An overview of the expected public values arising from blockchain adoption in the European public sector Open Access

Blockchain technology (BCT) has emerged as a transformative force in recent years owing to its potential to revolutionise various sectors. Its impact is expected to be widespread, encompassing multiple disciplines, including computer science and business, an expectation that is reflected in global research patterns (Dubey, 2022). The impact of BCT is anticipated to be particularly notable in the public sector: governments are increasingly interested in leveraging BCT to enhance the efficiency and transparency of public services (Scholl and Rodríguez Bolívar, 2019) and improve digital public services (Franciscon et al., 2019).

Recent studies suggest that BCT has the capacity to enhance public value by, for example, streamlining administrative processes, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and fostering trust in public records management (Martin-Bosch et al., 2022). These advancements, which contribute to more efficient and transparent governance, align with observations of BCT’s role in augmenting data transparency and trust in the e-government sector (Ahmad et al., 2021; Verma and Sheel, 2022). Therefore, the adoption of BCT in the public sector brings with it considerations of public values such as accountability, transparency and privacy (Tan and Crompvoets, 2022). The integration of blockchain-based identity management systems, for instance, has been shown to have the potential to advance these values, albeit with challenges and complexities in implementation (Sung and Park, 2021).

The literature acknowledges the critical importance of identifying guiding public values (Criado and Gil-Garcia, 2019; Maragno et al., 2021a; Tan et al., 2022), but a systematic overview of the public values that the public sector hopes to achieve through BCT adoption is lacking (Tan et al., 2022). Consequently, there is a pressing need to bridge this gap, to identify the reasons for BCT adoption rather than focusing solely on the technology per se.

This study aims to bridge the existing gap by providing a comprehensive analysis of BCT adoption within the European public sector, focusing specifically on the anticipated public values that will be achieved as a result. By doing so, it not only plays a crucial role in mapping current expectations but also lays the groundwork for a deeper understanding of how BCT can truly realise and enhance these public values.

Blockchain technology originated in 1991 with Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta’s paper, “How to time-stamp a digital document”, which introduced a method for time-stamping digital documents using hash values and linking records (Haber and Stornetta, 1991). This concept was enhanced in 1992 with the addition of Bayer’s Merkle trees for increased security (Bayer et al., 1993). In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto’s revolutionised BCT by introducing the “proof of work” incentive layer. This innovation enabled nodes in a distributed network to agree on transactions without the need for central intermediaries, thus laying the groundwork for a fully decentralised system (Nakamoto, 2009). This development improves transparency and digital trust and enables a secure peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed ledger to record transactions across many computers, ensuring data integrity, immutability and consistency (Shrimali and Patel, 2022).

In defining BCT for our study, we reference the comprehensive definition proposed by Allessie et al. (2019), which outlines BCT in the context of digital government. Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger with the following inherent characteristics.

• (1)

  A P2P network shares the ledger among the nodes of a computer network.

• (2)

  Value exchange transactions (encompassing digital assets such as cryptocurrencies, tokens or information) are sequentially grouped into blocks.

• (3)

  Network nodes validate transactions through a “consensus mechanism”.

• (4)

  Each newly created block is attached to the general ledger, chained to the previous block and recorded immutably across the network, adding copies to all network nodes using cryptographic trust and assurance mechanisms.

• (5)

  The sequence of these blocks forms a single chain known as a “blockchain”. Moreover, depending on the specific implementation, transactions can include programmable behaviours, commonly referred to as smart contracts.

The inherent traits of BCT – its P2P nature, sequential transaction grouping, validation through consensus mechanisms, the immutability of block creation and the potential for programmable transaction behaviours – lay the foundation for its broad applicability and use (Allessie et al., 2019).

Transitioning from its foundational principles to practical applications, BCT has been identified as a potentially transformative tool in public administration, with the potential to revolutionise transactions, management practices and organisational structures (Rot et al., 2020) and to increase transparency, efficiency and accountability in various areas (Verma and Sheel, 2022).

In recent years, the public sector has begun exploring BCT’s potential to increase the security of its processes, with implications for governance and regulation (Warkentin and Orgeron, 2020). Governments are recognising BCT’s ability to digitally transform internal processes, policies and services, thereby improving their responsiveness to citizens’ needs. This interest is driven by several factors, including efficiency gains such as faster transaction speeds, cost savings and the reduction of intermediaries.

