Utilization of Blockchain Technologies in Marketing

Ing. Taher Mohammed Sarh Al-Ahwal

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that uses fully decentralized peer-to-peer networks to store data in blocks that are linked (chained) to each other sequentially and permanently without the possibility of alteration or deletion. The technology was originally implemented for cryptocurrencies in 2009, but it then caught the undivided attention of multiple industries: finance, supply chain management, healthcare, governments, etc. This research was set out to investigate and evaluate six benefits of blockchain for marketing: Fostering Disintermediation, Combating Click Fraud, Reinforcing Trust and Transparency, Enhancing Privacy Protection, Empowering Digital Marketing Security, and Enabling Creative Loyalty Programs. Besides secondary data collection, an empirical study in the form of an online survey was conducted. The research concluded that blockchain does indeed provide promising benefits for marketing, but that depends on whether marketers use public (permissioned) blockchain or private (permissioned) blockchain, and also the ability of the blockchain community to resolve fundamental challenges and pending issues such as scalability, speed, interoperability, and privacy, besides several many others.

Abstract:

Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that uses fully decentralized peer-to-peer networks to store data in blocks that are linked (chained) to each other sequentially and permanently without the possibility of alteration or deletion. The technology was originally implemented for cryptocurrencies in 2009, but it then caught the undivided attention of multiple industries: finance, supply chain management, healthcare, governments, etc. This research was set out to investigate and evaluate six benefits of blockchain for marketing: Fostering Disintermediation, Combating Click Fraud, Reinforcing Trust and Transparency, Enhancing Privacy Protection, Empowering Digital Marketing Security, and Enabling Creative Loyalty Programs. Besides secondary data collection, an empirical study in the form of an online survey was conducted. The research concluded that blockchain does indeed provide promising benefits for marketing, but that depends on whether marketers use public (permissioned) blockchain or private (permissioned) blockchain, and also the ability of the blockchain community to resolve fundamental challenges and pending issues such as scalability, speed, interoperability, and privacy, besides several many others.

Keywords

Blockchain in marketing, decentralization, immutability, tokenization, dis-intermediation

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 11. 1. 2021

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 10. 2. 2021
• Supervisor: Ing. Dušan Mladenović, Ph.D.
• Reader: PhD Ahad Zareravasan

Masaryk University

Faculty of Economics and Administration

Master programme / field:
Economy and Management / Business Management (Eng.)