Transparency in public affairs interactions between companies and governments is critical to democratic legitimacy, yet existing lobby registers suffer from fragmented reporting, weak record integrity, limited traceability, and compliance gaps. This paper reports a Design Science Research (DSR) study that develops and evaluates a permissioned blockchain architecture for mandatory Public Affairs transparency. Two stakeholder surveys provided empirical grounding: Survey 1 (N = 61 domain professionals) elicited functional, non-functional, and GDPR compliance requirements, while Survey 2 (N = 14 practitioner evaluators) assessed a proof-of-concept implementation on Hyperledger Fabric following a live demonstration. Findings reveal widespread concerns over non-repudiation and auditability in current systems — 87% rated existing record integrity as weak—alongside strong endorsement for blockchain’s immutability, versioned audit trails, and hybrid on-/off-chain design to ensure GDPR-aligned traceability. Post-demonstration evaluation achieved a mean score of 4.6/5 for traceability and integrity, and 86% of evaluators recommended real-world piloting. The study makes three contributions: (i) an empirically derived requirements model and information-lifecycle framework; (ii) a hybrid permissioned-blockchain blueprint implemented on Hyperledger Fabric; and (iii) a replicable stakeholder-centric DSR methodology for sociotechnical artefact design in regulated governance contexts.
Tendermint is among the most widely studied and deployed Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus protocols, owing in part to its native leader-rotation mechanism that subsumes complex view changes. Like most partially-synchronous BFT protocols, Tendermint tolerates $f 5f$ setting that decides in two communication steps in the good case, while preserving Tendermint's leader-rotation structure. Fast Tendermint collapses Tendermint's prevote and precommit steps into a single voting step and merges the $locked$ and $valid$ state. We give proofs of agreement, validity, and termination, and a formal specification in Quint, a modern surface syntax for TLA+, used to model-check the protocol.
Zeta Avarikioti, Dimitris Karakostas, Karl Kreder, Shreekara Shastry
Our work presents a defense mechanism against Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) opportunities in distributed ledgers. The mechanism relies on the idea of enforcing a verifiable delay when generating transactions, such that a block creator cannot react to the appearance of a MEV opportunity without breaking liveness. We present positive results both in the Byzantine setting and in a game theoretic model of rational participants. We additionally present negative bounds that outline the limitations of this line of defense. Finally, we explore real-world implementation details of verifiable delays and show that, based on historical MEV data, our mechanism could realistically help prevent most existing MEV threats.
Sofia Bobadilla, Humaira Afrin, Angela Novelli, Martin Monperrus
Blockchains are among the most adversarial environments in computing. Billions are stolen by cybercriminals who exploit vulnerabilities. This is an open problem and no concept or technique has proven to really make a difference. In this paper, we claim that the classical notion of program invariant is perhaps the most powerful solution to the problem. We devise anoriginal experimental protocol to 1) study how invariants would have protected against past real-world attacks and 2) whether state-of-the-art automated tools can find them. The experimental toolchain is sophisticated. It is based on INVARIANTEVAL, a benchmark of 28 real Ethereum exploits, each paired with a human-authored invariant that blocks the attack. We validate every invariant with PONDEREPLAY, a replay framework that re-executes transactions in order to prove the correctness and soundness of smart contract invariants. We demonstrate that smart contract invariants block all the cybercriminal attacks in INVARIANTEVAL, fully validated by replaying 108,637 historical transactions. Our large-scale experiments clearly demonstrate that smart contract invariants protect against cybercriminals.
Public blockchain data enables large-scale DeFi-related analysis, but many existing approaches are application-specific, difficult to scale, or hard to interpret. This research proposes a scalable, application-agnostic framework for \emph{persistent behavioural pattern discovery} from large-scale blockchain activity. It constructs behaviour sentences enriched with contract, token and market context, then applies a two-step embedding process: sentence-level embeddings capture individual actions, while sequence-level embeddings capture user behaviour over time. An interpretable behavioural profiler characterizes discovered communities through behavioural motifs, routines, temporal dynamics, entity exposure, and suspiciousness evidence. Evaluation on Ethereum using over 30 million transactions shows that the framework uncovers both routine and malicious behavioural patterns, including decentralised exchange (DEX) trading, NFT activity, phishing, bot operations, oracle manipulation, and rug-pull schemes. Importantly, many patterns remain stable across independent observation windows, enabling the identification of long-term behaviours beyond a single analysis period. The proposed framework combines scalability, interpretability, and persistence analysis, supporting blockchain forensic investigation, behavioural attribution, and threat discovery.
