Managing economic profitability and operational efficiency by applying blockchain technology

Dejan Antanasković; Marko Trišić; Srđan Skorup; Ivan Lazović

doi:10.71159/bizinfo260014A

Authors

Dejan Antanasković Business College of Applied Studies “Prof. Radomir Bojković, PhD”, Kruševac, Serbia
Marko Trišić Business College of Applied Studies “Prof. Radomir Bojković, PhD”, Kruševac, Serbia
Srđan Skorup Business College of Applied Studies “Prof. Radomir Bojković, PhD”, Kruševac, Serbia
Ivan Lazović Business College of Applied Studies “Prof. Radomir Bojković, PhD”, Kruševac, Serbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo260014A

Keywords:

blockchain technology, operational efficiency, economic profitability, digital transformation

Abstract

In the modern business environment, digital transformation is a key factor of sustainable competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to empirically examine how the level of blockchain technology adoption affects the management of operational efficiency and company profitability. The research was conducted on a sample of 100 companies from the EU, the United Kingdom, and the Western Balkans, with the final analytical sample including 76 companies that implemented blockchain technology and 24 companies that didn’t install these technologies. Using descriptive statistics, correlative analysis, multiple linear regression, and mediation analysis, the results showed that blockchain technology doesn’t have a statistically significant direct impact on the management of operational efficiency and profitability. However, in the sample, a positive pattern was observed, suggesting potential long-term effects. Operational efficiency was confirmed as a strong predictor of profitability (r = 0.991), but its mediation effect was not statistically confirmed. This research provides a realistic insight into the effects of digital technologies and emphasizes the importance of organizational maturity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agencija za privredne registre. (n.d.-a). APR bonitet. Retrieved March 21, 2026, from https://www.apr.gov.rs/регистри-/финансијски-извештаји/апр-бонитет.1842.html

Agencija za privredne registre. (n.d.-b). Finansijski izveštaji. Retrieved March 21, 2026, from https://www.apr.gov.rs

Alt, R., & Gräser, M. (2025). Distributed ledger technology. Electronic Markets, 35, Article 53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-025-00784-w

Antanasković, D., Lazović, I., & Trišić, M. (2025). Blockchain as an inevitable factor for future financial and industrial management. BizInfo Blace, 16(1), 97–104. https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo250011A

Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173

Boone, H. N., & Boone, D. A. (2012). Analyzing Likert data. Journal of Extension, 50(2), 1–5.

Clohessy, T., & Acton, T. (2019). Investigating the influence of organizational factors on blockchain adoption: An innovation theory perspective. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 119(7), 1457–1491. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2018-0365

Cronbach, L. J., & Meehl, P. E. (1955). Construct validity in psychological tests. Psychological Bulletin, 52(4), 281–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0040957

Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Handelsregister. (n.d.). German commercial register. Retrieved March 21, 2026, from https://handelsregister.de

Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Hill, A., & Hill, T. (2023). Manufacturing operations strategy (4th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Hughes, L., Dwivedi, Y. K., Misra, S. K., Rana, N. P., Raghavan, V., & Akella, V. (2019). Blockchain research, practice and policy: Applications, benefits, limitations, emerging research themes and research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 49, 114–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.02.005

Iansiti, M., & Lakhani, K. R. (2017). The truth about blockchain. Harvard Business Review, 95(1), 118–127.

Ikeda, K., & Hamid, M. N. (2018). Applications of blockchain in the financial sector and a peer-to-peer global barter web. Advances in Computers, 111, 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adcom.2018.03.008

Kayikci, S., & Khoshgoftaar, T. M. (2024). Blockchain meets machine learning: A survey. Journal of Big Data, 11, Article 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-023-00852-y

Kouhizadeh, M., Saberi, S., & Sarkis, J. (2021). Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers. International Journal of Production Economics, 231, 107831. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107831

Mambetova, S., Ayaganova, M., Kalykov, A., Akhmetova, A., & Yeskerova, Z. (2021). Digital economy in tourism and hospitality industry. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 11(8), 2006–2019.

Matejić, T., Knežević, S., Joksimović, A., Milojević, S., & Adamović, M. (2025). Potentials of blockchain technology application in accounting and financial reporting. BizInfo Blace, 16(1), 87–95. https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo250010M

Minović, M. (2017). Blockchain tehnologija: Mogućnosti upotrebe izvan kriptovaluta. In Međunarodni naučno-stručni skup InfoTech 2017 (pp. 1–4). Asocijacija za računarstvo, informatiku, telekomunikacije i nove medije Srbije.

Narodna banka Srbije. (n.d.). Bank financial balance sheet. Retrieved March 21, 2026, from https://webappcenter.nbs.rs/WebApp/FinInstBank/BankFinancialBalanceSheet/Index

Neely, A., Gregory, M., & Platts, K. (1995). Performance measurement system design: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 15(4), 80–116.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2008). Handbook on constructing composite indicators: Methodology and user guide. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264043466-en

Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 62.

Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple-mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879

Queiroz, M. M., & Wamba, S. F. (2019). Blockchain adoption challenges in supply chain: An empirical investigation of the main drivers in India and the USA. International Journal of Information Management, 46, 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.11.021

Ross, S. A., Westerfield, R. W., & Jordan, B. D. (2019). Fundamentals of corporate finance (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Rozario, A. M., & Thomas, C. (2019). Reengineering the audit with blockchain and smart contracts. Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, 16(1), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.2308/jeta-52432

Saberi, S., Kouhizadeh, M., Sarkis, J., & Shen, L. (2019). Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management. International Journal of Production Research, 57(7), 2117–2135. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2018.1533261

Sarstedt, M., & Mooi, E. (2014). Regression analysis. In Springer texts in business and economics (pp. 193–233). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-53965-7_7

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.

Sheth, H., & Dattani, J. (2019). Overview of blockchain technology. Asian Journal for Convergence in Technology, 5(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.33130/AJCT.2019v05i01.013

Slack, N., Brandon-Jones, A., & Burgess, N. (2022). Operations management (10th ed.). Pearson.

Smith, S. S. (2019). Conclusions and future directions. In Future of business and finance (pp. 255–257). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-29761-9_19

Stagnaro, C. (2017). Innovative blockchain uses in health care [White paper]. Freed Associates. https://www.freedassociates.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Blockchain_White_Paper.pdf

Unternehmensregister. (n.d.). Official German company register. Retrieved March 21, 2026, from https://unternehmensregister.de

Vukolić, D., Gajić, T., & Popović, A. (2025). Digital transformation in hospitality: The role of AI in enhancing business through gastronomic offerings. BizInfo Blace, 16(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo250004V

Xiao, Y., Zhang, N., Lou, W., & Hou, T. (2020). A survey of distributed consensus protocols for blockchain networks. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 22(2), 1432–1465. https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2020.2969706

Zsarnoczky, M. (2018). The digital future of the tourism and hospitality industry. Boston Hospitality Review, 6, 1–9.