computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21Industry experts.docx

computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21
Industry experts believe blockchain is a technology that has the
potential to affect the business of most IT profession-als in the
next five years. Analyst Gartner has forecast that by 2023,
blockchain will support the global movement and
tracking of $2tn of goods and services.
It is regarded by many industry watchers as a disrupting force
in the financial world. A PwC global financial technology
(fintech)
survey found that 56% of respondents recognise the importance
of blockchain. At the same time, however, 57% admit to being
unsure about or unlikely to respond to this trend.
Start witH tHe HaSH
Blockchain is effectively a shared ledger between a group of
people – for example, a group of companies that work together
to produce a service or product. What makes blockchain differ-
ent is the fact that the history of the changes – past transactions,
for example – are immutable.
Essentially, the historical entries become read-only and
unchangeable. This is due to the fact that each blockchain
entry relies on the hash – a computed value including part of a
previous block as part of its hashing calculation for the current
block. This means that if a previous block is somehow modi-
fied or corrupted, its hash value will change and therefore the
values after that point become broken, making the tampering
evident for all to see.
One example where blockchain technology can be used is

where several companies come together to provide or consume
Blockchain:
hype vs reality
Regarded by many as a
disruptive force in finance
and beyond, blockchain
technology presents a number
of complex challenges that
must be overcome before
it can truly deliver on its
promises. Stuart Burns reports
BUYER’S GUIDE TO BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY | PART
1 OF 3
Home
IU
R
IIM
O
TO
V
/A
D
O
B
E
http://www.computerweekly.com

https://www.computerweekly.com/resources/Blockchain
https://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Cutting-through-
the-blockchain-hype
https://www.computerweekly.com/ehandbook/Cutting-through-
the-blockchain-hype
https://www.techtarget.com/contributor/Stuart-Burns
Home
News
HMRC under fire
over ‘scaremongering’
IR35 letters targeting
GSK contractors
Ransomware has
evolved into a serious
enterprise threat
How Defra has
been preparing its
IT systems for any
Brexit eventuality
Editor’s comment
Buyer’s guide
to blockchain
Chasing down
hackers through
security analytics

How councils are using
technology to support
adult social care
Downtime
services, usually under long-term contracts. It can be complex
and cumbersome to manage contracts involving several
individu-
als, when multiple documents are involved and everyone needs
to agree on the same contract versions and details. Over time,
changes will occur that also need to be managed and agreed on.
Managing contracts in blockchain, however, means that rather
than physical bits of paper being passed around, it becomes
possi-
ble to mathematically guarantee the
contract documents are as intended
and the appropriate (digital) sign-
off is a part of the chain. That chain
can be verified by any of the parties
as required. This is a key part of the
whole blockchain concept.
an early trial
In 2016, Barclays and Wave com-
pleted what they described as a
“world first” by using blockchain
technology to handle the docu-
mentation to approve a fund trans-
action, which was made through the Society for Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift). The letter of
credit transaction between Ornua (formerly the Irish Dairy
Board) and Seychelles Trading Company used distributed ledger
technology via the Wave platform to enable all parties involved

to see the documents they needed and transmit them where
required on a decentralised network. This removed some of
the inefficiencies of traditional international trade and brought
completion timescales down from weeks to a few hours. It is
not hard to see how the use of blockchain could be extended to
include many different types of information, eventually encom-
passing the general public.
For instance, an article by McKinsey estimates that using block-
chain to sign up new retail banking customers has the potential
to
create up to $1bn of savings in oper-
ating costs globally and reduce reg-
ulatory fines by between $2bn and
$3bn. “In addition, we expect block-
chain solutions to reduce annual
losses from fraud by $7bn to $9bn,”
McKinsey stated.
management cHallengeS
However, setting up and managing
blockchain is a complex process
that requires skilled design. As
Gartner notes, a distributed ledger
requires the recording and replicat-
ing of data in a secure manner. This is a complex mechanism
with significant computational load (called mining). As such,
blockchain has rather large scalability issues. Verification of
blocks can take several minutes, which makes blockchain inap-
propriate for real-time transactions.
Each blockchain consumer may need to verify an entire trans-
action history, which is very inefficient and requires a high

A distributed ledger requires
the recording And replicAting
of dAtA in A secure mAnner. this
is A complex mechAnism with
significAnt computAtionAl loAd.
As such, blockchAin hAs rAther
lArge scAlAbility issues
BUYER’S GUIDE
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/450303841/Barclays-
uses-blockchain-for-trade-finance-transactions
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/450422267/Lloyds-
Bank-joins-Swift-blockchain-proof-of-concept-project
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252451581/UK-
government-cryptoassets-taskforce-commits-to-distributed-
ledger-technologies
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252451581/UK-
government-cryptoassets-taskforce-commits-to-distributed-
ledger-technologies
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-
insights/blockchain-and-retail-banking-making-the-connection
https://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/feature/Dont-let-
blockchain-complexity-bog-down-business-applications
https://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/feature/Dont-let-
blockchain-complexity-bog-down-business-applications
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252464948/Gartner-
Blockchain-lacks-functionality-needed-by-enterprise

Home
News
HMRC under fire
GSK contractors
Ransomware has
enterprise threat
How Defra has
been preparing its
IT systems for any
Brexit eventuality
Editor’s comment
Buyer’s guide
to blockchain
Chasing down
hackers through
security analytics
adult social care
Downtime

computational workload. New platforms are being developed
that explore alternative approaches to verifying the integrity of
blockchain transactions. These include massively diverse public
ledgers for verifying historic transactions.
Other ideas include having a random pool of machines that vali-
date the blockchain and publicly announce the results of the
vali-
dation, saving everyone repeating the same compute-intensive
functions. The very nature of these random machines and
frequency with which they are rotated means that discovering
and
trying to attack verification hosts should be extremely difficult.
All current blockchain systems have some limitations in terms
of scaling. So, such techniques may not scale to the level
needed
for blockchain to be a viable replacement to existing payment
processing networks. However, there is now growing interest in
new distributed processor workload platforms, such as Golam,
and the use of hardware-based acceleration, application-specific
BUYER’S GUIDE
IU
R
IIM
O
TO
V
/A
D

O
B
E
All current blockchAin
systems hAve some
limitAtions in terms of scAling
https://golem.network/
Home
News
HMRC under fire
GSK contractors
Ransomware has
enterprise threat
How Defra has
been preparing its
IT systems for any
Brexit eventuality
Editor’s comment

Buyer’s guide
to blockchain
Chasing down
hackers through
security analytics
adult social care
Downtime
integrated circuits (Asics) and graphics processing units
(GPUs),
all of which aim to accelerate processing for blockchain.
Beyond BuSineSS contractS
There are many uses for blockchain technology in finance and
beyond, but currently most of these technologies, with the
exception of cryptocurrencies, are aimed squarely at the busi-
ness to business market (B2B).
For blockchain to move beyond
small-scale trials and experimenta-
tion, the whole software and hard-
ware infrastructure stack needs to
scale to support larger and larger
volumes of transactions.
In 2018, a KPMG paper looking
at uses for blockchain described
the challenges of integrating
blockchain into existing, legacy
processes. The paper warned that
organisations need to be aware

that their legacy systems may not
be designed to interact with block-
chain systems or capitalise on the advantages they offer.
“Comprehensive examination of interoperability and integra-
tion is essential,” the KPMG paper stated. “Given the immuta-
bility of transactions, it is essential that the proper mechanisms
are in place to prevent incorrect data from being written onto
the blockchain.”
Another area of concern is the privacy of financial transactions.
According to PwC, the business benefits for many players, or
even the industry, will not materialise if the “trust issue” is not
addressed effectively. For PwC, the hurdles that lie ahead
include
understanding whether or not the public ledger can be hacked.
From a privacy perspective, if several different organisations
are involved in a transaction that uses blockchain, not all group
members should have access to
the data held within the blockchain.
However, they still need to verify the
blockchain’s integrity. Such secrecy
flies in the face of the classic block-
chain ethos.
Any transactions that go through
Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies
are recorded as part of the block-
chain process. Information such as
wallet transactions, IP address and
other details are collected. Being
able to trace all wallet transactions
could allow any interested parties
to infer not only spending patterns,

but also socio-economic status and similar. It may not give
away
exactly what is being purchased, but this information can help
build an overall picture of someone’s online spending habits.
Today, it is very much an exploration of what is possible. As
with
any technology, over time blockchain will become more refined
and
mature, and no doubt privacy capable and expandable as
needed. n
BUYER’S GUIDE
the business benefits
of blockchAin will not
mAteriAlise if the trust issue
is not Addressed effectively.
hurdles include understAnding
whether or not the public
ledger cAn be hAcked
https://www.computerweekly.com/ezine/Computer-
Weekly/Blockchain-expands-reach-beyond-finance
https://www.computerweekly.com/ezine/Computer-
Weekly/Blockchain-expands-reach-beyond-finance
https://home.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/co/pdf/2018/09/kpmg-