The rapid development of blockchain technology has introduced new forms of digital assets, including Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and metaverse virtual land, creating legal uncertainty regarding their status as inheritable property under Indonesian Islamic Family Law. This study examines the legal status of these digital assets as inheritance objects, analyzes their distribution based on fiqh al-mawārīth and Indonesian positive law, and proposes a legal framework to strengthen legal certainty in digital inheritance. This research employs a normative legal method using statutory, conceptual, and Islamic jurisprudential approaches. Legal materials were analyzed through descriptive and deductive legal reasoning. The findings demonstrate that NFTs and metaverse virtual land satisfy the Islamic legal characteristics of māl because they possess lawful ownership, measurable economic value, legal control, and transferability, thereby qualifying as al-tirkah (inheritance estate). Their distribution should follow the principles of fiqh al-mawārīth while accommodating the technical characteristics of blockchain-based assets, particularly digital wallets and private-key access. The study also identifies a regulatory gap in Indonesian positive law concerning digital asset inheritance. Unlike previous studies that primarily discuss digital assets from commercial or general legal perspectives, this research develops an integrated framework combining Islamic inheritance law, Indonesian positive law, and digital estate planning to strengthen legal certainty, protect heirs' rights, and contribute to the development of Islamic Family Law in the digital era.
Hebat Allah Adel, Sayed AbdelGaber, Wessam H. El-Behaidy
Ensuring transparency and security in digital recruitment systems remains a critical challenge. This study proposes BC-XAIA, a unified framework that integrates blockchain, smart contracts, explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), and agile methodology to enable consistent, secure, and traceable recruitment decision-making. Smart contracts, implemented in Solidity and deployed using the Remix Ethereum IDE, automate key processes such as identity verification, data access control, and behavior monitoring, reducing reliance on centralized intermediaries. To support intelligent decision-making, multiple machine learning models, including Random Forest, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine (SVM), were trained and evaluated on a recruitment dataset, with Random Forest achieving the highest performance, reaching an accuracy of 93%. To enhance transparency, SHAP and LIME were employed to provide both global and local interpretability of model predictions. Furthermore, agile methodology is embedded to drive continuous adaptation, iterative development, and stakeholder feedback throughout the recruitment lifecycle. Unlike existing recruitment systems that treat blockchain, AI, and explainability separately, BC-XAIA unifies these technologies within an agile and decentralized architecture. Overall, BC-XAIA establishes a secure, transparent, and explainable decentralized recruitment ecosystem that enhances trust, fairness, and intelligent decision-making in next-generation HR systems.
Jaume Martin Bosch, Marco Combetto, Luca Tangi, A. Paula Rodriguez Müller
Introduction Blockchain technology (BCT) has been widely discussed as a potentially valuable technology for advancing sustainable development in the public sector. Its core features, including transparency, immutability and decentralisation, may contribute to more accountable, efficient and inclusive public services. However, limited empirical evidence exists on how BCT-based public sector initiatives align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methods This study examines 306 public sector BCT-based use cases across the EU, compiled by the Public Sector Tech Watch observatory. We apply a GPT-4o-based AI text classification pipeline to assess the degree of alignment between project descriptions and the 17 SDGs. The pipeline combines refined SDG descriptors, structured prompting and documented model parameters. Its outputs are benchmarked against a human-coded subset to assess validity. Results The results show strong alignment with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), followed by more moderate alignment with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). By contrast, goals such as SDG 2, SDG 6 and SDG 14 remain weakly represented. These findings provide an empirical overview of how BCT applications in EU public administrations are framed in relation to the SDGs. Discussion By highlighting patterns of alignment between BCT adoption and the SDGs, this study offers evidence to inform policymakers, practitioners and future research on sustainability-oriented public sector innovation. It also demonstrates the value of AI-assisted classification for mapping large corpora of digital government initiatives, while recognising that the results capture stated or perceived alignment rather than verified sustainability impacts.
