Blockchain Technology Investment’s Impact On Firm Resilience In The Context Of COVID-19

The outbreak of the COVID-19 has stimulated firms to pick up the pace of digital transformation.Firms actively apply digital technologies such as blockchain to improve business processes and reshape business models.On the one hand,firms and investors believe that blockchain technology can improve operation efficiency,enhance enterprise’s perception of the market,and enhance cooperation among stakeholders.Further,those abilities will enhance firm resilience and reduce the negative impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on firms.Firms can even form new business models to grow in the epidemic.On the other hand,the immaturity of blockchain technology and the severity of the epidemic may be obstacles for firms to obtain resilience by adopting blockchain technology.Therefore,exploring the impact of blockchain technology investment on firm resilience has momentous practical and theoretical significance in the context of the COVID-19.The thesis takes the blockchain concept firms from the Oriental Fortune Network as samples,and applies event study method to explore the impact of blockchain technology investment on firm resilience under the COVID-19,respectively from resistance,recovery and growth ability of resilience.Further,based on the theoretical framework of TOE theory,the thesis conducts classified research on blockchain technology investment,and discusses the heterogeneous impact of blockchain technology investment on firm resilience under different technological,organizational and environmental backgrounds in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.Technical factors include two dimensions: function and application characteristics.Organizational dimension includes three dimensions: the use scope of technology,technology users,and development approach.Environmental factors include two dimensions: industry and application field.The research results show that blockchain technology investment has a significant negative impact on resistance ability,a significant positive impact on recovery ability,and no significant impact on growth ability.From technical perspective,trust in functionality and traceability in application characteristics have a significant negative impact on resistance ability.Trust in functions,assets and certificate retention in application characteristics have significant positive effects on recovery ability.The sharing in functions and the retention of certificates in application characteristics have a significant negative impact on growth ability.As for organization,technology output within the use scope of technology has a significant negative impact on resistance ability.Each sub dimension under the use scope of technology,technology users,and technology import in investment approach have a significant positive impact on recovery ability.Technology output within the use scope of technology influences growth ability negatively and significantly.In perspective of environment,enterprise oriented blockchain influences resistance ability adversely and significantly.IT industry of the industry dimension and all sub dimensions of application fields have a significant positive impact on recovery ability.The manufacturing industry in the industry has a significant negative impact on growth ability.