Central bank-issued digital currencies have sparked significant interest and are currently the subject of extensive research, owing to their potential for rapid settlement, low fees, accessibility, and automated monetary policies. However, central bank digital currencies are still in their infancy and the levels of adoption vary significantly between nations, with a few countries seeing widespread adoption. We used partial least squares structural equation modeling to investigate the nonlinear relationship between key national development indicators and central bank digital deployment across 67 countries. We explore the technological, environmental, legal, and economic factors that affect central bank digital currency adoption by country. We found a statistically significant and positive correlation between countries’ central bank digital currency adoption status and a country’s level of democracy and public confidence in governance, and a negative association between regulatory quality and income inequality. There was no significant association between countries’ central bank digital currency adoption status and their level of network readiness, foreign exchange reserves, and sustainable development goal rank. Thus, we posit that a country that is highly democratic and has good governance adopts central bank digital currencies more readily than others. Based on our findings, we suggested areas for additional research and highlighted policy considerations related to the wider adoption of central bank digital currency.

Blockchain technology and its business applications have attracted considerable scholarly interest, leading to a surge in academic studies. While this wealth of research is beneficial, it also poses challenges in identifying the most relevant publications. Despite the availability of survey articles, research on this topic remains fragmented and concentrates on specific industrial sectors. This review addresses this gap by providing a detailed literature analysis, highlighting key themes, recent advancements, the benefits of blockchain adoption for businesses, and associated challenges. This study employs a multi-method literature review approach called bibliometric systematic literature review (B-SLR), combining bibliometric analysis with systematic literature review (SLR) techniques. This review critically examines studies of blockchain adoption in modern business from 2017 to 2023. Our findings reveal a decline in academic publications on blockchain for businesses since 2023, along with a shift in core themes from traditional supply chains to exploring blockchain’s role in environmentally sustainable supply chains, such as reverse logistics, green supply chains, and the circular economy. Additionally, there is an emerging focus on the role of blockchain in virtual environments, such as the metaverse and digital twins. Drawing from our analysis, we also present a theoretical framework and highlight ten crucial areas for future research.

This study investigates the influence of a country’s financial access and stability and the adoption of retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) across 71 countries. Using an ordinal logit model, we examine how individual financial access, the ownership of credit cards, financing accessibility by firms, offshore loans, financial sanctions, and the ownership structure of financial institutions influence the probability of CBDC adoption in nations. These findings reveal that nations facing financial sanctions and those with substantial offshore bank loans are more inclined to adopt CBDCs. Furthermore, a significant relationship is observed in countries where many people have restricted financial access, indicating heightened interest in CBDC adoption. Interestingly, no statistically significant relationship was found between the adoption of CBDCs and the percentage of foreign-owned banks in each country. The results show that countries with low financial stability and financial access adopt CBDCs faster. This study expands our knowledge of how a nation’s financial situation influences its adoption of CBDCs. The results provide important and relevant insights into the current discussion of the direction of global finance.

There has been an upsurge in the research and analysis of blockchain-enabled central bank digital currencies. This increased interest can be observed across academic institutions, financial entities, and government bodies. Consequently, numerous literature reviews have been conducted to consolidate and present the development of studies on blockchain-enabled central bank digital currencies. Nevertheless, most studies have depended on only one database for their analysis and/or adopted a broader approach encompassing various aspects. This study aimed to address the limitations of existing literature review studies by adopting a more targeted approach while utilizing extensive databases and contemporary analysis methods. Using a bibliometric analysis the study maps the literature on blockchain-enabled central bank digital currencies from 2017 to 2024, sourced from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. It identifies influential authors, active journals, countries, and documents in the field. Moreover, this study outlines the thematic structure and recent advances in the field through co-word analysis. It also highlights gaps in the literature and proposes six key directions for future research.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study is to uncover the complex relationship between cryptocurrency prices and significant global events that transpired within the past five years. These events encompass a wide spectrum, including political and global health crises, the public disclosure of multinational enterprises' investments in cryptocurrencies, and the influence of macroeconomic indicators. Beyond the exclusive focus on Bitcoin, this study adopts a more comprehensive approach encompassing various cryptocurrencies.Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the effects of the disclosure of cryptocurrency adoption plans by major corporations, the Russian-Ukraine war, Covid-19, Inflation rate, and Economic policy uncertainty within the U.S., U.K., and E.U on cryptocurrency prices (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance coin) using a structural equation model over the past five years.Findings: Our findings provided several compelling insights. Most notably, during the study period major corporations’ adoption of cryptocurrencies positively influenced their price. Furthermore, a negative and significant association emerges between cryptocurrency prices and periods marked by economic policy uncertainty and inflation rates in the countries under investigation (U.S., U.K., and E.U). The results are robust under variations in sample composition and changes in sets of variables.Originality/value: The study uncovered the complex relationship between cryptocurrency price fluctuations and significant global events that transpired within the past five years by taking the factors identified in previous literature as a whole and adding new variables that are not well studied, such as the effect of Russian-Ukraine War and multinational corporations revealing cryptocurrency adoption intention on the prices of cryptocurrencies. This study represents a pivotal contribution by bridging a crucial research void and providing theoretical insights into the legal considerations to be undertaken by policymakers, and informed investment practices by traders, and corporate leaders.

This chapter presents the applications of blockchain technology within workplace settings and guides future research and organizational adoption. This is achieved through a bibliometric analysis of literature sourced from Scopus and Web of Science between the years 2017-2024. The findings indicate a significant increase in publications on blockchain applications in workplaces since 2019, indicating the technology's rising relevance and potential in workplace contexts. The thematic analysis identifies key areas where blockchain technology is expected to have a substantial impact, including knowledge management, smart workstations, human resource management, confidential information sharing and storage, and optimized workplace communication. This study proposes five key areas for future research: testing existing prototypes in various workplace applications, evaluating regulatory and ethical compliance, and investigating the social and environmental impacts of blockchain technology in the workplace.