Purpose The study investigates the effect of investor fear on cryptocurrency crash risk, with emphasis on overall market sentiment and COVID-19-related fear. It also evaluates the relative performance of Google search-based measures compared to the economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index and the volatility indexes (VIX) as benchmark indicators of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a quantitative empirical approach to examine the impact of investor fear on cryptocurrency price crash risk. Investor sentiment is proxied using the FEARS index derived from Google search volumes and the coronavirus fear index. Crash risk is measured using negative conditional skewness of weekly returns and down-to-up volatility. The analysis is based on weekly data for the top 10 cryptocurrencies from August 2010 to October 2021. Regression models are used to examine the relationship between investor fear and crash risk and to compare the explanatory power of Google-based fear indicators with traditional uncertainty measures. Findings The results show that investor fear significantly increases the risk, while COVID-19-related fear further intensifies this effect, highlighting the vulnerability of crypto markets during periods of heightened uncertainty. Moreover, Google-based fear indicators outperform the EPU index and the VIX in explaining and predicting crash risk. Overall, the findings suggest that investor attention and sentiment are more powerful drivers of cryptocurrency crash risk than traditional volatility-based measures. Originality/value This study links investor fear, including COVID-19 sentiment, to cryptocurrency crash risk and finds that Google-based fear indicators outperform traditional measures like the EPU index and the VIX in predicting market downturns.
Purpose This study aims to examine how digital cultural values, collaboration, innovation and customer-centricity enable successful technological adoption in the banking sector's digital transformation journey. It explores how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain and metaverse-based interfaces are integrated to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency, with emphasis on the role of shared values in shaping strategy, leadership and organizational readiness. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative, case-based exploratory design is adopted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with senior managers across strategy, innovation, technology and customer experience functions. These were supplemented with secondary sources, including policy documents, digital strategy reports and industry analyses. Thematic analysis was used to identify cultural patterns and organizational factors influencing digital adoption in a regulated banking context. Findings The findings show that digital cultural values are critical enablers of successful technological adoption. Collaboration enhances cross-functional coordination and accelerates integration of emerging technologies. Innovation fosters experimentation and openness to AI, ML and immersive tools. Customer-centricity ensures that digital investments improve accessibility, transparency and service quality. Collectively, these values strengthen adaptability, operational efficiency and ecosystem integration, highlighting that cultural alignment is as important as technological capability in digital transformation. Originality/value The study positions digital cultural values as central enablers of technology adoption, extending digital transformation literature beyond technological capability perspectives. It contributes to theory by showing how shared values mediate the relationship between emerging technologies and service transformation in regulated banking environments. Practically, it offers guidance for building culturally aligned digital strategies that improve adoption, trust and customer experience.
The programmable economy lacks a universal computational layer capable of interpreting, translating, verifying, and simulating the mathematical and cryptographic operations that underpin digital assets. Existing tools are fragmented: wallet software provides only rudimentary transaction signing, portfolio trackers offer aggregated views without evidence, and specialized calculators address isolated problems. No general-purpose, cryptographically verifiable, language-native computational environment exists for digital value. KHOTOR is designed to fill this gap. It is a universal, deterministic runtime that interprets the anti-entropic linguistic protocol Kryptophon, transforms plain-language queries into executable computational expressions, and performs multi-domain financial mathematics across asset conversion, transaction analysis, decentralized finance, tokenomics simulation, cryptographic proof generation, and risk assessment. Every output carries an epistemic classification — verified, observed, inferred, simulated, or uncertain — and can be exported as a Gamma-Proof: a cryptographically signed, independently verifiable artifact. This paper presents the complete KHOTOR architecture: a ten-layer computational engine, a formal abstract machine for Kryptophon evaluation, a tiered adoption model that makes the programmable economy accessible to non-technical users while creating a new domain of expertise for professionals, and a product family spanning a public cloud API, a web platform, a handheld consumer device, and integration with dedicated hardware instruments. All components are designed around a single governing principle: every calculation shows its work, every output carries a truth label, and no inference is ever presented as fact.