At the same time, the volume of research on the use of BCT in public services has increased significantly (see Riyoldi et al., 2023, for a literature review). Much of the discussion has focused on the application of BCT in public sector management and governance. According to researchers, the public services that are most likely to be affected by BCT are public health, public revenue (tax), digital identity, public policy and smart cities (Riyoldi et al., 2023).

Research shows that BCT in the public sector can increase transparency, auditability and fraud avoidance and reduce corruption (Alketbi et al., 2018). Recent empirical analysis also suggests that the use of blockchain-based applications can reduce the cost and time of information exchange between public sector stakeholders. It can also increase accountability, benefiting both citizens and stakeholders (Wamba et al., 2024). These benefits highlight BCT’s promise in improving public service delivery and responding better to the real needs of citizens. In this context, Ølnes et al. (2017) emphasise the importance of transitioning from a technology-driven to a need-driven approach in government information sharing, ensuring that BCT solutions are tailored to the specific requirements of public services.

However, it is worth noting that these traits also introduce several challenges when considering implementation in the public sector. Therefore, despite the wave of optimism surrounding BCT, a critical and balanced view is necessary, and the potential adverse effects and disruptive impacts of the technology need to be acknowledged and addressed.

The challenges of adopting BCT in e-government are manifold and involve technological, organisational and environmental factors (Batubara et al., 2018). Privacy and accountability concerns must be considered carefully owing to the technology’s decentralised and immutable nature (Zwitter and Boisse-Despiaux, 2018). Significant challenges include the risk of fraud, data duplication and the security of sensor data in areas such as healthcare and e-voting (Zaghloul et al., 2020). Additionally, Sybil and double-spending attacks, along with other security and implementation concerns, may hinder BCT acceptance in the public sector (Iqbal and Matulevičius, 2021). Further challenges include ensuring the integrity and secure exchange of information among public sector entities while complying with data privacy, ownership and control regulations (Shahaab et al., 2023).

As we navigate these complexities, the concept of public values emerges as a relevant framework for assessing the implications of BCT for public administration. Therefore, this study aims to address a notable gap in the existing research by focusing on the public values expectations around BCT in the public sector in real-world cases. By focusing on public values, we aim to provide a nuanced perspective that extends beyond a mere technological overview, advocating for an approach that considers BCT adoption as a mechanism to realise public values.

This perspective not only addresses the complexities inherent in BCT implementation but also situates the technology within its potential to both enhance and obstruct public values, contributing to the evolving discourse on BCT in public administration (Bannister and Connolly, 2014; Ølnes et al., 2017). Adopting a public values lens in this study is key due to the nature of public administrations, which involves competing interests and demands, resulting in potential conflicts and trade-offs between public values. Therefore, this research supports recent calls to adopt a public values-based approach when implementing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and BCT in public administrations (Tan et al., 2022; Madan and Ashok, 2023).

Public values serve as a theoretical anchor in public administration and policy (Jørgensen and Bozeman, 2007). They guide and legitimise public action, setting the standards against which the impact of public sector activities is evaluated (Witesman, 2021), and establish normative agreements on the rights and obligations of citizens as well as “the principles on which governments and policies should be based” (Bozeman, 2007, p. 17). In the realm of disruptive technologies, such as BCT, public values emerge as a crucial lens through which to assess a technology’s societal impact and value (Bannister and Connolly, 2014).

The interplay between technology and public values is complex. Technological innovations can either enhance or undermine public values, with public sector organisations shaping these values through the technologies they adopt and their expected outcomes. This highlights the non-neutral nature of technology in affecting public values (Bannister and Connolly, 2014), emphasising the complexity of integrating disruptive technologies such as BCT into the public sector. This complexity requires a thorough understanding and consideration of public values (Skarzauskiene and Skaržauskaitė, 2017).

