The effects of blockchain technology adoption on business ethics and social sustainability: evidence from the Middle East

Abstract

Sustainable development is not just possible with regard to the environmental and economic dimensions, and social issues are also important in achieving sustainable development. Social sustainability, as one of the dimensions of sustainable development, has been considered by policy makers and managers. Social sustainability and business ethics in the organization are affected by social and behavioral interactions of individuals. Blockchain technology, as a disruptive technology, leads to a peer-to-peer and decentralized network management using distributed architecture. Blockchain technology can affect the way information is exchanged and creates transparency in the organization. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of blockchain technology on business ethics and social sustainability in the organization. In the first part of the research, a conceptual model is extracted using previous studies. In the second part, the relationship between model variables among 411 managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) active in the Middle East region is evaluated according to the importance of sustainability in this region. Structural equation model and SmartPLS software have been used for data analysis. The research findings show that the use of blockchain technology has a direct impact on business ethics, corporate governance and social sustainability due to the creation of a decentralized system, information transparency and traceability. Also, business ethics and corporate governance have an impact on achieving social sustainability.

How digital transformation improves corporate environmental management: A review and research agenda

“…In further, Hughes et al (2021) found that technological innovations in ESG ratings based on data scraping and AI are increasingly influential, as evidenced by digital technology-based ESG ratings with higher levels of standardization, more transparent rating perspectives, more democratic aggregation processes, and more rigorous real-time analysis. Moreover, the information transparency brought by blockchain technology largely contributes to corporate sustainability (Ronaghi and Mosakhani, 2022).…”

A contextualized study of blockchain technology adoption as a digital currency platform under sanctions

“…Blockchain can change the financing method and its management, the value method and the way it performs basic tasks such as marketing, accounting and also the participation of individuals in organizations (Tapscott and Tapscott, 2017). Ronaghi and Mosakhani (2021) in a study showed that the adoption of blockchain has a positive impact on corporate governance and corporate social sustainability behavior. In their study, Owe and Fazedehkordi (2022) introduced smart blockchain-based contracts with the advantage of being transparent, immutable and corruption-free.…”

“…Using distribution systems and blockchain technology has caused security, transparency and irreversibility in the organizational and financial transactions (Ronaghi and Mosakhani, 2021). The emergence of digital currencies throughout the world has brought about fundamental challenges in terms of legal supports, financial stability and the role of currency in the society.…”

“…Pizzi et al (2022) in their study showed the blockchain effect in the submission of sustainability reports. In their study, Ronaghi and Mosakhani (2021), dealt with the effect of accepting blockchain on the social sustainability of enterprises. In another study, the effect of blockchain on corporate governance was recognized in the middle-east companies (Ronaghi, 2022).…”

Start-up sustainability: does blockchain adoption drives sustainability in start-ups? A systematic literature reviews

“…Some concentrate on the manufacturing industry (Kshetri, 2022; Bai et al , 2022), while others concentrate on the use of blockchain in supply chain management (Friedman and Ormiston, 2022; Morkunas et al , 2019; Sunmola et al , 2021). Other research focuses on tourism, hospitality, blockchain ethics and so on (Nuryyev et al , 2020; Ronaghi and Mosakhani, 2022; Tang et al , 2019). Although various studies have already discussed blockchain start-ups, none of them have yet offered a thorough analysis of how it may be used to accomplish sustainability.…”