Beacon Kit: Ecosystem epoch heartbeat @ the world game (s). Block-time arbitrage tokenized commodity index, adaptive procedural template @ system of federated DeFi cryptocurrency quantum - AI systems consensus
The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and increasing instability in traditional financial systems have significantly transformed global investment behaviour in recent years. In developing countries experiencing economic crises and currency depreciation, investors increasingly seek alternative financial assets that can preserve value and generate higher returns. Sri Lanka has recently experienced severe economic instability characterised by inflation, foreign-exchange shortages, sovereign debt problems, and rapid depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee. Under these conditions, interest in cryptocurrency investment has increased, particularly among younger and technologically aware investors. Therefore, this study examines whether fiat currency devaluation shifts investment from the stock market to the cryptocurrency market among university students in Sri Lanka. The study adopts a quantitative research approach and uses primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 150 final-year undergraduate students at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Stratified random sampling was used to select respondents from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, and the Faculty of Applied Sciences. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, and binary logistic regression were employed to analyse the relationship between rupee depreciation and cryptocurrency investment behaviour. The findings reveal that depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee significantly influences investment decisions among university students. Most respondents perceived cryptocurrency investment as more profitable than stock-market investment during periods of economic uncertainty. The chi-square analysis identified significant relationships between cryptocurrency investment behaviour and age, income, stock-market investment, and perceptions of rupee depreciation. Furthermore, the binary logistic regression results confirmed that rupee depreciation positively and significantly affects cryptocurrency investment, whereas stock-market investment had a negative relationship with cryptocurrency investment behaviour. The study concludes that economic instability, declining confidence in fiat currency, and increasing awareness of digital financial systems encourage university students in Sri Lanka to shift their investment preferences from the traditional stock market to cryptocurrency.
The article examines the concept of legal settlement finality as applied to two fundamentally different payment instruments — decentralized cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The author analyzes the absence of a statutory definition of settlement finality in Russian financial law, compares the approaches of Russia, China, India and the UAE, and studies judicial practice and doctrine. Based on a comparative legal analysis, an original definition of the legal finality of digital settlement is proposed, and liability regimes for payment process participants prior to transaction completion are differentiated in relation to cryptocurrency P2P transactions and CBDC operations.
This systematic review synthesises empirical research on individual-level cryptocurrency adoption, distinguishing adoption intention, actual adoption and use, and continuance intention and use. We searched Scopus and Web of Science for English-language empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025 and synthesised findings using a structured narrative approach. Eighty-five studies were included, with reported sample sizes summing to 56,054 participants. No formal study-level risk-of-bias assessment was conducted. The literature was dominated by cross-sectional quantitative studies and technology-adoption frameworks, particularly UTAUT, TAM, TPB, and DOI. Evidence was strongly concentrated on adoption intention (n = 75), whereas actual adoption and use (n = 16) and continuance intention and use (n = 8) were examined much less frequently. Across studies, adoption was associated with psychological, technological, social, economic, knowledge-related, institutional, and individual factors, with no single determinant consistently dominating across outcomes. The synthesis further distinguished direct predictors, mediating mechanisms, moderators, drivers, and barriers. The evidence base is limited by its reliance on self-reported, cross-sectional designs and uneven coverage of realised and continued engagement. Future research should more clearly specify adoption outcomes and use longitudinal, behavioural, and post-adoption designs.
R. Priyadharsini, Ravikanth Reddy Vadamala, R. Raajalakshmi, K. Raghav Prasad · 5 authors
The rapid transformation of global business environments driven by digitalization, technological advancement, changing consumer expectations, and competitive market dynamics has significantly altered traditional marketing practices and strategic business operations. Organizations operating in highly dynamic economic ecosystems are increasingly recognizing that conventional marketing frameworks alone are insufficient to sustain long-term growth, customer engagement, and market relevance. In this context, innovation-driven marketing models have emerged as a critical strategic approach that integrates creativity, data intelligence, technological innovation, customer-centric design, and adaptive business strategies to enhance organizational competitiveness and sustainable value creation. This research examines the growing significance of innovation-driven marketing models and their influence on consumer behavior, brand positioning, digital engagement, operational efficiency, and business sustainability across modern industries. The study explores how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, blockchain, cloud computing, augmented reality, and social media ecosystems are transforming traditional marketing processes into highly personalized, predictive, and experience-oriented systems capable of responding to rapidly evolving market demands. The research further investigates how innovation-oriented marketing strategies support product differentiation, dynamic pricing, omnichannel communication, customer relationship management, and real-time market responsiveness in both online and offline commercial environments. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of innovation in enhancing customer engagement through interactive digital platforms, data-driven personalization, automated communication systems, influencer-based branding strategies, and experiential marketing campaigns. The study also evaluates how organizations leverage innovative business models to improve customer retention, market expansion, and strategic decision-making while simultaneously addressing challenges related to market uncertainty, consumer trust, technological adaptation, and ethical data utilization. A comparative assessment of traditional marketing approaches and innovation-driven marketing frameworks demonstrates that organizations adopting innovation-centric strategies experience stronger consumer loyalty, improved operational agility, enhanced brand visibility, and higher adaptability to changing economic conditions. Additionally, the research highlights the growing importance of sustainability-oriented marketing innovation, where businesses integrate environmental responsibility, social value creation, and ethical consumer engagement into their branding and communication practices. The findings indicate that innovation-driven marketing models not only contribute to commercial profitability but also strengthen organizational resilience and long-term strategic sustainability in highly competitive global markets. The study concludes that future business success increasingly depends on the ability of organizations to continuously innovate their marketing structures, technological capabilities, and customer engagement mechanisms in alignment with digital transformation and evolving consumer expectations. Therefore, innovation-driven marketing represents a transformative strategic paradigm capable of reshaping modern business ecosystems through intelligent, adaptive, and customer-focused value creation models.
