary research questions rooted in these areas, in hopes of offering entry points to future programmatic investigation of the broader field of “crypto-marketing.” This emerging subdiscipline offers opportunities to expand our understanding of consumer behavior, pricing, and product design and may be crucial in predicting the future of our discipline as NFTs further evolve.

Bradley J. Baker, Anthony D. Pizzo, Yiran Su

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have gained considerable media attention and sparked growing public interest. NFTs are unique units of data recorded on a permanent ledger or blockchain. NFTs are used to record ownership of both physical and digital goods. Prominent sport organizations have embraced NFTs for innovative growth opportunities such as generating revenue via novel digital products (e.g., digital collectibles). For example, the National Basketball Association (NBA) launched NBA Top Shot, an online marketplace to buy and sell digital sports highlights. Sport organizations are exploring future innovation opportunities where there is a need to reliably track and verify authenticity or ownership of digital or digitizable assets. This includes existing sport products (e.g., tickets) and novel fan engagement initiatives. To benefit from NFTs, sport managers need to reconceptualize how sport is marketed and managed in a digital domain. The purpose of this research primer is to acquaint readers with key concepts related to NFTs. Specifically, we provide an overview of NFTs, offer a review of the brief history of NFTs, conceptualize NFTs via parallels with collectibles, and address the speculative nature of the NFT market. We conclude by outlining innovative growth opportunities of NFTs for sport managers and future research directions for sport management scholars.

Roy Dakroub, Bernadett Köles, Helmi Issa

The 2017 cryptocurrency parabolic craze drew significant attention, pushing blockchain projects to differentiate themselves from competitors. Within this scope, the present study employs the personality trait model to theoretically and empirically explore brand personality within the context of digital currencies, investigating its impact on its brand identity through the moderating effect of consumers' personality traits. The analysed data (n=237) were collected from Consensus 2019, which is the world's leading blockchain forum. Results revealed that within the context of cryptocurrencies, brand personality positively relates to brand identification, whereas the five personality traits (openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism) relate differently as moderators. This study is the first to explore brand personality and brand identification within the context of digital currencies. The findings indicate that crypto users link brand personality with brand identification differently depending on certain personality traits.

Horst Treiblmaier

The rapidly growing importance of blockchain technology has taken many scholars and industry professionals by surprise. Its emergence has sparked a multitude of innovative, yet largely untested use cases and business models that have the potential to substantially transform the marketing landscape. More specifically, blockchain as the base technology in combination with tokenization has the potential to fundamentally transform marketing communication by changing the ways in which companies and their customers interact. While academic research still ponders how blockchain can be best incorporated into existing research streams, the industry tests numerous ideas on a trial-and-error basis. Blockchains comprise a diverse array of complex and rapidly developing technological building blocks, which makes them hard to understand and integrate into existing marketing frameworks, models, and theories. In contrast, a specific focus on tokens facilitates understanding and classification. In this paper, we clarify the terminology surrounding the emerging token ecosystem from a marketing perspective, illustrate how tokens can potentially impact the marketing profession, and recommend approaches for their integration into academic research.

Insaf Khelladi, Catherine Lejealle, Saeedeh Rezaee Vessal, Sylvaine Castellano

Virtual clothes are the latest trend luxury brands are embracing as a way for them to take part in the global Non-Fungible Token (NFT) phenomenon. Such contactless clothes offer many benefits to their consumers to manage their dual (i.e., real-world and online) identities. Yet, this cutting-edge technology has not yet attracted scholars' interest. The present paper aims to unveil the psychological determinants of purchasing virtual clothes to post on social media. A study was conducted to investigate the motivational factors of purchasing NFT virtual clothes. Preliminary results show that while autonomy, praise and communication act as motivators influencing the purchase intention of digital clothes, attention-seeking and reputation act as inhibitors.

Shoufeng Cao, Marcus Foth, Warwick Powell, Jock McQueenie

Short videos have become the most-liked medium for Chinese consumers to learn about a brand’s products or services. This paper assesses how short video storytelling shapes Chinese consumers’ perceptions towards blockchain-credentialed Australian beef and their willingness to pay (WTP). A controlled experiment with a one-minute short video was implemented in an online survey. Respondents in the treatment group watched the video before filling out the survey, whereas respondents in the control group did not. The paper analyses and compares the empirical results from local (n = 76) and foreign (n = 27) consumers. Results illustrate that the short video, as part of our food communications, positively shapes consumer perception towards meat quality, labelling and traceability trust of Australian beef but has only slight or even negative effects on WTP. This could be due to the short video offering consumers a sense of supply chain visibility but not delivering the right messages to meet their expectation of blockchain credentials. Furthermore, short video storytelling effects vary among consumers with different socio-economic characteristics. Our results posit that short video storytelling can be a useful tool in communicating blockchain-credentialed food products but require the design of a tailor-made storytelling experience for diverse consumers.

