Behavioural intention to adopt blockchain technology in Bangladeshi banking companies

Abstract

Banking is a business of trust and transparency. Unfortunately, recent financial scams in the banking industry of Bangladesh have thrown a big question in terms of reliability and transparency. On the other hand, the emergence of blockchain technology has created new hope in terms of ensuring transparency in the baking system. However, before implementing any new technology, it is essential to understand the stakeholders’ intention to adopt it. This study is an attempt to explain the factors driving the intention to adopt blockchain in the banking industry. Though, there much behavioural theory to explain technology adoption, extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used in this research because of its proven record in explaining technology acceptance. The research is conducted with the bank employees as the respondents. A total of 300 questionnaires have been distributed while 215 useable questionnaires were found for the analysis of this study. Two internal factors, as seen in the original TAM called perceived usefulness and ease of use, are found significant in describing the intention to adopt blockchain. On the other hand, two additional external variables called social influence and trust are analyzed. Trust is found to be significant, while the social influene was not statistically significant in this regard. The four independent variables together explain 48% variation in the intention to adopt blockchain technology for the banking industry. The implication of this research is significant. If the banks intend to adopt and operate blockchain, this research will provide them with a good picture of what managerial actions are essential for its adoption.