Assessing the adoption and utilization of blockchain technology among software developers

Abstract

This paper aims to assess factors affecting the adoption and utilization of blockchain technology among developers, extending and adapting the traditional Technology Acceptance Model. Blockchain technology has become increasingly popular in the last years, with the number of journal articles and posts on social media increasing, and many conferences being organized for sharing knowledge about blockchain, to the point where even news has started reporting about events in the blockchain world. But still, there remains the noticeable lag in the growth of blockchain developers relative to the technology’s recognition. The adapted Technology Acceptance Model is used to determine how much factors such as perceived usefulness, social influence and personal engagement affect the intention of IT professionals to use blockchain-based applications and finally to use blockchain for development (or to develop it). This research dissects behavioral intention and usage behavior into two distinct domains: application use and development engagement, providing a nuanced understanding of developer interactions with blockchain. Results suggest that social influence positively affects both personal engagement and interest in blockchain technology and perceived usefulness. Additionally, while perceived usefulness and personal engagement strongly motivate the use of blockchain-based application, they also have, but lesser impact on intention to use blockchain in development. The interest in using blockchain applications greatly influences the intention to develop blockchain technology.