Rebekkah Navas, Hyo Jung Chang, Samina Khan, Jo Woon Chong

Consumers and professionals realize the importance of adopting social and environmental responsibility, but it is not easy for companies to implement transparent sustainability strategies that consumers can trust. Thus, it is often hard for consumers to compare brands to make conscious sustainability decisions. Blockchain technology is proposed as a bridge between ecolabels and industry initiatives as this technology provides the transparency of sustainable business practices. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of effectiveness, knowledge of the sustainability initiative, and trust in claims made by a company in ecolabels (i.e., traditional and blockchain ecolabels) on intention to buy products by comparing Generations X and Y. A total of 200 participants completed the survey. The results indicated that both the trust and knowledge measures were higher for the blockchain label than for the traditional ecolabel for Generation Y. Thus, the companies should determine how to effectively integrate this technology to the mutual benefit of the retailer and consumer by different generations.

Eduardo Salcedo, Manjul Gupta

No abstract is available for this record.

Marion Garaus, Horst Treiblmaier

In the last decades, numerous food scandals have attracted policy makers' interest and subsequently induced retailers to actively improve food safety. Blockchain technology allows consumers to track the flow of food products and reduce food fraud, such as counterfeiting, dilution, or adulteration. Using three experiments conducted with Austrian business students as well as an online convenience sample, we investigate how the traceability of food products impacts consumers' trust in the retailer and subsequently influences consumers' retailer choice. Our model further considers retailer familiarity and the disclosure of blockchain benefits as important moderators of the impact of blockchain-based traceability systems on trust in the retailer. The model was tested using ANOVA, ANCOVA, and Hayes’ PROCESS models. In terms of fostering consumer trust, the findings show that retailers who are unfamiliar to consumers profit more from the use of blockchain technology than do better-known retailers. Moreover, informing consumers about specific blockchain benefits strengthens the positive effects of a blockchain-based traceability system.

Horst Treiblmaier

No abstract is available for this record.

Hannes Thees, Greta Erschbamer, Harald Pechlaner

The blockchain technology has witnessed growing interest since cryptocurrencies became popular in 2016. Not only through payment issues, but the tourism sector is also likely to be affected by the blockchain in terms of front- and back-stage processes. As the blockchain could replace traditional intermediaries, the structure of the tourism sector in the future has been discussed widely in the news. This article aims to conceptually examine the implications of blockchain along the value system in the tourism industry in order to identify its potential benefits. To address this, the methodology follows a content analysis of 175 news articles on the topic of blockchain and tourism, which are analysed through a qualitative news analysis and the method of GABEK®. The results imply blockchain applications along with the whole tourism value system, while it became apparent that traveling is streamlined through the transformation of time-intensive back-stage processes and thus offers extra value for travellers. Through its novelty in the academic discourse, the paper makes obstacles and regulations a subject of discussion, too.

Francesco Bolici, Chiara Acciarini, Lucia Marchegiani, Luca Pirolo

Purpose Technological innovations provide huge opportunities to expand and revolutionize the scope of products and services offered. This is particularly true for tourism, which is undergoing significant changes due to the development of new technologies. The level of technology diffusion depends on several factors like the exchange of information among peers, and the attitude and shared perception among the contributors. The aim of the study is to explore the diffusion of technology in tourism with a specific focus on the social media discourse around new technologies. Thus, the paper investigates the level of interest in these new technologies analysing the information exchange occurring between individuals on Twitter in order to explore the influence of reciprocal networking. Design/methodology/approach To capture the attitudes expressed in the industry, the study analyses the ongoing discourse on Twitter as a proxy for the participants “interest in new technologies. Through a social network analysis of the tweets and retweets conducted over a period of nine months, the research maps the level of information exchange about the diffusion of new technologies. Moreover, the sentiment analysis provides an interesting overview of the individuals” attitudes towards the awareness or the adoption of new technologies. Findings Our analysis has provided several insights: (1) the information network on blockchain in tourism consists of participants who change very quickly over time ( high turnover of accounts ); (2) some contributors have an extremely important role in influencing the flow of information in the system ( information centralization ), they can have a generalist (discussing several topics) or a specialist (focusing on a specific topic) behaviour and this strategic choice influences their network's structure; (3) these central nodes also have an impact on the definition of positive and negative sentiment towards a topic ( sentiment influencer ). Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to the literature on technology diffusion, by focusing on one of the preconditions of diffusion that is the shared positive attitude towards technological innovation. More specifically, we adopt a network-based approach, which is useful to explain the level of information exchange and the public discourse that can impact the shared perception and attitude towards technological innovation. The study also highlights the role of knowledge brokers in influencing this public discourse. Future studies can deepen the association between positive perception, higher levels of information exchange and increasing usage of specific technologies. Our results also suggest further exploring the opportunity to combine social media data and other sources of information to shed more light on the technological innovation diffusion processes. Practical implications This paper shows how practitioners can benefit from the analysis of information exchange about new technologies in tourism adopting a network perspective with the aim of understanding the level of influence among contributors. Moreover, the increasing interest in blockchain technology and the potential combination between social media data and other sources of information can offer promising insights. Social implications The present study explores the level of technology diffusion through the analysis of information exchange on social media (Twitter). Furthermore, the dynamics of individual user behaviour offers a better understanding about media effects. Originality/value While previous research is focused on the users' perception towards the development of new technologies in tourism, the aim of this study is to investigate the dynamics behind the level of diffusion of information and awareness about these new technologies, which still represents an unexplored area of research.

