The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has impacted risk management globally. Blockchain has been increasingly applied to healthcare management, as a strategic tool to strengthen operative protocols and to create the proper basis for an efficient and effective evidence-based decisional process. We aim to validate blockchain in healthcare, and to suggest a trace-route for a COVID19-safe clinical practice. The use of blockchain in combination with artificial intelligence systems allows the creation of a generalizable predictive system that could contribute to the containment of pandemic risk on national territory. A SWOT analysis of the adoption of a blockchain-based prediction model in healthcare and SARS-CoV-2 infection has been carried out to underline opportunities and limits to its adoption. Blockchain could play a strategic role in future digital healthcare: specifically, it may work to improve COVID19-safe clinical practice. The main concepts, and particularly those related to clinical workflow, obtainable from different blockchain-based models have been reported here and critically discussed.

PurposeThe objective of this study is to deepen how blockchain technology through smart contracts can support the development of sustainable business models (SBMs). Particularly, the authors aim to determine the key elements enabling SBMs by applying smart contracts.Design/methodology/approachThe research context focusses on the case study of SmartInsurance, which is a fictitious name for a start-up in the insurance sector and the real name of which is not to be revealed. The start-up was able to collect 18m euros in 80 s in a crowdfunding operation, using smart contracts and a revolutionary business model. Internal as well as external documents of different sources are analysed and coded to gather information about the company, its values and its business and what it pursues with employing blockchain technology.FindingsThe results show how smart contracts can reduce the costs of transactions, increase social trust and foster social proof behaviours that sustain the development of new SBMs.Originality/valueThis study contributes to both the transaction cost theory and social proof theory, showing how new technologies such as the blockchain can provide a fresh perspective to support the development of SBMs.

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The need to query large volumes of heterogeneous data in differing formats from multiple sources, both internal and external and its centrality to the process of value creation is revolutionising traditional approaches to business models. Through the adoption of more sophisticated algorithms, it is possible to intercept and interpret any digital flow, particularly those coming from the Internet of Things or from the web. The vast amount of information, its governance and its global integration are used in all decision-making processes and they are, therefore, an element of strategic importance in the development process and in the survival of every company, thanks to the potential for transforming all information sources into knowledge and quantifying reality in all its elements (objects, places, phenomena, people and human behaviour). Having a large volume and a wide variety of information (i.e., Big Data) shared within an organisation is crucial for the interactive and multidirectional process of risk assessment and management. This process, on the one hand, contributes to safeguarding the integrity of corporate assets through increased efficiency and the effectiveness of the services provided and, on the other, reduces unexpected events and related losses while ensuring greater efficiency in the decision-making process. This is relevant especially in financial institutions in which risk management is pivotal to their survival and their success, assuming a strategic role. Through an analysis of the literature and a case study methodology, this paper investigates how small banks are facing technological challenges, showing the state of art about the actual use of the techniques of data collection and management (e.g., Big Data analytics [BDA]) in supporting the risk management process. Furthermore, the work tries to identify the skills required of the risk manager in the digital age. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate on the usefulness and use of digital innovations in the banking sector, discussing the future perspectives of risk management 4.0 and the role of BDA in risk management.