Extensive research has identified numerous public values relevant in the public sector context (Rodriguez Müller and Steen, 2019), with some authors attempting to categorise these values. Jørgensen and Bozeman (2007) proposed a preliminary inventory comprising 72 public values, emphasising their interrelationships. Bannister and Connolly (2014) later proposed a taxonomy for public values in the context of ICT in the public sector, suggesting three clusters: duty-oriented, service-oriented and socially oriented public values. A more recent systematic review on e-government for public values identified a three-group cluster of expected benefits when adopting ICT in the public sector: improved administrative efficiency, improved public services and improved social values (Twizeyimana and Andersson, 2019).

This study focuses on BCT adoption within the public sector, drawing upon Ndou’s (2004) foundational e-government framework as a starting point. Our decision to anchor this study in this framework is based on its emphasis on the transformative dimensions of digital technologies – internal, external and relational – within the public sector. It captures the multifaceted impacts of digital technologies on public administration, providing a structured approach to exploring BCT’s potential in advancing public values. Recognising the intricate relationship between ICT and public values, our analysis also incorporates insights from previous works, including those of Jørgensen and Bozeman (2007), Bannister and Connolly (2014), Twizeyimana and Andersson (2019), Martin-Bosch et al. (2022) and Maragno et al. (2021a).

Employing this comprehensive approach enables us to delineate BCT’s role in the public sector, clustering public values into three primary categories (as detailed in Table 1). The internal dimension emphasises the use of digital technologies to enhance the efficiency of governments’ internal functions and processes, aligning with duty-oriented public values (Bannister and Connolly, 2014). For example, BCT’s capacity to increase the security and efficiency of internal government processes is discussed by Swan (2015), who highlights the technology’s potential to ensure secure document management and reduce operational costs.

The external dimension focuses on how technology, in this case BCT, can improve public values such as the quality, accessibility and efficiency of public service provisions. This dimension is closely associated with service-oriented public values (Bannister and Connolly, 2014) and aims to enhance how the public sector interfaces with citizens and businesses. A recent review highlights, for instance, the potential of BCT to improve the efficiency and transparency of government transactions through its decentralisation and distributive features (Bustamante et al., 2022).

Finally, the relational dimension explores dynamic and participatory interactions between government and citizens, which are essential for fostering a democratic and engaged society (Bannister and Connolly, 2014; Maragno et al., 2021a). This dimension focuses on BCT’s role in transforming government–citizen relationships, aligning with socially oriented public values and the concept of open government (Bannister and Connolly, 2014; Maragno et al., 2021a). An example of this would be the application of BCT in e-voting projects to improve trust and citizen engagement in electoral processes; however, this area has received relatively limited attention (Ølnes et al., 2017).

By combining Ndou’s e-government framework with the broader context of public values, our research aims to provide a comprehensive overview of BCT’s transformative potential across these key dimensions. This approach will enhance our understanding of the implications of BCT for e-government, offering insights into how BCT can be leveraged to meet the diverse goals of the public sector.

This study relies on an extensive inventory of 165 blockchain use cases from national, regional and local European governments. The reason for using such a large database for this research was to provide a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of blockchain applications in public sector settings. This dataset represents one of the first attempts to map the adoption of BCT in the context of public services by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and is freely available from the JRC data catalogue ^[1]. The cases were systematically collected from a variety of secondary sources from 2018 to 2022 and subsequently validated. The sources included international and local initiatives (e.g. the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum and the Dutch Blockchain Coalition), the Internet (e.g. news articles and reports) and the scientific and grey literature. We also collaborated with researchers engaged in similar studies (see Maragno et al., 2021b).

As described by Martin-Bosch et al. (2022), the dataset includes a detailed taxonomy encompassing organisational features, service characteristics and derived value ^[2]. The collection process followed a rigorous methodology with cross-checked information for accurate categorisation. However, this dataset is not a comprehensive census of all BCT initiatives in the European public sector, nor is it statistically representative, making comparisons among Member States unfeasible.

Despite these limitations, the dataset ^[3] is robust enough for an in-depth exploration of BCT adoption dynamics in government entities. This study focuses on attributes pertinent to examining BCT adoption through the lens of public values expectations. The data were analysed primarily through descriptive statistics, cross-referencing various fields to offer new insights from a public values perspective.