realizing-blockchains-potential.pdf
https://home.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/co/pdf/2018/09/kpmg-
realizing-blockchains-potential.pdf
https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252443993/McAfee-
details-rise-in-blockchain-threats-cryptocurrency-attacks
Copyright of Computer Weekly is the property of TechTarget,
Inc. and its content may not be
copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv
without the copyright holder's
express written permission. However, users may print,
download, or email articles for
individual use.
The Story of An Hour
Kate Chopin
Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble,
great care was taken to break to
her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences;
veiled hints that revealed in half
concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near
her. It was he who had been in
the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster
was received, with Brently
Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken
the time to assure himself of its
truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any
less careful, less tender friend in
bearing the sad message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same,
with a paralyzed inability to
accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild
abandonment, in her sister's arms.
When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her
room alone. She would have no
one follow her.
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy
armchair. Into this she sank,
pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body
and seemed to reach into her
soul.
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of
trees that were all aquiver with
the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air.
In the street below a peddler was
crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one
was singing reached her faintly,
and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.
There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through
the clouds that had met and
piled one above the other in the west facing her window.
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the
chair, quite motionless, except
when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child
who has cried itself to sleep
continues to sob in its dreams.
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke
repression and even a certain
strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze
was fixed away off yonder on

one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of
reflection, but rather indicated a
suspension of intelligent thought.
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it,
fearfully. What was it? She did
not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it,
creeping out of the sky,
reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color
that filled the air.
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning
to recognize this thing that was
approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back
with her will--as powerless as
her two white slender hands would have been. When she
abandoned herself a little whispered
word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over
under the breath: "free, free,
free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed
it went from her eyes. They
stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing
blood warmed and relaxed every
inch of her body.
She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy
that held her. A clear and exalted
perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial. She
knew that she would weep
again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the
face that had never looked save
with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw
beyond that bitter moment a long

procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely.
And she opened and spread
her arms out to them in welcome.
There would be no one to live for during those coming years;
she would live for herself. There
would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence
with which men and women
believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-
creature. A kind intention or a
cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked
upon it in that brief moment of
illumination.
And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What
did it matter! What could
love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this
possession of self-assertion which she
suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to
the keyhold, imploring for
admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you
will make yourself ill. What are
you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in
a very elixir of life through that
open window.
Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her.
Spring days, and summer days, and
all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick
prayer that life might be long. It

was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life
might be long.
She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's
importunities. There was a feverish
triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a
goddess of Victory. She clasped
her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs.
Richards stood waiting for them at
the bottom.
Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was
Brently Mallard who entered, a
little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and
umbrella. He had been far from the
scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been
one. He stood amazed at
Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen
him from the view of his wife.
When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--
of the joy that kills.
©Public Domain
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO BLOCKCHAIN
“BLOCKCHAIN” HAS MANY MEANINGS

“To understand the power of blockchain systems, and the things
they can do, it is
important to distinguish between three things that are commonly
muddled up, namely
the bitcoin currency, the specific blockchain that underpins it
and the idea of
blockchains in general.”
The Trust Machine, THE ECONOMIST, Oct. 31, 2015
“BLOCKCHAIN” HAS MANY MEANINGS
Phone
• The idea of a
phone network
• A specific phone
network (e.g.,
AT&T)
• A specific use of
the phone network
(e.g., fax)
Blockchain
• The idea of
blockchain
• The specific
blockchain that
underlies Bitcoin

or another coin
offering
• Bitcoin or another
cryptocurrency
WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN?
A technology that:
permits transactions to be
gathered into blocks and recorded;
allows the resulting ledger to be
accessed by different servers.
cryptographically chains blocks
in chronological order; and
WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER?
Centralized Ledger
Bank
Client A
Client
C
Client D

Client
B
Distributed Ledger
Node A
Node B
Node CNode D
Node E
• There are multiple ledgers, but Bank holds the “golden record”
• Client B must reconcile its own ledger against that of Bank,
and
must convince Bank of the “true state” of the Bank ledger if
discrepancies arise
• There is one ledger. All Nodes have some level of access to
that
ledger.
• All Nodes agree to a protocol that determines the “true state”
of
the ledger at any point in time. The application of this protocol
is
sometimes called “achieving consensus.”
WHAT IS A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER?
Single Entity Multiple Entities

HOW MIGHT A DISTRIBUTED LEDGER WORK?
Users initiate
transactions
using their Digital
Signatures
Users Broadcast
their
transactions to
Nodes
One or more
Nodes begin
validating each
transaction
Nodes aggregate
validated
transactions into
Blocks
Nodes Broadcast
Blocks to each
other
Consensus
protocol used

Block reflecting
“true state” is
chained to prior
Block
WHERE MIGHT BLOCKCHAIN USE CRYPTOGRAPHY?
• Digital Signatures
• Private/Public Keys
Initiation and Broadcasting
of Transaction
• Proof of Work and certain alternativesValidation of
Transaction
• Hash FunctionChaining Blocks
THE POWER OF DISTRIBUTED LEDGERS
BLOCKCHAIN
It can be used to allow
owners of assets to
exercise certain rights
associated with
ownership, and to
record the exercise of
those rights.
•Proxy Voting

It can be used to
record those
transfers of value or
ownership of assets
•These records may be
very difficult to alter,
such that they are
sometimes called
effectively immutable
It can be used to
transfer value or the
ownership of assets
•A human being or a
Smart Contract can
initiate the transfer
It can be used to
create value or issue
assets
It can be used without a central
authority by individuals or
entities with no basis to trust
each other
The degree of trust between users determines the technological
configuration of a distributed ledger.
HOW MIGHT DISTRIBUTED LEDGER PROPOSALS DIFFER?
Participation Open Closed

Permission Permissionless Permissioned
Ledger Design One ledger One ledger or Segregated ledgers
Validation Methodology depends on degree of trust between
nodes. Where there is no basis
for trust, may be achieved through proof of work, which
requires the algorithmic
solving of a cryptographic hash.
Consensus Mechanism Mechanism depends on degree of trust
between nodes. Where there is no
centralized authority, consensus may be determined
algorithmically.
References
• Stoyanovich, M., & Tanz, F. E. (2019). Coming to Grips with
Blockchain. Benefits Magazine,
56(5), 20-25. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=f5h&AN=135900272&site=eds
-live
• Waldo, J. (2019). A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Blockchain
Universe. Communications of the
ACM, 62(3), 38–42. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1145/3303868
• Burns, S. (2019). Blockchain: Hype Vs Reality. Computer
Weekly, 21-24. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
-live
• Tarzey, B. (2019). Inside Blockchain and Its Various

Applications. Computer Weekly, 16-20.
Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
-live
• Carson, B., Romanelli, G., Walsh, P., & Zhumaev, A. (2018).
Blockchain beyond the hype:
What is the strategic business value? McKinsey Quarterly, (4),
118–127. Retrieved from http://
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=buh&AN=133693412&site=ed
s-live
A Brief Introduction to Blockchain“blockchain” Has many
meanings“Blockchain” has many meaningsWhat is
Blockchain?What is a Distributed Ledger?What is a distributed
ledger?How might a distributed ledger Work?Where might
Blockchain use cryptography?The power of Distributed
ledgersHow might distributed ledger proposals
differ?Questions?
Impact of Blockchain on IT Audit
Blockchain Technology Overview
Three Levels of Blockchain, Tokens
Alliances and Industry Adoption
Smart Contracts
Identity Management
Criticism and Challenges
Impact on the IT Audit Function
Learning and Engagement

Agenda
*
Blockchain technology is a digital innovation that is poised to
significantly alter financial markets within the next few years,
within a cryptographic ecosystem that has the potential to also
significantly impact trusted computing activities and therefore
cybersecurity concerns as a whole.
Blockchain Overview
.
*
How many of you:
Have heard of bitcoins?
Own cryptocurrency?
Feel you understand the underlying blockchain technology?
Feel you can summarize for us the benefits of the “trust
economy”?
Are involved in projects that involve blockchain technology
implementation or related activities?
Student Exposure

*
Where It All Started
Blockchain technology was first introduced in a whitepaper
entitled: “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” by
Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008.
No reliance on trust
Digital signatures
Peer-to-peer network
Proof-of-work
Public history of transactions
Honest, independent nodes control majority of CPU computing
power
Nodes vote with CPU computing power
Rules and incentives enforced through consensus mechanism
https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf
*
Cryptocurrency Summarized
Bitcoin was the first digital, i.e., cryptocurrency
A maximum of 21 million Bitcoins can be generated
Just as with real world mining, energy must be invested to solve
complex mathematical problems by which systems earn Bitcoins

https://www.cryptocoincharts.info/coins/info claims to be
indexing 4,220 cryptocurrencies
Most circulated: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin
*
The Technology Behind Bitcoin
Think of Bitcoin as an electronic asset (as well as a digital
currency)
A network of computers keeps track of Bitcoin payments, and
adds them to an ever-growing list of all the Bitcoin payments
that have been made, called “The Bitcoin Blockchain”
The file that contains data about all the Bitcoin transactions is
often called a “ledger”
Bitcoin value is created through transaction processing, referred
to as “mining,” which is performed by distributed processors
called “nodes” of the peer-to-peer network
A Gentle Introduction to Bitcoin by Antony Lewis,
https://bravenewcoin.com/assets/Reference-Papers/A-Gentle-
Introduction/A-Gentle-Introduction-To-Bitcoin-WEB.pdf
*

