New Kid On The Block! Understanding Blockchain Adoption in the Public Sector

Abstract

Blockchain has been heralded as a technology that can transform entire sectors, including the public sector where blockchain applications are believed to bring a wide range of benefits. The public sector is lagging behind, however, in its actual adoption of blockchain technology, and our understanding of the factors that explain the slow adoption rate, is lacking. Based on seven case studies of blockchain projects at various adoption stages, this research contributes to our understanding of what factors influence blockchain adoption in the public sector. We use an extended TOE framework that includes an inter-organizational perspective. The findings show that adoption is influenced by the hype around-and resistance toblockchain technology; by top management support, by (perceptions of) the regulatory environment; as well as by trust between blockchain partners, which is both an antecedent as well as a consequence of blockchain adoption.

Factors Affecting the Organizational Adoption of Blockchain Technology: Extending the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) Framework in the Australian Context

“…Loklindt, et al [38], Mohammed, Potdar and Yang [7], Post, et al [39], Hoxha and Sadiku [40], and Holotiuk and Moormann [20] investigated BCT adoption for the different industries including shipping and land record management. They showed that easy verification of transactions, data accuracy and reliability, and cost reduction influence an organization's decision to adopt BCT; Kulkarni and Patil [41] and Koster and Borgman [42] mentioned that the firm scope, learning culture, top management, customer readiness, competitive pressure, and government policies influence BCT adoption in banking and the public sector. Moreover, Albrecht, Reichert, Schmid, Strüker, Neumann and Fridgen [27] studied the post-decision stage of the BCT adoption.…”

“…Top management support is an integral part of an organization's decision to adopt new technology. The lack of leadership support reduces the chances of adopting an innovation such as BCT [42]. De Castro, Tanner and Johnston [26] found that an organization adopts BCT when its leadership provides required resources.…”

Behavioural intention to adopt blockchain for a transparent and effective taxing system

“…Based on blockchain cases, Koster and Borgman (2020) have shown that the success of projects in BT adoption is significantly influenced by BT hype, top management support, regulatory environment and trust among blockchain partners (Koster and Borgman, 2020).…”

“…Ainsworth and Alwohaibi (2017) proposed a model for tax administration in GCC for VAT, concentrating trust as an essential element of effective tax governance leaving the scope for further studies of BT adoption in the areas of other tax administrations. Koster and Borgman (2020) suggested future research to be conducted by quantifying the results for the factors influencing BT adoption. They also recommended further studies to be conducted to understand the perceived trust factor in a more considerable extent.…”

“…Unfortunately, Bangladesh’s taxing system is traditionally less effective because of the absence of transparency (Biswas and Rahman, 2018; Nurunnabi, 2019). The successful implementation of BT in ensuring tax efficiency and effectiveness in many countries such as Estonia (Jalakas, 2018), Indonesia (Saragih and Setyowati, 2019), Italy (Treiblmaier and Sillaber, 2020) and The Netherlands (Koster and Borgman, 2020) created the hope of implementing BT for tax administration in Bangladesh. Thus, this research tried to reveal the tax stakeholders’ BI to adopt BT.…”