Smart contract challenges and drawbacks for SME digital resilience

Araz Zirar, Abdul Jabbar, Eric Tchouamou Njoya, Hannan Amoozad Mahdiraji

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose
This study aims to explore the key challenges and drawbacks of smart contracts (SCs) and how they impact digital resilience within small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Whilst this type of technology is seen as a step forward in terms of traceability, transparency and immutability to increase digital resilience, we argue that it should be approached with trepidation.

Design/methodology/approach
In developing this paper, the authors conduct a systematic literature search using the Scopus database. Through this, we identified 931 relevant articles, of which 30 were used as the focus of this article. Thematic analysis was used as the analytical approach to develop themes and meaning from the data.

Findings
In this paper, there is an emphasis on the importance of understanding the potential risks associated with SC implementation, as well as identifying appropriate strategies for mitigating any negative impact. In our findings, we puts forward three key themes, namely legality, security and human error, which we argue are key smart contract challenges that impact SME digital resilience.

Originality/value
In this paper, we propose the notion of “centralised control in decentralised solutions”. This comes from the research highlighting SC weaknesses in digital resilience for SMEs. We argue that there is a need for standards, regulations and legislation to address these issues, advocating, ironically, a centralised approach to decentralised technology.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1527-1550
Number of pages24
JournalJournal of Enterprise Information Management
Volume37
Issue number5
Early online date5 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Sep 2024

Cite this