Mining Evolution
Mining is the process whereby value is created through
transaction processing that occurs on nodes of the network.
In 2009, one could mine 200 Bitcoins with a personal, home
computer. In 2015, it would take about 98 years to mine just 1
Bitcoin.
Today there is almost no money to be made through traditional
home mining.
ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) has been
designed strictly for mining Bitcoins.
Groups of miners have formed mining pools, with each being
paid their relative share for their contribution to the work
performed.
My Dirty Little Bitcoin Secrets by Ofir Beigel,
www.99bitcoins.com
*
Storage for digital records
Exchanging digital assets (called tokens)
Executing smart contracts
Ground rules – Terms & conditions recorded in code
Distributed network executes contract & monitors compliance
Outcomes are automatically validated without third party
Tech Trends 2017, The Kenetic Enterprise, “Blockchain: Trust
economy”, Deloitte University Press, 2017

Three “Levels” of Blockchain
*
A broader use is supported by the digital infrastructure
introduced through Bitcoin, as represented by “tokens”.
A “token” can be defined as a “scarce digital asset based on
underlying technology inspired by Bitcoin.”
Tokens may use similar codebases but different blockchain
databases.
Ethereum was Bitcoin-inspired but has its own blockchain and
is engineered to be more programmable. Tokens can be issued
on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
Token buyers are buying private keys, which are similar to API
keys, but can be transferred to other parties without consent.
“Thoughts on Tokens”, Balaji S. Srinivasan and Naval Ravikant
A General Discussion about Tokens
*

Tokens have a value and therefore a price.
Tokens are a new model for technology and can be an
alternative to equity-based financing.
Tokens do not dilute capital. They introduce a huge increase to
buyer base and time-to-liquidity.
Token launches differ from equity sales; however, they can be
issued as a way to share profits.
Tokens can be sold internationally over the internet and are
always open for business.
Tokens decentralize the process of funding technology.
Thoughts on Tokens, Balaji S. Srinivasan and Naval Ravikant
Tokens, continued
*
Tokens enable a better-than-free new business model.
Tokens will introduce the rise of the “tech savvy senior
executive.”
Tokens accommodate immediate custody without an
intermediary.
Tokens can be extended to hardware, as part of the internet of

things.
Thoughts on Tokens, Balaji S. Srinivasan and Naval Ravikant
Tokens, continued
*
Smart Contracts
Consensus protocols are key to determining the sequence of
actions resulting from the contract’s code. This enables
peer-to-peer trading of everything from renewable energy to
automated hotel room bookings.
“Contracts Get Smarter with Blockchain”, CIO Journal, The
Wall Street Journal, World Trade Organization, International
Trade Statistics 2015, 2015, p. 41.
Current paper-based systems drive $18 trillion in transactions
per year.
*

Hyperledger is an open source collaborative effort created to
advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. It is a global
collaboration, hosted by The Linux Foundation, including
leaders in finance, banking, IoT, supply chain, manufacturing,
and technology.
Business Blockchain Frameworks are hosted with Hyperledger.
Hyperledger addresses important features for a cross-industry
open standard for distributed ledgers. The Linux Foundation
hosts Hyperledger as a Collaborative Project under the
foundation.
To learn more, visit: https://www.hyperledger.org/.
www.hyperledger.org
Hyperledger
*
Hyperledger Projects
A few of the Hyperledger Projects include:
Hyperledger Burrow – Permissible smart contract machine with
a modular blockchain client, built in part to the specification of
the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
Hyperledger Fabric – Foundation for developing plug-n-play

solutions within a modular architecture
Hyperledger Iroha – Simple and easy blockchain framework
designed to be incorporated into infrastructure projects
requiring distributed ledger technology
Hyperledger Sawtooth – A modular platform for building,
deploying, and running distributed ledgers
*
Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts:
applications that run exactly as programmed without any
possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud, or third party
interference.
The Ethereum project was bootstrapped via an ether pre-sale
during August 2014 by fans all around the world. It is
developed by the Ethereum Foundation, a Swiss nonprofit, with
contributions from individuals and organizations across the
globe.
www.ethereum.org
Ethereum Alliance
*

Several Ethereum offerings include:
The Ethereum Wallet, which is a gateway to decentralized
applications on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing users to hold
and secure ether and other crypto-assets built on Ethereum, as
well as write, deploy and use smart contracts
Design and issue your own cryptocurrency/traceable token
Kickstart a project with Crowdsale
www.ethereum.org
Ethereum Tools
*
Ether is the crypto-fuel for the Ethereum network.
Ether is a necessary element – a fuel – for operating the
distributed application platform Ethereum. It is a form of
payment made by the clients of the platform to the machines
executing the requested operations, functioning as the incentive
that ensures that developers will write quality applications, and
that the network remains healthy.
The total supply of ether and its rate of issuance was decided by
the donations gathered on the 2014 presale.
Developers who intend to build apps that will use the Ethereum
blockchain need ether.

Users who want to access and interact with smart contracts on
the Ethereum blockchain also need ether.
www.ethereum.org
What is Ether?
*
Cross-Industry Adoption
Sectors leading the way in blockchain implementation:
Consumer products
Manufacturing
Technology
Media
Telecommunications
Health care
Life sciences
Thirty-nine percent of the senior executives at large U.S.
companies initially surveyed indicate they have little or no
knowledge about blockchain technology. Many deemed it to be
crucial for their companies and industries. Forty-two percent
believe it will disrupt their industries.
“Blockchain Adoption Varies by Industry”, CIO Journal, The
Wall Street Journal

*
Financial Services Industry
As noted by A. Michael Smith in “Creating Assurance in
Blockchain,” trust and efficiency are the main value drivers for
any use case. The finance world is driven by technology.
Tracking risk and monitoring compliance with laws and
regulations within an increasingly complex cybersecurity
environment requires considerable time and resources.
The financial services industry immediately saw opportunities
in blockchain and has been investing heavily in its usage,
primarily as a part of private implementations.
Creating Assurance in Blockchain, Volume 2, 2017, by A.
Michael Smith
Banking on change: How to respond to new expectations for
audit committees by PWC Internal Audit Foundation, Douglas
Anderson, CIA, CRMA, Cassian Joe, and Klaas J. Westerling
*
Identity Management
The IT audit is broadly concerned with identity management

concerns.
Protecting access to data, and the systems that are in place to
process, store, and report on that data, requires ongoing
resource dedication.
Multiple solutions are available, all of which require
configuring and managing multiple identifiers for an
individual’s various identities.
Identity management is an area that will certainly be impacted
by widespread use of private keys to secure transactions.
*
Distributed Access Management
Creating an identity on blockchain can give individuals greater
control over who has their personal information and how they
access it
Areas impacted include passports, e-residency, birth
certificates, wedding certificates, IDs, online account logins,
etc
Digital ID’s can provide digital watermarks that can be assigned
to every online transaction of any asset
“21 Companies Leveraging Blockchain for Identity Management
and Authentication” by Elena Mesropyan,
https://letstalkpayments.com/22-companies-leveraging-
blockchain-for-identity-management-and-authentication/

*
Protecting Private Keys
Within the blockchain, trust relies on the safekeeping of private
keys, in support of a truly distributed identity management
Ultimately, that safekeeping resides with the actions taken by
individuals to secure their private key
For cryptocurrency traders, one frequently sees the
recommendation to write one’s private key down on a piece of
paper and put it up for safekeeping in, for example, a safe
deposit box
*
Digital ID
Solution
s
May 24, 2017, saw the release of a Digitial ID solution by
Netki, a California blockchain startup

Released at Consensus 2017, this is a highly-anticipated Digital
ID smartphone app that uses Hyperledger blockchain to provide
decentralized, open-source identity management
Approved by governments, fully Anti-Money Laundering
(AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) inclusive
https://bravenewcoin.com/news/netki-launches-digital-id-
solution-which-bitt-is-using-with-central-banks-in-the-
caribbean/
*
Criticism and Challenges
Critics have cited the following blockchain challenges:
Nascent technology
Uncertain regulatory status
Large energy consumption

Control, security and privacy
Integration concerns
Cultural adoption
Cost
Challenges associated with audit, taxes, and compliance
Creating Assurance in Blockchain, Volume 2, 2017, by A.
Michael Smith
Deloitte’s Blockchain technology: 9 benefits & 7 challenges,
https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages/innovatie/artikelen/block
chain-technology-9-benefits-and-7-challenges.html
*
An area of heavy criticism has to do with the vast amounts of
energy necessary to process and store transactions, especially as
the use of blockchain technology increases
The Bitcoin blockchain network’s miners are attempting 450
thousand trillion solutions per second in efforts to validate
transactions, using substantial amounts of computer power

Note that there are also opportunities to decentralize the energy
grid
Wasted resources: Mining Bitcoin wastes huge amounts of
energy ($15million/day)
Deloitte’s Blockchain technology: 9 benefits & 7 challenges,
https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages/innovatie/artikelen/block
chain-technology-9-benefits-and-7-challenges.html
Blockchain in the Energy Sector: Institutional Disruption? By
Marius Buchmann
http://www.theenergycollective.com/enerquire/2402120/blockch
ain-energy-sector-institutional-disruption
Energy Consumption
*
Summary
Although the technology is still in its infancy, boundless usage
opportunities exist

