Purpose Blockchain possesses the potential to disrupt and reshape a plethora of industries in the next decade. However, blockchain adoption rates in technology developed countries, such as Ireland, are relatively low. Motivated by blockchain’s potential to transform sociotechnical systems, the lack of systematic inquiry pertaining to blockchain studies from an information system perspective, the authors propose the following research question: “How do organizational factors influence blockchain adoption in organizations based in a developed country?” Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to elucidate the impact of organizational factors on the adoption of blockchain and the adoption of blockchain in companies based in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review was conducted, and the methods of qualitative content analysis were used to identify the most important technology–organization–environment (TOE) blockchain adoption factors. Organizational factors are often viewed as the most significant determinants of IT innovation adoption in organizations. Consequently, using a multiple-case study of 20 companies based in Ireland, the authors investigate how the top three organizational factors identified from the blockchain literature affected these companies decision to adopt or not adopt blockchain. Findings The literature review on blockchain adoption identified specific technological, organizational and environmental factors. Furthermore, the case study findings identified three patterns: top management support and organizational readiness are enablers for blockchain adoption, and large companies are more likely to adopt blockchain than small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors explain these patterns by examining the nature of blockchain and the characteristics of Ireland as a developed country. Practical and scientific contributions are also presented. Research limitations/implications This study makes several important scientific contributions. First, the findings revealed that top management support and organizational readiness are significant enablers of blockchain adoption. Ireland is recognized as a technology developed country; however, the findings in relation to top management support contradict existing IT adoption literature pertaining to developed countries. Second, previous IT innovation adoption literature suggests that organizations size has a positive influence on a company’s IT innovation adoption process. This study demonstrates that large organizations are more likely to not only adopt blockchain but are also more likely to conduct increased levels of blockchain research and development activities. Finally, and most significantly, the authors identified several patterns, which relate specifically to Ireland as a developed country that influenced the findings. These findings could hold particular relevance to governments and organizations of other developed countries in terms of accelerating blockchain adoption. Practical implications The findings about the low level of blockchain awareness and the lack of information pertaining to viable business use cases indicate that the Irish government could play a more significant role in promoting the benefits of blockchain technologies. Further, the findings could also encourage IT providers to formulate enhanced strategies aimed at disseminating information pertaining to blockchain technologies. Second, the positive influence of top management support and organizational readiness, particularly about core competencies, on blockchain adoption suggests that equipping managers with the requisite knowledge and skills will be crucial in adopting these IT innovations. Finally, organizations who adopted blockchain used cloud-based blockchain platforms and tools to overcome the constraints of their initial low levels of organizational readiness. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to identify specific TOE blockchain adoption factors. Further, the authors examine how the three most identified organizational adoption factors impact organizations decisions to adopt blockchain. Finally, the authors discuss how the resulting three patterns identified by examining the nature of blockchain and the characteristics of Ireland as a technology developed country.

A standardized protocol enabling rapid NMR data collection for high-quality protein structure determination is presented that allows one to capitalize on high spectrometer sensitivity: a set of five G-matrix Fourier transform NMR experiments for resonance assignment based on highly resolved 4D and 5D spectral information is acquired in conjunction with a single simultaneous 3D 15 N, 13 C aliphatic , 13 C aromatic -resolved [ 1 H, 1 H]-NOESY spectrum providing 1 H-1 H upper distance limit constraints. The protocol was integrated with methodology for semiautomated data analysis and used to solve eight NMR protein structures of the Northeast Structural Genomics Consortium pipeline. The molecular masses of the hypothetical target proteins ranged from 9 to 20 kDa with an average of Ϸ14 kDa. Between 1 and 9 days of instrument time were invested per structure, which is less than Ϸ10 -25% of the measurement time routinely required to date with conventional approaches. The protocol presented here effectively removes data collection as a bottleneck for high-throughput solution structure determination of proteins up to at least Ϸ20 kDa, while concurrently providing spectra that are highly amenable to fast and robust analysis.G-matrix Fourier transform projection NMR ͉ NMR structure determination ͉ structural genomics

Information technology (IT) innovation is rapidly reshaping organisations, affecting fundamental aspects of their everyday business activities and processes. This development is accompanied by benefits as well as challenges. In this article, we focus on a specific distributed ledger IT called blockchain which has been heralded as possessing the capability to radically transform a multitude of industries. However, there is a dearth of research which has coalesced the important considerations that organisations should consider prior to adopting blockchain technologies. Consequently, using innovation theory, which has been extensively used to examine the adoption of IT in organisations, we identify salient technological, organisational and environmental (TOE) considerations which influence the adoption of blockchain by organisations. We anchor our discussion using the top three organisational considerations which emerged from our research: top management support, organisational readiness, and organisational support. We also provide an overview of the blockchain concept and outline the advantages and potential use cases that organisations contemplating adopting the technology can leverage.