Taking as a base the dataset of 165 blockchain-based use cases, the analysis followed three subsequent steps and a descriptive statistical analysis. The first step was to collect additional publicly available data for each case: it was hoped that, by significantly increasing the amount of information available for analysis, we would obtain a better understanding of each case. More specifically, the original database included only a short description of each case and a single link to a source of information. It was clear that this information was not sufficient to determine the expected public values of these projects. Therefore, we collected more data from various sources, such as the official website of the use case (where such a website existed) or relevant news articles and research papers, identified through an Internet search.

In the second step, we coded all the data collected using an inductive approach. For each of the texts collected, we identified the sentences referring to any public value or benefit that BCT was expected to provide. Each sentence was then coded, by creating a label that reflects the expected public value, and each value identified was categorised according to the public value dimension to which it relates (internal, external or relational).

In the third and final step, the research team revised all codes using an iterative process, first merging similar codes and then determining the most suitable label for each code. The aim of this adjustment process was to avoid the overlapping of categories and to give more coherence to the final list by grouping values and concepts (when possible) or eliminating categories altogether.  Appendix 1 illustrates, with examples, the final coding scheme adopted.

Finally, we conducted a descriptive statistical analysis of the dataset, counting the occurrences of each public value and categorising the cases based on other relevant attributes, such as application types.

Data were analysed through an extensive taxonomy based on 11 different fields ^[4]. These fields provide partial characterisation of the public organisation involved (e.g. government level or functions based on the classification of the functions of government ^[5], and they offer insights into features of each use case (e.g. development status).  Appendix 2 provides a brief overview of the data attributes that are of interest to this study. These can be summarised as follows.

Status. The analysis of the cases included an examination of their implementation status. This status is categorised as planned (2% of the cases), pilot (54%), in development (19%), implemented (16%) or no longer in use (i.e. the project had been discontinued) (10%). Our exploration reveals a substantial increase in the number of blockchain use cases in 2018, followed by a continued positive trend, albeit at a reduced rate. Over half of the use cases are pilot projects, while only 16% have progressed to full development and implementation and are integrated into the daily operations of public administrations.

Organisation type. This category pertains to the type of organisation leading the development of use cases. Although the majority of organisations operate at the local, regional or central government level, a significant minority do not. Therefore, to facilitate the analysis of the cases, two further broad categories were created for the purpose of this study: (a) academic and research institutions, which include both academic research institutions and consortia and (b) non-governmental actors, including community-led organisations. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the human and financial resources required to sustain the development effort, almost half of the cases (44%) in our database are driven by central governments. A further 20% of cases are led by local government entities, while 11% originate at the regional government level. This distribution shows that BCT is accessible to organisations other than large national governmental agencies.

Process type and application type. This classification system delves into functional aspects, shedding light on the purpose and activities where BCT is applied. The process type categorises government operations into public service and engagement (59%), enforcement (29%), internal management (12%), adjudication (2%) and analysis, monitoring and regulatory research (1%). Additionally, for each process type, several application types are identified, to provide deeper insights into the specific activities where BCT is deployed.

The relevant attributes that can be used to characterise use cases, other than those reported in  Appendix 2, are the year of development and the type of interaction. The earliest date available serves as a proxy for the year of development. The majority of the cases in the dataset were identified from 2018 onwards, with 29 cases from 2018, 34 from 2019, 29 from 2020 to 35 from 2021. In addition, the type of interaction can be used to categorise the targets of the interactions addressed by the blockchain-based solution. In this regard, it is important to note that most cases in our dataset involve interaction with citizens (65%), while 22% pertain to internal governmental processes or interactions among government entities and 13% relate to interactions with businesses.

In this section, we present the results of coding the different blockchain cases in the public sector based on public values into three clusters: internal, external and relational ^[6]. We then cross-referenced these clusters of public values with attributes related to the adoption of BCT in the public sector.

The main contribution of our work is the identification of a series of public values that public administrations aim to realise by using BCT. The results section reports and describes this list of public values according to the three public value dimensions adopted as a theoretical basis for the analysis. In  Appendix 6, we have included the list of public values considered for the analysis and a sample of the coded text.

To summarise the key findings of our analysis, the internal dimension of public values in BCT reveals several core areas of expected impact. In exploring these internal public values, our study highlights a range of values that define the intrinsic expected benefits and challenges of adopting this technology.  Appendix 3 presents an overview of these internal public values, ranked according to the number of cases in our dataset that have that public value as a goal.