The identity management landscape is likely to shift
dramatically
There is sure to be evolution within IT audit as various use
cases unfold
Features that create trust could drive unachievable overhead
costs
Compliance burden should eventually be eased as the
technology is adopted, but this requires regulatory updates,
which could take a while
Tech Trends 2017, The Kenetic Enterprise, “Blockchain: Trust
economy”, Deloitte University Press, 2017
*

Managing and Using Information Systems:
A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition
Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,
and Dennis Galletta
© Copyright 2016
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter 2
Strategic Use of Information Resources
2

Zara
Chapter opening case
How often do customers visit Zara each year?
When do customers buy the designs? Why?
How many designs do they make each year?
Is this possible without IT?
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
3
17 times a year compared to 4 times a year in an average store
Customers need to buy designs on the spot—it will be gone next
time they visit
More than 30,000
No, of course not!
3

4
Information Resources as Strategic Tools
What are information resources?
IT assets and capabilities (not just assets!)
5
5

IT Assets and Capabilities
IT Assets
IT infrastructure
Hardware
Software and company apps
Network
Data
Website
Information Repository
Customer information
Employee information
Marketplace information
Vendor information
IT Capabilities
Technical Skills
Proficiency in systems analysis
Programming and web design skills
Data analysis/data scientist skills
Network design and implementation skills

IT Management Skills
Business process knowledge
Ability to evaluate technology options
Project management skills
Envisioning innovative IT solutions
Relationship Skills
Spanning skills such as business-IT relationship management
External skills such as vendor-management
6
IT Assets
Infrastructure
Information, technology, people and processes available to
perform business processes and tasks. (not just technology!)
Might even include resources not owned by the firm (e.g., eBay,
Facebook, LinkedIn)

Information repository
Data captured, organized, and retrievable by the firm
7
IT Capabilities
Technical Skills (designing, developing, implementing IS)
Management Skills (managing the IT function and IT projects)
Relationship Skills
Outside the organization (vendors, customers)
Within the organization (managers)
8

Examples
Assets:
Proprietary technology (e.g., platforms)
Online community
Customer information
Capabilities:
Knowledge
Technical skills of IT staff
Friendly, helping nature of IT staff
9
The Strategic Landscape
Managers must take multiple views of the strategic landscape,
such as:
First view - Porter’s five competitive forces model.
Second view - Porter’s value chain.
Third view – focuses on the types of IS resources needed
(Resource Based View).
10

10
11
Five competitive forces with potential
strategic use of information resources
11
Competitive ForceIT Influence on Competitive ForceThreat of
New Entrants

Can be lowered if there are barriers to entry. Sometimes IS can
be used to create barriers to entryBargaining Power of
BuyersCan be high if it’s easy to switch. Switching costs are
increased by giving buyers things they value in exchange such
as lower costs, effort, or time; or useful informationBargaining
Power of SuppliersStrongest when there are few firms to choose
from, quality of inputs is crucial, or the volume of purchases is
insignificant to the supplier Threat of Substitute
ProductsDepends on buyers’ willingness to substitute and the
level of switching costs buyer’s faceIndustrial
CompetitorsRivalry is high when it is expensive to leave an
industry, the industry’s growth rate is declining, or products
have lost differentiation
12
Application of five competitive forces model.
12
Competitive ForceIT Influence on Competitive ForceThreat of

New Entrants
Zara supports its tightly knit group of designers, market
specialists, production managers, and planners. These
relationships take time. Rich customer information in its
database would take time to develop.Bargaining Power of
BuyersRecently, Zara has created a laser-created database of
sizes for 10,000 “real” women volunteers. New products will be
more likely to fit.Bargaining Power of SuppliersComputer-
controlled cutting machine can cut 1,000 layers at a time. A
large number of sewers are available.Threat of Substitute
ProductsIT helps Zara offer extremely fashionable clothing that
would last 10 wears. The result is trendy clothes at reasonable
prices, making substitutes difficultIndustrial CompetitorsZara
tracks breaking trends and customer preferences. The result is
the highest sales per square foot in the industry without much
advertising, low inventories, only 10% of inventory unsold, new
products from idea to shelves in 15 days, and manufacturing
efficiencies
13
Application of five competitive forces – Zara example

13
Porter’s Value Chain Model
Value Chain model addresses the activities that create, deliver,
and support a company’s product or service.
Two broad categories:
Primary activities – relate directly to the value created in a
product or service.
Support activities – make it possible for the primary activities
to exist and remain coordinated.
Competition can come from:
Lowering the cost to perform an activity, increasing profit.
Adding value to a product or service so buyers will be willing
to pay more (again, increasing profit).
14

14
15
Value chain of the firm.
15
The Value System
The value chain model can be extended by linking many value
chains into a value system.
Much of the advantage of supply chain management comes from
understanding how information is used within each value chain
within the larger system.
16

16
17
The value system: interconnecting
relationships between organizations.
17
Zara and Primary ActivitiesPrimary ActivityZara’s Value
ChainInbound LogisticsIT-enabled JIT (just in time) strategy
Most dyes are purchased from Zara subsidiaries

Suppliers are located near production facilitiesOperationsIT
supports decisions about fabric, cut, and pricing
Products are hung on hangers to avoid ironing at stores
Price tags are already on the products
60% of merchandise is produced in house
Fabric is cut and dyed by robots in 23 highly automated
factoriesOutbound LogisticsClothes move on miles of conveyer
belts
Clothes reach stores within 48 hours of the orderMarketing and
SalesLimited inventory permits low percent of unsold goods
(10%)
Point-of-Sales systems linked to HQ
Managers provide information on customer needs daily via
hand-held computersServiceNo focus on service; clothes only
last 10 wears
18
Zara and Secondary ActivitiesSecondary ActivityZara’s Value
ChainOrganizationTightly-knit collaboration between designers,

store managers, market specialists, production managers,
production plannersHuman ResourcesManagers are trained to
understand customer needs and report to designers daily
Managers help Zara keep on cutting edge of
fashionTechnologyAll primary activities are supported by
integrated technology
Automated conveyers speed up logisticsPurchasingVertical
integration reduces the amount of purchasing needed
19
Sustainability
Attaining competitive advantage is one thing
A firm often exploits rare and valuable resources
But sustaining competitive advantage is another
Resources must be difficult to transfer or relatively immobile
20

20
Sustainability Framework
21
Source: Piccoli & Ives
21
But Isn’t Sustaining an Advantage
a “Deadly Distraction?”
Some focus on sustaining would be useful

Some sustaining steps are not too difficult or expensive
It will help profitability while inventing more “disruptive”
measures
It might save the firm if disruption measures fail
But some focus on disruption is also useful
Sometimes sustaining requires too much effort
Disruption can have a huge payoff
22
The Resource Based View
23
IT Assets at Zara

24
IT Capabilities at Zara
25
Social Capital as an IT Resource
Social capital:
the sum of the actual and potential resources embedded within,
available through, and derived from the individual or firm’s

network of relationships
Structural – Who is connected to whom
Relational – How the people interact (e.g., respect, friendship)
Cognitive – How the people think and the impact of a shared
language
26
Relationships with Other Firms
Strategic Alliances
Inter-organizational relationship that affords one or more
company a strategic advantage
Example: Zynga and Facebook
Business ecosystems provide abundant examples
Co-opetition
Companies cooperate and compete at the same time
Example: Microsoft builds laptops but also supplies operating
systems to other laptop makers
27

Potential Risks
There are many potential risks that a firm faces when
attempting to use IT to outpace their competition.
Executives should be aware of these risks in advance!
Awakening a sleeping giant – a large competitor with deeper
pockets may be nudged into implementing IS with even better
features (Schwab/eTrade; FedX/UPS)
Demonstrating bad timing – sometimes customers are not ready
to use the technology designed to gain strategic advantage
(Apple’s Newton, Shelternet)
Implementing IS poorly – information systems can fail because
they are poorly implemented (Nike; Hershey)
Failing to deliver what users want – systems that don’t meet the
firm’s target market likely to fail (Streamline.com groceries)
Running afoul of the law – Using IS strategically may promote
litigation (Airline reservation systems)
28

28
Co-Creating IT and Business Strategy
Not just alignment, but partnership
Example: FedEx
Are you paying only for the delivery?
Or are you also paying for information about the delivery?
Fedex would not be able to accomplish the delivery without the
IS components.
Can you separate IT strategy from your business strategy?
The trend is towards integrating the two.
29

Managing and Using Information Systems:
A Strategic Approach – Sixth Edition
Keri Pearlson, Carol Saunders,
and Dennis Galletta
© Copyright 2016
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
benefits magazine may 201920
C OM ING T O GR IP S W I T H
BLOCKCHAIN
by | Michael Stoyanovich and Frank E. Tanz

may 2019 benefits magazine 21
Blockchain is more than just a buzzword, and benefits
organizations should begin
familiarizing themselves with the concept. The authors explain
the basics of this
much-hyped technology and describe its potential applications.
N
o doubt you’ve heard or read
about blockchain technol-
ogy.1 There’s certainly been a
lot of hype. But you’re prob-
ably more than a little fuzzy on what
blockchain is and what, if anything, it
can do for your organization now. You
have a lot of questions, which we will

try to answer.
While it’s still too early for you to
worry about adopting blockchain in
your benefits-centric organization, it’s
not too soon to start learning what it is,
to educate yourself and to be prepared.
Remember where cloud computing
stood six or seven years ago? Everyone
was talking about it, but relatively few
organizations used it, let alone under-
stood it. That’s where blockchain is to-
day. Like the cloud, blockchain is more
than just a buzzword. It may have great
potential to transform your organiza-
tion. Just not yet.
What Is Blockchain?
Simply put, blockchain is a new
form of ledger. Remember that led-
gers are a collection of accounts, a list
of events and transactions. They used
to be books. Today they’re databases.