PurposeThe enhanced consolidation of cloud accounting models within geographical boundaries of India has established latest standards in financial auditing, reporting, compliance procedures and virtual accessibility. Nonetheless the legal framework in the nation is evolving simultaneously to accentuate audit trails, nationalized storage of data and sovereignity of data. Latest modifications under the companies act 2013; the company’s fourth amendment rules and the new policies issued by RBI for data localization have radically shifted the compliance framework for all the accounting professionals and the service providers in the country. Regardless of the mounting academic discussion on adaptability of cloud accounting around the globe, meagre research has highlighted hoe nationalized legal requirements have modified the framework infrastructure, risks involved and acceptability of accounting professionals in india which will be investigated in this study. This study will further identify the pros and cons for adoption of cloud accounting and will come out with suggestive cloud accounting models for Indian scenario. Design/Methodology/ApproachAn empirical and analytical research design has been adopted for the study and snowball and convenient sampling has been used for primary data collection..A sample size of 140 has been calculated using G-power. The research is confined to chartered accountants of agra district to whom a well structured questionnaire was sent using google forms.stastical tools used in this study is chi square test. FindingsCloud accounting is a tremendous shift towards triple entry system wherein a transaction is verified by a third party using cryptography and blockchain technology thereby increasing authenticity and trust by piling all entries in a public ledger. As a result of this more businesses are adopting virtual workforce models. Introduction of cloud based models in accounting profession has enhanced the roles of key processing indicators in the business.Cloud technology magnifies employees networking and association thereby increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Chartered accountants who will accept this change will have new opportunities open for them and those who will look at this technology with ostrich approach will be left behind. OriginalityThe findings will be valuable for further research work to be done in this area. The findings will help various researchers, chartered accountants, accounting professionals etc to understand the implementation of cloud accounting in developing countries like India and to understand in depth the implementation and adoption of cloud based accounting in the Indian scenario.
Open access
Innovations and Analysis in Business and Education
Green finance has emerged as a transformative mechanism for achieving sustainable economic development by integrating environmental sustainability with financial decision-making. The increasing challenges posed by climate change, environmental degradation, and resource depletion have encouraged governments, financial institutions, and private investors to allocate capital toward environmentally sustainable projects. Green finance encompasses financial instruments such as green bonds, green loans, sustainability-linked loans, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investments, climate finance, and carbon financing that promote low-carbon and climate-resilient economic growth. This paper reviews recent developments in green finance and examines its contribution to sustainable economic development through a systematic review of contemporary literature. The study analyzes the evolution of green financial instruments, policy frameworks, investment trends, and their impact on economic growth, renewable energy development, environmental protection, employment generation, and financial inclusion. The paper further discusses the challenges hindering green finance implementation, including regulatory inconsistencies, greenwashing, limited disclosure standards, inadequate investor awareness, and financing constraints in developing economies. The review also highlights the role of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and big data analytics in improving transparency, risk assessment, and investment efficiency in green financial markets. Based on recent empirical evidence, the paper concludes that green finance significantly contributes to sustainable development by encouraging environmentally responsible investments while supporting long-term economic resilience. Finally, policy recommendations and future research directions are proposed to strengthen global green financial ecosystems and accelerate progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Background: Despite the growing adoption of hybrid contract models in construction, energy, and agricultural procurement, there remains a significant gap in understanding how lump-sum and unit-price contracts differentially allocate risk across sectors and country contexts. This study addresses this gap by examining risk mitigation strategies through document analysis and thematic synthesis. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify key risk allocation strategies, contractual mechanisms, and the effectiveness of hybrid models in managing uncertainty across developed and developing country contexts. Methods: A qualitative approach based on thematic analysis and cross-case comparison was applied, drawing on 48 peer-reviewed sources published between 2015 and 2025, alongside relevant sector documents and procurement reports. Results: The analysis identified that hybrid contracts reduced cost overrun variability by incorporating performance-based incentives aligned with Expected Utility Theory and Principal-Agent Theory, while developing economies such as Indonesia and Bangladesh exhibited distinct risk profiles requiring adaptive contract mechanisms. However, significant gaps remain, particularly regarding the empirical validation of blockchain-enabled contract enforcement and AI-driven risk prediction, as well as the underrepresentation of developing economy contexts in existing research. Conclusion: The findings carry both scientific and practical implications. Theoretically, this study advances an integrative multi-theory framework combining Expected Utility Theory, Game Theory, and Principal-Agent Theory to analyse contract risk across diverse contexts. Practically, the results provide evidence-based guidance for procurement professionals and policymakers in selecting and designing contract structures that balance cost certainty with adaptive flexibility.
