Blockchain and business ethics
Additional information
Authors
Dierksmeier C.,
Seele P.
Type
Journal Article
Year
2020
Language
English
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 as-sessments 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 re-sponsibility 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.
Journal
Business Ethics: European Review
Start page number
1
End page number
12
Keywords
Blockchain, Distributed Ledger, Regulation, Cryptojacking, Supply Chain