In the future, in many cases, they’ll be
blockchain.
A defining characteristic of block-
chain is that instead of storing and pro-
cessing data in a centralized database
(with a backup, of course), as we do to-
day, it uses distributed ledger technology.
This means that data is shared member
to member (more properly described as
peer to peer), across all the members of
a network (also known as nodes). See
Figure 1.
Any approved user can add or
change data in the blockchain and
instantly view transactions made by
other users. The data is replicated and
synchronized, all greatly minimizing
any chance of discrepancy or manipu-
lation.
Every piece of information a user
adds is mathematically encrypted.

Moreover, every time a user changes
a unit of data (a block) it automatically
re-encrypts all of the previous trans-
actions (the chain). As a result, the
blockchain data gets more secure every
time a user makes a change to the led-
ger. This significantly reduces the risk
of privacy breaches and unauthorized
data manipulation.
blockchain
FIGURE 1
This is how data is
processed and stored today.
This is how data is processed
and stored using blockchain.
Backup
Database
Node

Node
Node
Node
Node
Node
Node
Data cannot be manipulated without network consensus2
from most contributors to the blockchain. This ensures the
blockchain is transparent, consistent and almost completely
immutable3 without going through a centralized authority,
like a bank. See Figure 2.
What Are the Advantages of Blockchain?
In addition to giving users access to up-to-date informa-

tion, blockchain creates trust by providing a verifiable, de-
centralized record of transactions. The four key benefits are:
1. Transparency. Any user can examine the entire trans-
action history of the blockchain.
2. Integrity. Users are required to rely on the network’s
shared protocol.
3. Efficiency. Eliminating third parties minimizes settle-
ment times and reduces payment and processing fees.
4. Security. Verified transactions can’t be modified.
Blockchain is particularly valuable in low-trust envi-
ronments where participants can’t transact business di-
rectly or lack a trusted intermediary. For example, the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) used it in
Serbia alongside several nongovernmental organizations.
People were allowed to receive remittances from their
families through a UNDP portal. The funds were sent di-
rectly to individuals’ digital identity cards, which could be
used to buy groceries and electricity and pay bills. Block-

chain was used to keep record of how the funds were al-
located, and it enabled everyone to trade where money
was spent.
Can Anyone Join a Blockchain?
That all depends on whether the blockchain is public or
private.
A public blockchain (like the cryptocurrency Bitcoin) is
open to all participants, and network expansion is encour-
aged. Anyone can run a node on the network. The complete
transaction history is visible to all. Consensus is achieved
through decentralized methods, such as proof of work, which
requires some type of work from the participants or proof
of stake, in which the creator of a new block is chosen in a
predetermined method, based on the existing wealth of the
participant.
On the other hand, a private blockchain is open only to
allowed participants. These are typically business partners
learn more
Education
65th Annual Employee Benefits Conference

October 20-23, San Diego, California
Visit www.ifebp.org/usannual for more information.
blockchain
FIGURE 2
A Digital Ledger
It maintains a record
of all the transactions
on a peer-to-peer
network.
Immutable
All the data on
a blockchain is
encrypted, and every
change is recorded
so it can’t be changed.
Decentralized
There’s no

need for a
principal authority.
Versatile
Much more than
the platform for
cryptocurrencies,
blockchain can
be used to share
contracts, records
and other data.
Safe
Information is
encrypted so it can
be shared among
numerous members
in complete privacy.

whose integrity is assumed. In a private blockchain, nodes can
have different levels of privileges and permissions. Consensus
can be achieved through a wider variety of methods (not nec-
essarily decentralized or computer-intensive methods).
Who Uses Blockchain?
Today, blockchain is being used most widely and aggres-
sively by many cryptocurrencies. However, it is being studied
for use in:
• Supply-chain management—to validate the sources
and quality of goods as they move from suppliers to
end users
• Financial services—to reduce the cost of real-time
transfers between bank accounts while mitigating
transactional risks
• Property rights—to register ownership by verifying

identity and preventing fraud and error
• Retail—to protect consumers who will not need to
provide personal information to make purchases.
Common examples of potential applications include:
• Smart contracts.4 Blockchain could expedite bicycle-
sharing systems 5 and automatically unlock the door to
rented lodgings.
• Cloud storage. Users could earn tokens (cryptocur-
rency) for storing other people’s data on their unused
hard drive space.
• Payroll. Cryptocurrencies make it easy to pay interna-
tional workers.
• Voting. Blockchain elections would be virtually un-
hackable.
• Business process management. Processes such as
claims adjustments could stretch across multiple orga-
nizations more fluidly and easily than today.

That said, aside from the cryptocurrencies, no major block-
chain initiatives have advanced beyond the research or beta
(limited testing) phase. There is no widespread market adop-
tion. Although there have been a slew of business press articles
purporting to describe how companies “use” blockchain, they
all describe planned initiatives, prototypes or limited imple-
mentations, not robust functioning environments.
Some of the possibilities for the use of blockchain in
health care, highlighted in a 2018 CB Insights6 report,
include:
• Managed-provider information management
• Drug supply-chain application
• Claims-management payments and prior authorization
• Patient health records and other patient-specific
applications.
While some of these initiatives may be available in the
near term, most are targeted as future endeavors.
Then Why All the Hype?
Blame it on the cryptocurrencies, which use blockchain,

especially bitcoin. In fact, blockchain and bitcoin are often
confused (See the sidebar “What’s the Difference Between
Blockchain and Bitcoin?”).
As of this writing, there were approximately 2,520 crypto-
currencies with market capitalization of $114.4 billion,7 but
the number and value of these cryptocurrences can fluctuate
drastically. The mostly positive coverage cryptocurrencies
have received has facilitated their rapid growth. This has led
to vast investments for blockchain startups, rising consumer
awareness and government support.
According to Bain & Company research, 80% of financial
executives think this new technology will be transformative.8
Moreover, 41% of respondents to a Deloitte global survey say
they expect their organizations will bring blockchain into
production within the next year, although 39% think the
technology is overhyped.9
Are There Any Drawbacks to Using Blockchain?
That depends on how you use it. When it comes to da-
tabases, blockchain’s advantages come with significant
takeaways

• Blockchain is a new form of ledger that shares mathematically
encrypted data across all members of a network. Data in the
ledger cannot be manipulated without network consensus from
most contributors to the blockchain.
• Key advantages of blockchain are transparency, integrity,
efficiency and security.
• Blockchain is used most widely by cryptocurrencies but is
being
studied for business uses including supply-chain management,
financial services, property rights and retail.
• Traditional databases may perform better than blockchain in
some
instances because they have faster processing times.
• Because the market for blockchain is not mature outside of
cryptocurrency, the technology will not make its way into
benefits
for some time.
blockchain

trade-offs. In some instances, traditional databases may
perform better than blockchain. This is because traditional
databases are usually centralized, which makes processing
time exponentially faster. This is an extremely important
consideration, especially if a transaction has to be com-
pleted quickly. For example, blockchain is not well-suited
for booking reservations or purchasing goods and servic-
es that are needed right away since the amount of time it
would take for consensus to be realized may be unaccept-
able.
In addition, like any database model, blockchain is not
100% immutable. System security depends on the adjacent
applications, which can be attacked and breached.
So What’s the Bottom Line About Blockchain?
While blockchain has real promise, much of its value has
yet to be realized. Pure potential is great for discussion but
poor for production.