The predominant public value expected to be realised by the adoption of BCT, from the administration’s internal perspective, is security, identified in 103 cases. The inherent properties of BCT, such as data immutability and secure record-keeping, make it almost impossible to manipulate data once they have been recorded. This security aspect seems to be crucial in a great variety of applications, including e-voting systems, notarisation, certification processes (such as certification academic credentials) and securing public administration data.

Efficiency (internal) is the second most commonly expected public value, cited in 47 cases. Internally, efficiency translates into reduced resources and time to achieve goals. BCT’s ability to eliminate intermediaries in public administration processes significantly reduces the resources that need to be allocated to administrative tasks. For example, in asylum processing, the use of BCT can reduce the workload of the various public agencies involved, and this is expected to be reflected externally in more efficient public services (e.g. quicker and simpler processes).

Another key value, expected to result from BCT adoption in 38 cases, is cooperativeness. BCT solutions aim to facilitate quick and reliable connections among various actors, enhancing data sharing across governmental organisations. However, interoperability challenges, such as standardisation and cross-chain interoperability, are critical to achieving this cooperativeness. An example of an initiative aimed at addressing these challenges is the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure, which provides cross-border blockchain services for public administrations.

In 32 cases, cost-effectiveness was mentioned as a key expected public value. It encompasses use cases aiming to reduce management costs and ensure that public funds are used for their intended purposes. This value includes not only direct cost savings but also ensuring that allocated public funds are used efficiently and for their intended purposes. Use cases such as smart vouchers exemplify how BCT can ensure targeted fund distribution and enhance financial accountability.

The fact that compliance with the law is an expected public value in 26 cases reflects BCT’s potential to ensure legal compliance, particularly compliance with the general data protection regulation (GDPR) and data protection laws. Many types of organisations are required to manage personal and any other types of sensitive data, such as health records, while also complying with the GDPR and, thus, protecting citizens’ privacy.

Integrity was also identified as an expected outcome in 26 cases. The integrity of information systems, ensured by BCT’s verifiable and unalterable record-keeping, is expected to be essential for maintaining the accuracy and reliability of data. For example, some cases demonstrate that BCT holds promise for applications related to data sharing management or certification and validation processes. This is due to its ability to facilitate data sharing among different parties while ensuring the integrity of information by preventing manipulation.

Robustness, identified in 11 cases, refers to BCT’s ability to maintain network functionality. The decentralised nature of blockchain networks ensures built-in robustness against errors or exceptions. For example, robustness is one of the main public values expected from pension administration systems or asylum processes based on BCT.

The values less frequently identified (in fewer than 10 cases) include scalability, adaptability, accountability to government, stability, innovation and facilitating access. These values, though less frequently mentioned, suggest potential areas for the further application of BCT in the public sector.

Among the cases whose public values expectations relate to external transformation, a diverse array of public values emerges, as shown in  Appendix 4. The most prominent among these is trustworthiness, with 106 cases citing it as a key expected outcome, and one that is necessary to improve government services for citizens. A blockchain-based public service is expected to increase citizens’ trust in the government, by securing and protecting citizens’ data while guaranteeing transparency and accountability. However, the trustworthiness of a system is dependent on the trustworthiness of the variety of actors involved in developing and managing that system. Trustworthiness is one of the key values that is expected from blockchain-based solutions and is important in all types of applications, being mentioned in 64% of the cases analysed. Cases mentioning trustworthiness as a key expected public value are wide-ranging but typically involve the participation of different actors, such as trading platforms or data sharing and management systems, different kinds of bureaucratic processes, data notarisation or digital identification.

Efficiency emerges as another significant public value, mentioned in 80 cases. In many of the cases analysed, a more efficient public service is synonymous with simplification, which in turn speeds up the process and significantly reduces the time taken. In many cases, simplification can be achieved by automating standard procedures using smart contracts, which enable real-time information to be made available directly to those involved without the need for intervention by a central authority, thus accelerating the authorisation procedure. For example, at present, some authorisations related to healthcare processes or services delivered by municipalities must be checked by several healthcare providers or authorities. This would no longer be necessary. In addition, citizens would have more control over their data and would be able to decide which actors can access additional information, if necessary.

