Blockchain adoption in auditing: a systematic literature review

PurposeThis paper presents a systematic literature review, including content and bibliometric analyses, of the impact of blockchain technology (BT) in auditing, to identify trends, research areas and construct an agenda for future research.Design/methodology/approachThe authors include studies from 2010 to 2020 in their structured literature review (SLR), using accounting journals on the Scopus database, which yielded 40 articles with blockchain and auditing at its core.FindingsOne of the contributions of the authors’ analyses is to group the prior research, and therefore also the agenda for future research, into three main research areas: (1) Blockchain as a tool for auditing professionals to improve business information systems to save time and prevent fraud; (2) Smart contracts enabling Audit 4.0 efficiency, reporting, disclosure and transparency; (3) Cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs) as a springboard for corporate governance and new venture financing. The authors’ findings have several important implications for practice and theory.Practical implicationsThe results of this study emphasise that (1) the disruption of blockchain in auditing is in a nascent phase and there is a need for compelling empirical studies and potential for the involvement of practitioners; (2) there may be a need to reconsider audit procedures especially suited for digitalisation and BT adoption; (3) standards, guidelines and training are required to pivot towards and confront the challenge BT will represent for auditing; and (4) there are two sides to the BT coin for auditing, enthusiasm about the potential and risk upon implementation. These practical implications can also be seen as a template for future research in a quest to align theory and practice.Originality/valueThe authors’ SLR facilitates the identification of research areas and implications, forming a useful baseline for practitioners, professionals and academics, as they draft the state of the art on the disruption of blockchain in auditing, highlighting how BT is changing auditing activities and traditions.

Purpose: This research aims to examine the impact of innovation on blockchain technology adoption within the context of digital marketing.
 Methodology: A combined qualitative and quantitative approach is employed, with a focus on case studies that use blockchain technology as a lens to assess the influence of innovation on digital marketing.
 Findings: Our linear regression analysis reveals that while digital marketing contributes to innovation and blockchain adoption, the observed impact is not statistically significant.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice, and Policy: Given the increasing significance of data security and compliance with regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it is imperative for digital marketing agencies to prioritize these aspects. By emphasizing these elements, businesses can harness the full potential of blockchain in their advertising strategies.

Fresh products are characterized by a certain deterioration rate, and the fresh supply chain typically relies on third-party cold chain logistics companies (3PLs) for transportation. This study constructs a fresh supply chain composed of supplier, retailer, and third-party cold chain logistics company, where shipping costs are borne by either the supplier or the retailer. The shipping costs bearer considers whether to adopt blockchain technology to enhance the transparency of fresh logistics and improve consumers’ perceived value. Using game theory, the paper attempts to explore who should bear the shipping costs (supplier or retailer), clarifying the shipping costs bear’s blockchain adoption strategy. The results indicate that: First, the 3PL’s profit is negatively correlated with the research and development (R&D) cost coefficient of carbon emission reduction (CER) and the deterioration rate of fresh products, while it is positively correlated with consumer low-carbon preferences. When the R&D cost coefficient of CER is high, or the deterioration rate of fresh products is low, or consumer low-carbon preferences are low, the 3PL prefers RCB model, otherwise SNB model. Additionally, the 3PL’s carbon reduction level is higher when blockchain technology is adopted, especially with low R&D cost coefficient of CER and high consumer low-carbon preferences. Second, regarding who should bear the shipping costs, when blockchain technology is not adopted, it is optimal for the supplier to bear the shipping costs, maximizing the overall profit of the supply chain. In contrast, when blockchain technology is adopted, having the retailer bear the shipping costs maximizes the overall profit of the supply chain. Specifically, when the R&D cost coefficient of CER is high, regardless of blockchain adoption, the supplier bearing the shipping costs maximizes the overall profit of the supply chain. Finally, concerning whether the bearer should invest in blockchain technology, when the R&D cost coefficient of CER is low and consumer low-carbon preferences are high, adopting blockchain technology leads to Pareto optimal profits for both the supplier and the retailer, regardless of who bears the shipping costs. This study provides a decision framework for optimizing cost allocation and technology adoption in sustainable cold chain management, particularly relevant for perishable goods with short shelf lives.