Medical tourism has emerged as a significant global phenomenon, driven by the convergence of high healthcare costs in developed nations and the availability of high-quality, affordable treatment options abroad. This review examines the critical role of entrepreneurial innovation in shaping and expanding this industry, which uniquely blends advanced health care with the principles of hospitality and tourism. Key innovations transforming the sector include the development of integrated, all-inclusive service models that package medical procedures with travel, luxury accommodation, and wellness-focused recovery programs. Digital disruption is paramount, with platforms leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for personalized patient care coordination and blockchain technology to ensure secure, transparent transfer of medical records and billing, thereby building essential trust. Furthermore, strategic partnerships between hospitals, airlines, and hospitality providers create a seamless end-to-end experience for international patients. The proliferation of telemedicine supports this model by facilitating vital pre-departure consultations and post-operative follow-up care, ensuring continuity and safety. Entrepreneurs are also successfully targeting niche markets, from elective cosmetic surgery to complex dental and regenerative procedures, particularly in established hubs like India, Thailand, and Turkey. However, the industry’s growth is not without challenges, including regulatory heterogeneity, cultural and language barriers, and ethical concerns. Future advancement depends on navigating these complexities while capitalizing on opportunities such as value-based care, augmented reality (AR) for patient engagement, and strengthened international accreditation frameworks. By combining clinical expertise and hospitality, innovative entrepreneurship is ultimately reinventing access to health care globally, giving patients new options while producing substantial economic advantages for the countries of destination.
Omar Al-Jamili, Abdulaziz Fahmi Omar Faqera, Mohd Adan Omar, Shehu M. Sarkintudu · 8 authors
Open Government Data (OGD) has become central to digital transformation and data-driven governance, yet scholarly understanding of how OGD initiatives progress from initial adoption to sustained institutionalization remains fragmented. This study aims to synthesize the existing literature and develop an integrative framework that explains the socio-technical mechanisms underpinning the long-term sustainability and value creation of OGD initiatives. The study integrates bibliometric analysis with a systematic literature review of 481 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 31 December 2024. Quantitative science-mapping techniques are combined with qualitative thematic synthesis to capture the intellectual structure, technological evolution, and theoretical foundations of OGD research. The findings reveal rapid growth and thematic diversification in OGD scholarship, with increasing attention to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. However, the literature remains theoretically fragmented across behavioral, institutional, and public-value perspectives. Two critical gaps are identified: insufficient theorization of institutional legitimacy as a driver of continuity, and limited exploration of user-centric governance mechanisms shaping sustained data reuse. To address these gaps, the study proposes the Socio-Technical Institutionalization Model (STIM), which conceptualizes OGD sustainability as the dynamic alignment of technological infrastructures, institutional arrangements, and user ecosystems. By combining quantitative science mapping with systematic thematic synthesis and proposing the STIM lifecycle framework, this study offers an integrative synthesis that extends prior OGD reviews. The framework bridges fragmented theoretical perspectives and explains how open data initiatives may evolve from adoption to institutionalized value creation within complex digital governance ecosystems.