In 61 cases, accountability was a key expected outcome of the implementation of BCT in the public sector. BCT’s ability to provide immutable data storage offers unparalleled auditability, making it ideal for applications in which traceability and information verification are critical. For example, blockchain-based solutions can be used by regional administrations to ensure the traceability of agri-food products, thus providing companies operating in this sector with a new communication tool to provide reassurance to consumers. Other examples of the use of blockchain-based solutions in the real-time verification of information include the verification of academic credentials or cross-border eligibility for social security benefits. In addition, improved accountability resulting from BCT’s data immutability and verification features will add value to processes related to the protection of intellectual property (IP). Using this type of BCT application, public administrations can maintain and verify a database of IP data objects as well as coordinate IP experts, such as lawyers, patent specialists and auditors.

Transparency, which is closely linked to accountability and trustworthiness, was found in 56 cases. BCT enables transparent data management and control, a feature that is particularly beneficial in legal transactions and when transferring medical records. Many of the use cases analysed mention all of these public values, which are closely intertwined. The use of blockchain-based solutions ensures that data management is accountable, secure and transparent, thus promoting public confidence in government services. The transparency of blockchain-based solutions is also commonly cited as a benefit of their use in legal transactions, for example, relating to property. Another use case in which transparency is enabled by blockchain-based platforms is the sharing of medical records between patients and doctors.

Enabling self-governance is a public value arising from the adoption of BCT in 53 cases. This means that BCT is expected to empower citizens to manage their digital identity and data, for example, by enabling them to view their health data and rectify errors, to decide who should have access to their personal data or to participate in initiatives that reward sustainable actions with cryptocurrency. For instance, in some municipalities, a local app encourages citizens to take concrete actions, such as recycling, using zero-emissions vehicles and other sustainable behaviours and rewards them with cryptocurrency. Self-governance is also achieved when BCT eliminates the need for intermediaries or third parties and enables citizens to perform certain processes autonomously. For example, BCT could enable graduates to obtain certificates of successful course completion at any time and without the need to contact their university.

Protecting citizens’ privacy is another important public value enabled by BCT, mentioned in 53 cases, particularly in relation to compliance with legal frameworks such as the GDPR, which was approved in 2016. The potential of BCT to ensure GDPR compliance will contribute greatly to the protection of personal data used in public administration. The cases included in this category mostly relate to data management and processing while ensuring GDPR compliance.

Usability, cited in 48 cases, focuses on developing user-friendly and accessible blockchain-based public services, while flexibility and quality, although less emphasised, are highlighted in 14 and 13 cases, respectively. These values are enabled by BCT’s adaptability and potential to improve public service standards.

In contrast to more prominent public values, certain external public values emerged less frequently in the dataset. Public values such as economic protection, fairness, competitiveness, effectiveness, integrity, sustainability, cooperativeness, openness and social cohesion were less emphasised in the blockchain cases. For instance, economic protection and fairness were identified in only two and three cases respectively, indicating that there is room for further exploration and development of BCT applications in these areas. Similarly, there is scope to use BCT initiatives to improve competitiveness and integrity in the public sector, as each of these values was identified in only nine cases.

In this section, we explore the relational public values identified in our dataset (refer to  Appendix 5), focusing on BCT’s expected impact on the interaction between public sector administrations and citizens. Despite being mentioned less frequently, these values are fundamental in shaping the nature of public engagement and the dynamics of governance processes.

Citizen involvement is by far the most prevalent relational public value and was identified in 24 of the cases analysed. This value is an expected outcome of BCT initiatives that actively engage citizens in governance, whether facilitating participatory decision-making through e-voting systems or incentivising sustainable behavioural changes. For instance, BCT programmes rewarding citizens for reducing CO₂ emissions demonstrate the technology’s role in promoting environmental sustainability.

Democracy, identified as the second most common relational public value, being identified in 11 cases, reflects BCT’s potential to strengthen democratic governance. This involves enhancing the security, transparency and integrity of voting processes. BCT solutions in this category aim to minimise the risk of manipulation in electoral processes, thus reinforcing the democratic interaction between citizens and their governments.

In five cases, improving dialogue emerges as a key expected outcome. This public value is centred on using BCT to improve communication and relationships among different stakeholders within governance processes. An illustrative example is BCT application in agri-food product traceability, where it facilitates effective communication between producers, regulatory bodies and consumers, thereby improving the overall dialogue within the supply chain.