Federico Caviggioli, Lucio Lamberti, Paolo Landoni, Paolo Meola

Purpose Evidence from previous literature indicates that adopting a new innovative technology has a positive impact on a company’s business performance. Much less work has been carried out into examining whether a technology adoption has impact on corporate reputation. This paper aims to examine the latter topic in a context where social media is the channel used to share news about the introduction of a new technology. The empirical setting of the study consists of five retail companies located in the USA that decided to include Bitcoin as a payment platform. Design/methodology/approach Twitter data were used to measure how sharing news about the adoption of new technology could affect the reputation of the companies selected, keeping a clear distinction between the volume of data relating to social media responses and the sentiment expressed in the tweets. A panel vector autoregression model was used to incorporate series of data relating to news items, volume and sentiment. Findings The results show that the news about the adoption of a new technology has a positive impact on both the volume of tech-related tweets and the sentiment expressed in the tweets themselves, although the patterns of these two effects are different. The resulting impact decreases after a few days, both in volume and in sentiment. Research limitations/implications The analysis has limitations that future research could address by extending and diversifying the examined companies and the social media used as data sources. The research suggests that managers in medium-sized companies can leverage on the introduction of new technologies that have a direct impact on their customers and gain reputational benefits in terms of immediate visibility. Originality/value The research introduces an additional dimension of analysis to the current stream of corporate reputation. Although the literature has already covered the dynamics of response to events on Twitter, by focusing on the adoption of the new Bitcoin technology, the paper provides novel insights.

Mark Anthony Camilleri

Smart technologies are shifting how tourism and hospitality businesses capture, analyse and distribute data from the individual users’ online activity. This contribution critically reviews the latest developments on big data analytics and programmatic advertising. Moreover, the research also sheds light on the use of blockchain’s distributed ledger technology as it can be used to facilitate secure, verified transactions among marketplace stakeholders. The findings suggest that tourism service providers are increasingly utilising tracking, geolocation technologies as well as programmatic advertising tools to target and re-target individuals online. However, individuals and organisations are becoming increasingly aware of data protection issues, and they often block marketers from tracking them, and serving them ads. In conclusion, this research implies that data-driven technologies facilitate the businesses’ customer-centric marketing.

Lars Aasland, Eirik Skei Lerfald

Denne avhandlingens mål er å analysere om medieoppmerksomhet er en drivende faktor i etterspørselen etter Bitcoin, og på så måte avkastning på Bitcoin. Et nyttig verktøy i denne analysen er å kategorisere Bitcoin. De to hovedspørsmålene som da vil bli besvart er:\n(i) Hva slags finansielt aktivum kan Bitcoin kategoriseres som?\n(ii) Hvordan påvirker medieoppmerksomhet Bitcoin?\nDette er gjort ved å først presentere et teoretisk rammeverk for prisdannelse hvor investorers interesse er forklart i en variable for medieoppmerksomhet. Ved å bygge videre på dette rammeverket blir Bitcoins funksjonalitet som en valuta i samfunnet i dag analysert og sammenlignet ved bruk av det tradisjonelle rammeverket for penger vi kjenner til. Dette er videre analysert ved hjelp av volatilitetsprosessene til Bitcoin og andre finansielle aktivum. Funnene fra denne analysen tyder på at Bitcoin ikke kan klassifiseres sammen med tradisjonelle finansielle aktivum, og på så måte er et spekulativt finansielt aktivum som står på egenhånd. Videre blir det funnet at medieoppmerksomhet gjør Bitcoin mer attraktiv for investorer og er en driver av etterspørsel. Denne spekulative driveren av etterspørsel sammenfaller godt med kategoriseringen av Bitcoin som et spekulativt aktivum.