To unlock the value of blockchain, you will need to un-
derstand how and if it aligns with your organization. For
example, blockchain works to solve trust problems by pro-
viding a verifiable, decentralized record of transactions and
allowing network members to post transactions directly to
other peers without having to go through an intermediary.
If you don’t require that kind of functionality, you may not
need blockchain.
When organizations determine they can benefit from
blockchain, it is important to beware of blockchain vapor-
ware (products that are marketed and either not delivered
or fail to even minimally meet expectations). As always,
buy only from vendors that present real solutions to real
problems rather than offering the latest “blockchain secret
sauce.”
For now, however, it is enough to know the technology.
Don’t feel pressured to adopt it yet. The market is not mature
outside of cryptocurrency, and it will take a while for viable
blockchain solutions to make their way into employee ben-
efits design and administration.
Endnotes

1. Blockchain technology will be referred to as blockchain
throughout
the article.
2. Consensus is a mechanism in which participants on the
blockchain
reach agreement on the validity of the ledger. It is a critical
feature of a
blockchain.
3. Immutable means not capable or susceptible to change.
4. Smart contracts are self-executed protocols that are activated
when
predetermined conditions are met. They add significant value to
blockchain
by allowing transactions to take place automatically without
human inter-
ference.
5. A bicycle-sharing system is a service in which bicycles are
made avail-
able for shared use to individuals on a short-term basis. They
are in use in
many major metropolitan areas.
6. “How Blockchain Technology Could Disrupt Healthcare,”
CB insights,
Research Report, accessed March 4, 2019. Available at
www.cbinsights.com

/research/report/blockchain-technology-healthcare-disruption/.
7. Investing.com, accessed Februar y 1, 2019,
www.investing.com
/crypto/currencies.
8. Thomas Olsen, Frank Ford, John Ott and Jennifer Zeng,
“Blockchain
in Financial Markets: How to Gain an Edge,” Bain & Company
Brief, Febru-
ary 9, 2017.
9. Linda Pawczuk, Rob Massey, David Schatsky, Breaking
blockchain
open—Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey, January 2018.
Michael Stoyanovich is a vice
president and senior consultant with
the administrative and technology
consulting practice at Segal Consult-
ing. He has more than 20 years of
experience in the technology and benefits indus-
try, including extensive expertise in technology
and working with multiemployer plans. He can be
reached at [email protected]
Frank E. Tanz is a vice president and
senior consultant with Segal

Consulting. He has more than 20
years of experience in the Taft-
Hartley multiemployer industry
and is an expert in multiple disciplines, including
software engineering, database administration,
networking and system administration. He can
be reached at [email protected]
b
io
s
What’s the Difference Between Blockchain
and Bitcoin?
Blockchain is best known as the driving force behind the
dominant
cryptocurrency Bitcoin. But it’s not the same thing.
The confusion began in 2008 when a single white paper
introduced
both Bitcoin and blockchain. The first Bitcoin transaction took
place
the next year.

The proliferation of Bitcoin and the resulting media attention
led to
the incorrect assumption that Bitcoin and blockchain are
synony-
mous. Although blockchain powers Bitcoin, cryptocurrency is
but
one application of the technology. It has many other
applications.
blockchain
Copyright of Benefits Magazine is the property of International
Foundation of Employee
Benefits and its content may not be copied or emailed to
multiple sites or posted to a listserv
without the copyright holder's express written permission.
However, users may print,
download, or email articles for individual use.

WHAT MAKES INFORMATION STRATEGIC?
AN EXAMINATION OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION
RESOURCES FOR
ENTREPRENEURS AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
by
Yao Zhang
Bachelor of Arts
Nankai University, 2006
Master of Arts
The University of Sheffield, 2009

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Library and Information Science
College of Information and Communications
University of South Carolina
2016
Accepted by:
Kendra Albright, Major Professor
Samantha Hastings, Committee Member

Paul Solomon, Committee Member
Dirk Brown, Committee Member
Amir Karami, Committee Member
Lacy Ford, Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies
PR
EV
IE
W
All rig hts re se rve d

INFO RMATIO N TO ALL USERS
The q ua lity o f this re p ro d uc tio n is d e p e nd e nt up o n
the q ua lity o f the c o p y sub m itte d .
In the unlike ly e ve nt tha t the a utho r d id no t se nd a c o
m p le te m a nusc rip t
a nd the re a re m issing p a g e s, the se w ill b e no te d . A
lso , if m a te ria l ha d to b e re m o ve d ,
a no te w ill ind ic a te the d e le tio n.
All rig hts re se rve d .
This w o rk is p ro te c te d a g a inst una utho rize d c o p
ying und e r Title 17, Unite d Sta te s C o d e
Mic ro fo rm Ed itio n © Pro Q ue st LLC .
Pro Q ue st LLC .
789 Ea st Eise nho w e r Pa rkw a y
P.O . Bo x 1346
Ann Arb o r, MI 48106 - 1346
Pro Q ue st 10127104

Pub lishe d b y Pro Q ue st LLC (2016). C o p yrig ht o f the
Disse rta tio n is he ld b y the Autho r.
Pro Q ue st Num b e r: 10127104
PR
EV
IE
W
ii
© Copyright by Yao Zhang, 2016
All Rights Reserved.
PR
EV

IE
W
iii
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, who offer me
unconditional love and
support, who encourage me to chase my dreams, who want me
to be me. To my future
beloved one and children, thank you for letting me get prepared.

PR
EV
IE
W
iv
ACKNOWLDEGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the vast amount of support of my
friends and family.

Group JJNN and 110120, you and your beloved ones have made
this journey full of joy. I
could have never made this far without the support from my
warmest family members.
My appreciation also goes to Dr. Liangzhi Yu, who is the first
person shows me
the world of Library and Information Science, a role model of a
scholar with great
attitude and elegance.
My many thanks go to my committee, Dr. Sam Hastings, Dr.
Paul Solomon, Dr.
Amir Karami, and Dr. Dirk Brown. Your words of wisdom have
made this process so
enjoyable. Thank you very much for your time and patience.
Dr. Kendra Albright, there will never be enough words to
express my appreciation.

It is definitely the rightest decision I made to walk into your
classroom in Sheffield.
My gratitude also goes to the SLIS family in USC and dearest
friends at the
USC/Columbia Incubator. Life is so much easier with you guys
around. Dr. Bob, don’t
work too hard, drink tea!
PR
EV
IE
W

v
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of the
relationship between the
access to and use of information resources of entrepreneurs and
their business
performance. The survival and competence of organizations
relies heavily on their
recognition of information as important strategic resource.
Entrepreneurs, specifically,
face a constantly changing environment and are in a
disadvantaged competitive position
in finance and experience compared with large companies.
Access to, and use of
information resources, will help them improve their business

performance.
This study collects both qualitative and quantitative data,
investigating the
entrepreneurs’ business performance and their behaviour in
accessing and using
information resources. The qualitative data is applied to explore
the technology incubator
consultants’ understanding of business performance indicators
for entrepreneurial
businesses. For the quantitative data collection, entrepreneurs
are selected from
technology incubators in the U. S to participate in a
questionnaire survey. Structural
Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to process and analyze the
data reflecting the business
performance, access to information resources, and use of
information resources.

A preliminary Access-Performance model and a Use-
Performance model are
presented. The results indicate that the use of information
resources has a positive
influence on the performance of entrepreneurial businesses. No
strong relationship is
revealed between the access to information resources and
business performance.
PR
EV
IE
W
vi

However, there is a high probability that the entrepreneurs have
other information
resource accesses options than those covered in the original
model.
PR
EV
IE
W
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
...............................................................................................
........................ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
...............................................................................................
......... iv
ABSTRACT
...............................................................................................
.............................v
LIST OF TABLES
...............................................................................................
................. viii
LIST OF FIGURES
...............................................................................................
.................. ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
...............................................................................................
........x
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
...............................................................................................
....1

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
........................................................................................17
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
...............................................................................................
.37
CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS
...............................................................................................
48
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
.........................................................................67
REFERENCES
...............................................................................................
........................77
APPENDIX A – SURVEY MATRIX FROM
INCUBATOR............................................................96
APPENDIX B – INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
...............................................................................97
APPENDIX C – QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

............................................................................98
PR
EV
IE
W
viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Definition of Independent Variables from Choo et al.
(2008) ...........................12
Table 3.1 Dependent variables and measures
....................................................................41
Table 4.1 Response rate of questions
.................................................................................52

Table 4.2 Codes for information resources
access.............................................................55
Table 4.3 Access—Performance model fit
........................................................................59
Table 4.4 Significant test of variables in Access-Performance
model (P (>|z|)) ...............60
Table 4.5 Use—Performance model fit
.............................................................................61
Table 4.6 Use—Performance model standardized parameter
estimate .............................63
PR
EV
IE
W

ix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Stage of Firm Growth (Woodward et al, 2011)
..................................................8
Figure 3.1 Theoretical Framework of the Study
................................................................39
Figure 4.1 Age of the
participants.............................................................................
.........49
Figure 4.2 Gender of the participants
..............................................................................49
Figure 4.3 Education background of the participants
........................................................50
Figure 4.4 Entrepreneurial experiences
.............................................................................51

Figure 4.5 Revenue growth
...............................................................................................
.53
Figure 4.6 Investment
attracted..................................................................................
........53
Figure 4.7 Patents in holding or in pursuing
......................................................................54
Figure 4.8 Access-Performance model
..............................................................................56
Figure 4.9 Use-Performance model
...................................................................................57
Figure 4.10 Use-Performance model with parameter estimate
..........................................62
PR
EV

IE
W
x
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CFA
........................................................................................Con
firmatory Factor Analysis
EFA
..........................................................................................
Exploratory Factor Analysis
ICTs............................................................ Information and
Communication Technologies
NAICS....................................................... North American
Industry Classification System
RMSEA ............................................................ Root Mean
Square Error of Approximation
SBA ......................................................................................
Small Business Administration
SEM
.......................................................................................

