The missing piece: the link between blockchain and public policy design

Abstract Through a bibliometric analysis, this article researches the central topics that link blockchain to public policy design and investigates the key policy priorities for the use of blockchain technology in the public sector. The analysis points out six thematic foci in the current literature: (1) business and strategic management, (2) technology adoption, (3) system infrastructure, (4) cryptocurrency and decentralized economy, (5) regulations and geopolitics, and (6) governance. The analysis demonstrates a high degree of co-occurrence between “barriers” and “blockchain adoption” confirming that blockchain adoption in the public sector domain is perceived as challenging. The association of the term “barrier” with other key terms suggests theoretical, technological, resource-based, and managerial challenges as the main showstoppers. The bibliometric analysis also reveals the underrepresentation of social and political sciences in our knowledge base, despite the thematic relevance of these disciplines to understand the underlying challenges. More research from these disciplines is warranted to understand better how this technology can be best integrated into the public policy processes.