ABSTRACT Faced with the accelerating erosion of biodiversity and its growing recognition as a source of financial risks and opportunities, the academic literature linking biodiversity and finance is expanding rapidly. This article offers a systematic and bibliometric review of this literature in order to analyze its evolution, intellectual structure, main conceptual dynamics and gap identification. Aligning with the PRISMA‐2020 protocol, this study examines 1088 scientific articles published in the period 1993–2025. The data were extracted from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The analysis uses descriptive bibliometric methods available in R software and the bibliometrix package via the Biblioshiny interface. The results highlighted a strong acceleration of scientific production since 2015, which is linked with the development of sustainable finance and international regulatory frameworks. While the thematic mapping identifies a broader landscape, three key areas are prioritized for in‐depth analysis: Sustainability as a macroeconomic framework, Biodiversity conservation via innovation in financial instruments, and the emergence of biodiversity risk as a systemic financial risk. Beyond descriptive mapping, this study proposes the Biodiversity‐Finance Inhibition Framework (BFIF) as an integrative conceptual framework to synthesize the persistent disconnect between academic evidence and market implementation. It identifies a systemic “Inhibition Loop” where data gaps at the micro‐level and a lack of ecological accountability at the meso‐level paralyze macro‐regulatory ambitions. The article also highlights a significant geographical disparity, with research heavily concentrated in developed economies. Finally, it outlines a strategic research agenda aimed at breaking this “Inhibition Loop” by exploring a “methodological frontier” involving bio‐econometrics, blockchain, and artificial intelligence to reinforce the measurement, governance, and effectiveness of biodiversity‐finance.
Stephen Oko Gyan Torto, Rupendra Kumar Pachauri, Jai Govind Singh, Shubham Tiwari · 7 authors
Global projects are mobilizing technologies to fight power generation curtailment and smooth demand by exploiting excess energy via transactive energy management and control. Sharing and transferring energy between microgrids helps manufacturers and businesses create energy autonomously. The transition to Multi-Vector Multi-Agent Energy Systems (MMV-ES) demands a paradigm shift from traditional centralized control to decentralized, market-based coordination. Transactive Energy Management (TEM) has emerged as a key enabler in this context, supporting local flexibility, peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, and integrated energy vectors across distributed assets. This review systematically decomposes and classifies the existing state of TEM from several perspectives: the market topology, the interaction of the agent, game-theoretic models and the real deployment challenges. Moreover, two game-theory formulations (cooperative and non-cooperative) were given special attention and a detailed comparison between Shapley value and Nucleolus was provided as approaches for fair cost allocation. To enhance the adaptability of the market and the overall efficiency of the system, we introduce the Transactive Energy Reformulation Model (TE-RM), a hybrid model combining AI-powered congestion pricing with coalition formation and fairness-based incentives. The comparative tables in this paper summarize TEM and TE-RM's strengths and weaknesses and compare it to the centralized and conventional DSM methodologies. Lastly, key research gaps including scalability, regulatory fit, and AI model interpretability are reviewed, and future directions are proposed for the integration of future advanced technologies (e.g., reinforcement learning, blockchain, IoT) to enable stable, fair and interoperable energy markets.
Cahya Kamila Maharani, Relit Nur Edi, Ismail Septayanto Utama
The 4.0 Industrial Revolution has transformed the global economic landscape through the digitalization of financial services, trade, and industrial activities. This transformation has accelerated the growth of the Halal Market, making it one of the fastest-growing economic sectors, driven by the expanding Muslim population, increasing awareness of halal consumption, and rising demand for ethical and sustainable products. In this context, Islamic Fintech has emerged as a strategic innovation that integrates digital financial technologies with the principles of Islamic law and economics. Although studies on Sharia Fintech and the halal industry have grown substantially, research integrating these two domains from the perspectives of Islamic law and Islamic economics remains limited. This study aims to examine the strategic role of Islamic Fintech in strengthening the global Halal Market through an interconnective analytical framework. Employing a qualitative library research approach, the study critically analyzes scholarly literature, regulatory documents, international reports, and previous empirical studies. The findings indicate that Sharia Fintech enhances financial inclusion, transparency, halal traceability, value chain efficiency, and digital governance through the adoption of blockchain, artificial intelligence, smart contracts, and digital payment systems. These innovations contribute to the realization of Maqashid al-Shariah, particularly the protection of wealth (ḥifẓ al-māl) and the promotion of public welfare (maṣlaḥah). The novelty of this study lies in the development of a comprehensive conceptual framework that integrates Islamic law, Islamic economics, digital financial innovation, and Halal Market governance into a unified analytical model.