Structural Equation Modeling
SRMSR ...............................................................
Standardized Root Mean Square Residual
PR
EV
IE
W
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Purpose of Study
The purpose of the present study is to investigate the nature of
the relationship

between the access to and use of information resources by
entrepreneurs and their
business performance. This study focuses on entrepreneurs in
technology incubators in
the U. S. by investigating the information resources that are
available to them and their
use of those information resources as well as their business
performance using a
quantitative data collection approach. Information and
knowledge have, for a long time,
been regarded as valuable resources for strategic management
and decision making
(Porter, 1998; Choo, 2005). Entrepreneurs face a constantly
changing environment and
are in a disadvantaged competitive position in finance and
experience compared with

large companies; access to and use of information resources will
help them improve their
business performance. In addition, this study expands the issue
by exploring the
relationship between access to and use of information resources
in different industries.
Furthermore, it investigates whether access to and use of
information resources have
positive or negative, financial and non-financial impacts on the
companies studied. Using
a structural equation model, this study intends to address the
complexities of those
concepts through the measured variables.
PR
EV

IE
W
2
1.2 Background
Entrepreneurs have been frequently linked to economic
development and the
creation of wealth in the modern society (Lavoie, 2015). In
addition, entrepreneurs have
played various roles throughout the history of economics
(Barreto, 2013), for example:
the coordinator of resources, the arbitrageur in a world
unbalanced with information, the
uncertainty-bearer in the business field, and the innovator of
economic development

(Schumpeter, 1934). However, the failure rates of these
businesses are consistently
incredibly high. Only about half of entrepreneurs survive
beyond five years (Lueg. et al,
2014). The number is even lower among high-tech oriented
companies (Cader and
Leatherman, 2011). Therefore, the sustainability of the
entrepreneurs becomes a great
concern of research on entrepreneurs. The scope of this study
goes beyond economic
conditions to include a diversity of factors such as industry,
location, and various
environmental factors (Luo and Mann, 2011). Sustainable
development is defined as a
way of social and structural economic transformation that
optimizes the current available
benefit without jeopardizing the potential benefit in the future

(Goodland and Ledec,
1987), which, in the case of entrepreneurial businesses, means
entrepreneurial entities
should make the best use of the available resources and still
keep the potential benefit for
strategic development in the future. The entrepreneurs leverage
a set of resources and
produce goods and services valued by consumers to earn a
profit. However, this process
is not supposed to be a one-time activity. The entrepreneurs
need to repeat this cycle or
an variation of it to achieve the development of their companies
and eventually grow to
be stable businesses, which are capable of resolving challenges
from outside and within
the organization.

PR
EV
IE
W
2
Information has become recognized as a strategic resource for
business in the
“information age” (Davenport and Prusak, 1997, p. 3). The
infusion and the wide
application of information and knowledge have revolutionized
the way organizations
operate and conduct business. The survival and competence of
these organizations will

heavily rely on their recognition of information (Choo, 2005).
The purpose of this study
is to explore the nature of the relationship between the access
and use of information
resources of the entrepreneurs and their business performance.
Small businesses and entrepreneurs represent a vital and
vigorous power in the
U.S. economy and have a significant impact on economic
development. In the latest
Small Business Administration (SBA) report, small businesses
added 1.4 million net new
jobs through the first three quarters of 2014; in the first quarter
of fiscal year 2015,
venture capital investments totaled $23.4 billion (SBA, 2015).
Entrepreneurs not only
contribute to economic growth and job creation but also lead in
innovation. They are

responsible for half of all innovations and 95% of progressive
changes in the U.S.
(Timmons and Spinelli, 2009). Innovation is the core ingredient
of business success. It is
the application of a new idea or better solutions that meets
existing or unarticulated
market needs. Information helps businesses discover existing
opportunities as well as
potentially offering foresight to emerging trends, and, therefore,
to allow businesses to
stay ahead of their competition as the environment changes.
The development of small business and entrepreneurs is even
more significant in
the present economic environment. Economic development is
abandoning the traditional
approach, which heavily relies on financial and labor capital,

and shifting to a new
strategy, one which relies on building new businesses and
supporting existing businesses
PR
EV
IE
W
3
(Edmiston, 2007). Supporting small businesses and
entrepreneurs is the key intent of this
strategy, for small businesses and entrepreneurs are developing
new ideas, creating
additional jobs, and producing innovative products and services.

Entrepreneurship also
plays an indispensable role in the race for global innovation
advantage (Atkinson and
Ezell, 2012). It is entrepreneurship that takes new products and
services into commercial
application and tests the market. The market evaluates the
utilization of the “idea” and
available knowledge and selectively keeps those ideas that can
secure innovation
advantage. The action of taking a technological idea from
concept to commercialization
is the only way to realize the economic value of creation and
invention. Despite the value
that entrepreneurs create as goods and services, continuing
evolution and innovation help
their organizations maintain a competitive advantage.

Along with the opportunities brought about by innovations,
there are also
challenges for entrepreneurs. Newness and smallness make the
chances of survival and
success extraordinarily problematic. Even if they do survive,
they may be less financially
secure than large companies and their financial rewards smaller
during the first couple of
years (Timmons and Spinelli, 2009). Historical research shows
that only two of every
five new small firms survive six or more years, with few
achieving any growth during the
first four years (Phillips and Kirchhoff, 1988). Studies illustrate
that the failure rates
among entrepreneurs are very high; even the most optimistic
research has indicated
failure rates as high as 46.4% (Timmons and Spinelli, 2009). It

is not uncommon to find
that the business performance of many of these companies
failed to meet the
entrepreneurs’ expectation (Cassar, 2014; Solaimani and
Bouwman, 2012).
PR
EV
IE
W
4
Despite their poor survival record, entrepreneurs have a number
of qualities that
help them survive and achieve their ultimate goal—sustainable

development of the
business.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Entrepreneurs have realized that sustainable development is
necessary for them to
achieve economic, social, and environmental goals without
compromising their future
growth. Therefore, entrepreneurs must constantly prepare for
change, including the
identification of potential markets and opportunities for
organizational learning.
Environmental scanning is recognized as a key approach of
generating such business
insights. Through information acquisition and knowledge
transformation, environmental
scanning sustains and enhances business performance in a

turbulent environment (Choo,
2002).
Innovation is necessary for survival and sustainable
development (Timmons and
Spinelli, 2009) and is a characteristic that distinguishes
entrepreneurial businesses from
other small businesses. Developing an entrepreneurial business
is a process of
recombining the existing knowledge and exploiting new
knowledge (Schumpeter, 1934).
Successful technical innovation is usually associated with the
flow and diffusion of
knowledge (Porter and Stern, 2001; Acs et al., 2009; West &
Noel, 2009; Sullivan &
Marvel, 2011; Lai et al., 2014; Lueg. et al, 2014; Love and
roper, 2015). More

importantly, the nature of knowledge allows it to be transferred
into economic gain by
using knowledge to support creation, manufacturing, and
business management processes
(Zander and Kogut, 1995; Zucker, Darby, and Brewer, 1998;
Jensen and Thursby, 2001;
Gans and Stern, 2003; Block et al., 2013; Braunerhjelm, 2015;).
Entrepreneurship serves
PR
EV
IE
W
5

this function very well because it spurs innovation into
production and services and bring
products to the market in exchange for revenues.
In order to supplement the insufficient financial resources of
entrepreneurial
businesses and to assist developing the features that will help
such businesses to secure a
competitive advantage, information and knowledge are
desperately needed and are
strategic assets in the overall business field (Kenny and
Gudergan, 2006; Schiuma, 2012;
Dobbin and Baum, 2014). De Geus (2002) points out that
“during the past 50 years, the
world of business has shifted from one dominated by capital to
one dominated by
knowledge” (De Geus, 2002, pp.16). As information and
knowledge become a central

productive and strategic element, organizations are increasingly
reliant on their ability to
access and use information and knowledge.
Information plays multiple functions in entrepreneurial
organizations, which
include optimizing creation, keeping the flow of innovative
trends, and establishing a
learning environment in order to maximize profitability.
Understanding relevant
regulation and policies also help businesses to locate available
financial support, cut costs
to explore potential products and services, and add protections
on existing assets; for
example, filing a patent. Information provides supports to these
activities in multiple
ways, such as time, cost, and strategic planning. Therefore,

accessing and using
information is a central management responsibility for
entrepreneurs in order to
consolidate their achievement and maintain the competitive
advantage.
The process of systemically and actively managing the
knowledge in an
organization is equally important to maintaining competitive
advantages. The
management of knowledge can be categorized into a number of
activities, including
PR
EV
IE
W

6
creation, validation, presentation, distribution, and application.
It is a process of
capitalizing on knowledge, which aims at creating a learning
environment to nurture the
growth of technology, techniques, and people (Hislop, 2013).
Knowledge management is
significantly facilitated via the access and the use of
information resources. Information
resources provide the sources of particular types of data for
knowledge creation as well as
the approaches, which enable the communication of knowledge.
The phrase, information resources, is defined as “the services,
the packages, and

the support technologies and systems used to generate, store,
organize, manipulate, and
provide access to these information-bearing entities” (Matthews
2002, p.1). In this study,
interpersonal contacts will also be included. Information
resources will assist
entrepreneurs in investigating the market, locating financial
resources, spotting latest
technology, and developing efficient networks by providing
timing and comprehensive
information and knowledge (Davenport and Prusak, 1997).
Previous research found that
information is an important component for business success
(Vaughan, 1999; Klusek and
Bornstein, 2006; Wu and Kendall, 2006; James, 2010; Chang
and Wang, 2011; Isik et al.,
2013). There is also a positive correlation between information

use and financial benefits
(West & Olsen, 1988; Subramanian et al., 1993; Keh et al.,
2007). In addition, the
absence and dysfunction of access to information resources have
also been identified in
recent studies (Banda et al., 2004; Underwood, 2009; Leavitt et
al. 2010). The nature of
the relationship between information resources and
entrepreneurial business performance,
however, is not broadly recognized nor has there been much
discussion on any specific
function of the ways in which information resources support the
growth and development
PR
EV

