Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/230277 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Citation: 
[Journal:] Business Ethics: A European Review [ISSN:] 1467-8608 [Volume:] 29 [Issue:] 2 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2019 [Pages:] 348-359
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
This paper provides, from a business ethics perspective, a basic clustering of the morally (a) favorable, (b) unfavorable, and (c) ambivalent dimensions of blockchain technology and its various emergent applications. Instead of proffering specific assessments on particular aspects of blockchain-based business models, we aim to offer an initial overview that charters the territory so that future research can bring about such moral assessments in an informed and orderly fashion. The main contribution of this paper lies in identifying several morally ambivalent dimensions of blockchain technology, which we finally link to two strands of business ethics research: ethical and legal aspects of legislation as well as a link to Habermasian corporate social responsibility theory arguing for transparent data production and consumption on the blockchain. We conclude that future research is necessary for moral assessment of the ambivalent cases, since their ethical evaluation changes depending on whether one analyzes them through the lenses of utilitarianism, contractarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, respectively.
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by-nc-nd Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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