旅游业区块链应用的认知与挑战：关于信任、隐私和安全的研究研究目的本研究调查了旅游与酒店行业服务提供商对区块链技术（BCT）应用的看法, 重点关注其对消费者体验和期望的影响, 尤其是在可信度以及隐私和安全管理方面的影响。研究方法本研究采用定量方法, 收集了来自欧洲五个旅游行业（住宿、相关产业、娱乐、餐饮、交通）的135位行业从业者的数据, 旨在了解他们对区块链技术在业务运营中的实施所带来的好处和挑战的不同看法。研究发现结果表明, 关于区块链技术应用的看法存在分歧。虽然对BCT提升客户体验和服务质量的潜力持有正面看法, 但对其在信任和安全方面的影响仍存在重大担忧。客户和服务提供商在BCT的可信度方面达成了一致意见, 但在隐私和安全增强的看法上存在显著差异。研究创新本研究为现有文献提供了关于旅游和酒店行业服务提供商与客户对区块链技术看法的见解, 强调了采用新技术的复杂性, 并呼吁进行更深入的研究以解决所发现的问题, 从而为分布式账本技术在提升客户体验和服务交付中的应用提供了新的视角。

Sales mode selection and blockchain technology adoption decisions in a platform supply chain

Stage-wise green supply chain management and environmental performance: Impact of blockchain technology

Blockchain technology adoption and business performance in large enterprises: A comparison of the United States and China

Blockchain’s role in operation strategy of power battery closed-loop supply chain

The role of blockchain technology in the dual-channel supply chain dominated by a brand owner

PurposeBlockchain technology is one of the major contributors to supply chain sustainability because of its inherent features. However, its adoption rate is relatively low due to reasons such as the diverse barriers impeding blockchain adoption. The purpose of this study is to identify blockchain adoption barriers in sustainable supply chain and uncovers their interrelationships.Design/methodology/approachA three-phase framework that combines machine learning (ML) classifiers, BORUTA feature selection algorithm, and Grey-DEMATEL method. From the literature review, 26 potential barriers were identified and evaluated through the performance of ML models with accuracy and f-score.FindingsThe findings reveal that feature selection algorithm detected 15 prominent barriers, and random forest (RF) classifier performed with the highest accuracy and f-score. Moreover, the performance of the RF increased by 2.38% accuracy and 2.19% f-score after removing irrelevant barriers, confirming the validity of feature selection algorithm. An RF classifier ranked the prominent barriers and according to ranking, financial constraints, immaturity, security, knowledge and expertise, and cultural differences resided at the top of the list. Furthermore, a Grey-DEMATEL method is employed to expose interrelationships between prominent barriers and to provide an overview of the cause-and-effect group.Practical implicationsThe outcome of this study can help industry practitioners develop new strategies and plans for blockchain adoption in sustainable supply chains.Originality/valueThe research on the adoption of blockchain technology in sustainable supply chains is still evolving. This study contributes to the ongoing debate by exploring how practitioners and decision-makers adopt blockchain technology, developing strategies and plans in the process.

Blockchain technology (BC) and big data analytics capability (BDAC) are two crucial emerging technologies that have attracted significant attention from businesses and academia. However, their combined effect on business model innovation (BMI), along with the moderating role of environmental uncertainty and the mediating influence of corporate entrepreneurship, remains underexplored. To fill this gap, the present study investigates the combined effects of BDAC and blockchain adoption on BMI and explores the mediating role of corporate entrepreneurship as well as the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty. Drawing on the dynamic capability view (DCV) and the related literature, this study investigates these relationships using a conceptual framework hypothesising that (1) BDAC and blockchain adoption affect BMI through corporate entrepreneurship and (2) environmental uncertainty moderates these relationships. Consistent with the main theoretical arguments, our results, based on a sample of 284 employees working in Australian firms, indicate direct and indirect impacts of both BDAC and blockchain adoption on BMI. Corporate entrepreneurship was found to play a partial mediating role in the relationship between the two technologies, while BMI and environmental uncertainty were found to be significant moderators. These findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for companies striving to innovate their BMI. The results suggest that the synergistic effects of BDAC and blockchain technologies together create entrepreneurial activities and strategies to generate value, thus enabling BMI. Furthermore, the mediating role of corporate entrepreneurship and the moderating effect of environmental uncertainty have important theoretical implications for innovative BMI and management. As such, this study highlights the potential of BDAC and blockchain technologies to drive sustainable business practices, offering insights into how these technologies can contribute to economic, social, and environmental sustainability through innovative business models.