IE
W
7
of entrepreneurs. This study seeks to fill that gap by
investigating the function of and
contribution made by information resources to entrepreneurial
business performance.
1.3 Definitions
Before examining the role of the access to and the use of
information resources in
entrepreneurial business development, it is useful to have a
better understanding of what
these and other terms mean in this research context. The
following section includes

definitions of important concepts used in this study.
Entrepreneur
Ahmad and Hoffman (2008) define entrepreneurs as “those
persons (business
owners) who seek to generate value, through the creation or
expansion of economic
activity, by identifying and exploiting new products, processes
or markets” (Ahmad and
Hoffman 2008, pp. 8). The firms they own or manage are
founded within a relatively
short time but have been helped through the incubation period
(Figure 1.1) (Woodward et
al, 2011). Incubator, in the entrepreneurial business context,
refers to organizations
dedicated to help startup and early-state companies to develop
by providing office spaces,

business advisory, or technical assistance (Bruneel et al. 2012).
This assistance is
accessible through counseling activities with the incubator
management and networking
interactions with other businesses.
Not all business people in private enterprise economies are
entrepreneurs.
Distinguished from other young firms, the identifying feature of
entrepreneurial
organizations is that they are doing something new, whether
they are inventing new
products or installing a new process. The role of the
entrepreneur is to innovate
(Schumpeter, 1934). In the Oslo Manual innovation is defined
as “the implementation of

PR
EV
IE
W
8
a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or
process, a new marketing
method, or a new organizational method in business practices,
workplace organization or
external relations” (OECD, 2005, pp. 49). The newness or
significant improvement of the
product, process, marketing method, or organizational method
to the firm means the firm
has to initially develop the product, process, or method, or be
the first to adopt from other

firms or organizations (OECD, 2005).
Figure 1.1 Stage of Firm Growth (Woodward et al, 2011)
This study focuses on the entrepreneurs in technology
incubators, who operate or
manage their own businesses. To capture the opportunity of
taking technological concept
to commercialization, they need to acquire relevant and
applicable information to help
them keep a fast pace of innovation. A technology incubator is
an infrastructure that
provides lab, office, and manufacturing facilities to the newly-
formed technology-
PR

EV
IE
W
9
intensive firms at a reasonable price until they enter the stable
growth stage (Stevenson
and Thomas, 2001; Sá and Lee, 2012). Technology incubator
staffs provide technology
assessment, help write business plans and proposals, and offer
entrepreneurial mentoring.
Entrepreneurs within the incubators are normally examined and
pre-selected according to
certain standards. For example, to be qualified to be accepted
by the University of South

Carolina’s technology incubator, a business must “need
interaction with the university, be
a technology-based company with a business plan, and have
growth potential and team-
building capability” (Stevenson and Thomas 2001, pp. 11).
Information Resources
Information resources are defined as “the available data,
technology, people and
processes within an organization to be used by the manager to
perform business
processes and tasks” (Pearlson and Saunders 2010, pp. 48).
Information resources can be
assets that a firm uses to create, produce, or distribute its
products and services, or
capabilities that it learned and developed to forge those
activities. As the entrepreneurial

businesses are restricted by size and have limited financial
support, they also have to seek
information resources, which are able to provide business
insights at a relatively
acceptable price to fulfil their needs. Such resources are
scattered in a variety of
professions and fields. Therefore, this research redefines
information resources within the
entrepreneur business context as the available people,
institutions, and ICTs-based
(Information and Communication Technologies) social networks
that can be used by
entrepreneurs to perform business processes and tasks.
PR

EV
IE
W
10
Interpersonal Connections
Studies show that interpersonal connection is the major channel
for entrepreneurs
and small business owners to acquire information regardless of
their operating
environment (Lillard, 2002; Ikoja-Odongo and Ocholla, 2004).
Based on previous
research, people can serve as information resources. This
includes the entrepreneurs
themselves (as they often make decisions based on previous

experience), friends, family,
coworkers, suppliers, customer, consultants/experts/specialists
in the industry, faculty and
students from the university, and information specialists, such
as librarians.
Institutional Platforms
Information institutions are units that facilitate the creation,
distribution, and
management of information to support the user’s needs. The
forms and services they
provide vary and have greatly expanded over time. Information
creation institutions
include book publishers, newspapers publishers, magazine and
journal publishers, and the
film and record industry (Lester, 2003). In previous studies, the
film and record industry

is hardly mentioned as a useful source of information for
entrepreneurs, so it is excluded
in this research. Lester (2003) also lists the mass media and
Internet based technologies
(which are categorized as information technology) as
information distribution
approaches. The convergence of media and technologies has had
tremendous growth
since the volume of information has increased the complexity of
managing information.
Meanwhile, knowledge, whose importance in attaining
competitive intelligence and
organizational advantage (Semertzaki, 2011), has been realized,
and is therefore valued
not only as a power, but also as an organizational asset. It is
given equally as much
attention as information, if not more. Professional and targeted

services are in such urgent
PR
EV
IE
W
11
demand, and organizations to process information have emerged
to fulfill those needs.
Libraries, database vendors, educational programs, business
consulting units, and
information centers, despite the difference in title, have all
served this purpose with each
one of their specialties.

ICTs-based Social Networks
Information and knowledge in business context are continuously
recreated and
reconstructed through dynamic and interactive activities,
therefore, it is necessary for
entrepreneurs to adopt and use a variety of emerging social
networking technologies
(Burke, 2013). ICT-based social network refers to computer-
based systems that support
the creation, collection, distribution, and management of
information. It includes the
hardware (such as computer), software (such as mobile
application), as well as the
Internet-based platform (such as Twitter).
Use of Information

The use of information involves a process of gathering,
organizing, analyzing, and
communicating (Taylor, 1991). The result of using information
resources is rarely
presented in terms of tangible products or services, as the
products and services are most
often evaluated by the revenue generated or customer
satisfaction, which raises questions
regarding whether information plays any role in business
activity. In consideration of the
difficulties in measuring the use of information, usage is
measured in various ways
including: 1) the time entrepreneurs spend in retrieving
information, 2) the money they
spend in acquiring the information, 3) the information use
behavior of the entrepreneurs,
for which there is clear evidence that information is used by

individuals and businesses.
Choo et al. (2008) introduced new information behavior and
value variables, which are
PR
EV
IE
W
12
based on Kirk’s (2002) information use outcome model—the
result of his information use
and culture study. Choo et al. defined the independent variables
(Table 1) in this model,
and evaluated outcomes of information use in three companies

in Canada. In their study,
the variables were weighted on information use behavior, not
the value or principle for
data collection, so the researchers were able to tell if the
variables have created any
outcomes.
The Choo et al study addresses the question of does the use of
information
resources of entrepreneurs have effects on their business
performance, but the use cannot
be directly observed. Choo’s theory provides an approach to
explain this behavior by
evaluating measurable factors, which include information
sharing, information
proactiveness, information transparency, information integrity,
information informality,

and information control. Definitions of these variables are based
on Choo et al. (2008).
Table 1. 1 Definition of Independent Variables from Choo et al.
(2008)
Variables Definition
Information sharing Willingness to provide others with
information in an
appropriate and collaborative manner
Information proactiveness Active concern to obtain and apply
new information to
respond to changes and to promote innovation
Information transparency Openness in reporting information on
errors and failures
thus allowing learning from mistakes
Information integrity Use of information in a trustful and
principled manner at

the individual and organizational level
Information informality Willingness to use and trust informal
sources over
PR
EV
IE
W
The vast majority of the population associates Blockchain with
cryptocurrency Bitcoin; however, there are many other uses of
blockchain; such as Litecoin, Ether, and other currencies. In
this discussion, please describe at least two cryptocurrencies
with applicable examples. Discuss some similarities and
differences. Lastly, discuss if you have any experience using
any cryptocurrencies.
Please make your initial post and two response posts
substantive. A substantive post will do at least TWO of the
following:

· Ask an interesting, thoughtful question pertaining to the topic
· Answer a question (in detail) posted by another student or the
instructor
· Provide extensive additional information on the topic
· Explain, define, or analyze the topic in detail
· Share an applicable personal experience
· Provide an outside source (for example, an article from the UC
Library) that applies to the topic, along with additional
information about the topic or the source (please cite properly
in APA)
· Make an argument concerning the topic.
At least one scholarly source should be used in the initial
discussion thread. Be sure to use information from your
readings and other sources from the UC Library. Use proper
citations and references in your post.

computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21Industry experts.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21Industry experts.docx

Similar to computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21Industry experts.docx (20)

More from mccormicknadine86

More from mccormicknadine86 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

computerweekly.com 10-16 September 2019 21Industry experts.docx