Blockchain Enabled Digital Transformation: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Digital transformation is an inevitable trend that impacts all industries, and blockchain is one technology that drives it along with other emerging technologies. This paper conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) on how blockchain enables digital transformation. We analyzed 41 articles to identify the current state, clarify research gaps, and highlight future research agendas. The results reveal that blockchain is a promising technology that has great potential and can offer several opportunities for various companies. Collected articles contain evidence regarding challenges and barriers, as well as potential benefits of blockchain in relation to digital transformation. Through the detailed assessment of the chosen studies, a theoretical framework for blockchain enabled digital transformation has been developed. We highlight open issues that can be handled in future research to overcome barriers and address the challenges concerning blockchain adoption.

Beyond the Bitcoin Hype: A Structured Study of Blockchain’s Impact and Potential in Today’s Digital World

“…We agree with [7,10] that, given the exponential growth of blockchain and its presence in more and more industries, organizational leaders, entire industries, and regulators must gain a better understanding of the technology's promising applications and its potential for digital transformation. Likewise, we agree with [9] that, when reviewing the current literature on the subject, we find that most of the articles on this technology are of a technical and descriptive nature.…”

“…Such a magnitude of growth is a new precedent that reflects an increase in interest in the development of new blockchain technologies and their subsequent implementation at an academic level. This trend could not be captured by previous works, which did not consider the large increase in publications in 2022 [10]. In terms of scientific production by country of origin, there is a large participation of Chinese authors, whose works surprisingly have not generated the same impact.…”

“…This is accompanied by changes at the organizational level necessary for the above [30]. These objectives correspond to the greatest benefit that can be perceived from the implementation of technologies, these being sustainable development [10], the acquisition of dynamic capabilities [15,35,47], the digitization of data, the digitalization of processes, the innovation in various aspects [16], and the incorporation into the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As for these, essential conclusions can be drawn.…”

“…The studies are, nevertheless, of a specific nature, focusing on a specific industry, such as education [19], or on a specific field, such as management and business [20] and supply chains [21]. Only one study attempted to provide a holistic literature review, but included only a few studies in its sample because many studies were not available at the time, failing to find comprehensive clusters and order in the literature [10]. In general, existing reviews do not provide an orderly and clarifying structure on what topics are dealt with in the development of blockchain in the context of digital transformation, thus aligning with the existing controversy and supporting the existence of chaos and disorder in the body of knowledge.…”

Enhancing Smart-Contract Security through Machine Learning: A Survey of Approaches and Techniques

“…The introduction of blockchain technology as the foundation for Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 [1] marked the beginning of a new era in decentralized data management frameworks with the potential to revolutionize traditional industries [2]. Over the past decade, blockchain technology has experienced rapid development not only experienced in the financial sector but also in various other fields, such as supply chain management [3], the Internet of Things (IoT) [4,5], transportation [6], retail [7], healthcare [8,9], gaming [10], and communication [11,12], among others. The impact of blockchain technology had progressively driven global economic growth by 2020, and it is projected to contribute 1.76 trillion dollars to the global economy by 2030 by increasing traceability and trust levels [13].…”