The aim of this paper is to assess blockchain technology adoption factors and indicate the most likely scenario for blockchain technology adoption in the economy of Latvia. The study employs the Analytic Hierarchy process (AHP) method for expert assessment of technological, organisational, market and institutional factors influencing blockchain technology adoption in the economy of Latvia in 4 stakeholder-based scenarios. The most likely scenario for facilitating blockchain technology adoption in the economy of Latvia in the experts’ opinion is the initiative of technology developers, which covers development of blockchain solutions in such areas as payments, crypto/token economy, digital identity management, etc. An aggregated expert opinion has identified 2 most significant factors for blockchain technology adoption in the economy of Latvia – regulatory environment (20%) and innovation system (16%), with the 3rd most important factor substantially lagging behind – market dynamics (8%). Therefore, it can be concluded that blockchain technology adoption in the economy of Latvia can be facilitated through strengthening blockchain innovation system and crypto regulation, specifically taking into account that blockchain solutions of technology developers in Latvia predominantly utilize public blockchain networks, which are connected to crypto-currencies and tokenized virtual assets. It is also necessary to raise awareness of top managers and policy-makers in Latvia about blockchain technology benefits in order to create local market demand for blockchain solutions.

This study investigates the quality information disclosure and blockchain technology adoption strategies of suppliers on a third-party e-commerce platform. Based on a Stackelberg game model, the impacts of blockchain technology adoption on the quality information disclosure decision and profit of the third-party e-commerce platform and suppliers are explored. The results indicate that whether blockchain adoption benefits suppliers depends on the unit blockchain cost and the reliability of quality information. Counterintuitively, higher information reliability may disadvantage suppliers under certain conditions. With the increase in unit blockchain cost, the incentive of suppliers to adopt blockchain is weakened, and suppliers need to adjust their strategies of quality information disclosure according to the adoption situation and the cost of blockchain. Adopting blockchain technology may be unfavorable to the suppliers but beneficial to the third-party e-commerce platform; the platform can incentivize suppliers to adopt blockchain and achieve a win-win situation. These findings provide some valuable managerial implications for the quality information disclosure decision of suppliers and blockchain adoption in the e-commerce platform supply chain.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to assess the tax stakeholders’ intention towards the adoption of blockchain technology (BT) for a transparent and effective taxing system in Bangladesh. It examines the factors influencing the behavioural intention of the users to adopt BT with a blended model built on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and self-determination theory (SDT). This research develops a prescriptive model to demonstrate how the stakeholders are interested in adopting BT for the taxing system.Design/methodology/approachData were obtained through a structured questionnaire from the stakeholders of the taxing system, including tax policymakers, tax commissioners, tax officers, lawyers, tax consultants and the taxpayers. Statistical analyses were performed using partial least square-structural equation modelling.FindingsResults reveal that out of the two primary TAM antecedents known as usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEU), PU has a significant influence on the BT adoption intention. The only cognitive variable called autonomous motivation picked from SDT has a positive and significant impact on BT adoption for tax purpose as well. Finally, trust is found to be another important determinant for explaining stakeholders’ intention to adopt BT for an efficient taxing system where transparency can be ensured.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed model does not include any moderator though there might be a moderating effect in this regard. The variation described in the behavioural intention to adopt BT by the predictors is half of the total possible variations. Hence, the inclusion of variables such as social influence and controlled motivation could be interesting.Practical implicationsThis study is expected to provide valuable insights into policymaking for tax administrations to enhance the tax collection net and maintain transparency and efficiency in the taxing system.Social implicationsThis research has social consequences for a recently graduated developing economy such as Bangladesh, where transparency and efficiency are a matter of question. Because BT adoption can assure a convenient and favourable environment for the taxpayers upholding the principles of taxation, it can play a significant role by ensuring social justice and equity through a transparent and effective taxing system.Originality/valueThis research is among the first few studies to address the issue of implementing a modern technology such as BT for an efficient taxing system from a developing country perspective. Furthermore, it combined TAM and SDT to propose a hybrid model for explaining behavioural intention to adopt an emerging technology such as blockchain, which is a new phenomenon.

Impact of government fund policy and blockchain technology on closed-loop supply chains in textile and apparel industry