Other public values are much less frequently mentioned. Openness is mentioned in two cases, and creativity is mentioned in a single case. In summary, most cases emphasise direct citizen involvement and democratic processes, while instances of openness and creativity are not as expected.

To enable us to identify the public values prioritised in the application of BCT, we cross-checked the public values dimensions with specific application types of BCT cases in the public sector. Exploring the specific application types of BCT cases is instrumental in pinpointing the alignment between technology deployment and targeted public sector values, revealing which type of BCT is expected to fulfil distinct public sector objectives.

Figure 1 shows that the application types most often associated with internal public values are “data sharing management”, “certification and validation processes” and “internal management processes”. Leading the way is “data sharing management”, with 52 cases, reflecting the importance of internal values such as data security and the efficiency of information exchange. This is followed closely by “certification and validation processes”, with 50 cases showing the relevance of BCT in enhancing the integrity and authenticity of official records. Thirdly, 43 cases involved “internal management processes”, highlighting BCT’s role in improving internal management, control and decision support tools to achieve public administration objectives more efficiently. These internal values suggest a strong inclination towards adopting BCT to optimise operational processes and secure data management within the public sector.

In contrast, external public values, which focus on the impact on citizens and the external environment of the public sector, are most prominently reflected in “data sharing management”, “certification and validation processes” and “registration and data notarisation processes”. “Data sharing management” leads, with 127 cases, emphasising the expected benefits of transparency and trust in public services. “Certification and validation processes”, with 108 cases, and “registration and data notarisation processes”, with 52 cases, both highlight BCT’s potential to enhance public trust through improved service delivery and the secure, transparent handling of personal and legal documents. These findings suggest that external public values are primarily driven by the need to strengthen the relationship between the public sector and citizens through trusted and efficient services.

Relational public values, which capture the interaction dynamics between the public sector and other actors, are less represented across application types. However, they are notably present in “governance and voting”, with 11 cases, and “data sharing management”, with 8 cases. This suggests that, although BCT is expected to foster citizen involvement and participatory governance, these values are afforded a lower priority than internal and external values. This might indicate that the potential of BCT to transform relational aspects of public administration is still in a nascent stage compared with applications aimed at operational efficiency and service delivery.

This study on BCT adoption in the European public sector offers a comprehensive view of the potential of BCT to reshape public administration, focusing on expected public values. The study categorises cases according to their focus on internal, external or relational transformation and the type of process, providing a useful framework for understanding the different motivations for BCT adoption in the public sector. The inductive identification of the list of public values expected to be realised with BCT is one of the main contributions of our study. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has presented such a comprehensive examination of public values specifically pertaining to BCT.

The fact that internal and external public values are predominant in our dataset provides a foundational understanding of the current trajectory and priorities in public sector BCT applications. The emphasis on external public values suggests that public administrations typically adopt an outwards-facing strategy, aiming to leverage BCT to redefine and improve the citizen–government interface. Their aim in adopting BCT initiatives is, by focusing on trustworthiness, efficiency and transparency in public services, to enhance citizen satisfaction and engagement with public services. The significant proportion of cases that prioritise transparency and accountability reflects an ambition to rebuild public trust, especially in contexts in which it may have been eroded as a result of inefficiency or opacity. This result aligns with the findings of Martin-Bosch et al. (2022) and Ahmad et al. (2021) who found that, when adopting BCT, public administrations prioritise streamlining administrative processes and fostering trust in public records management.

Our results show that most organisations prioritise external transformation and aim to improve public service provision, a goal that is justified by the findings of previous research. For example, Maragno et al. (2021b) highlighted BCT’s potential to enhance trustworthiness and responsiveness in the public sector. Moreover, some studies, such as that by Yfantis and Ntalianis (2022), have noted BCT’s potential to prevent corruption through data transparency and immutability, particularly in some sectors, such as education. This reflects our finding that the public sector places particular value on BCT’s capacity to enhance public service delivery and accountability. Nevertheless, less commonly mentioned external values, such as fairness and sustainability, indicate a gap in current BCT applications, as noted by Aburumman et al. (2020).

When examining the internal dimension, this study finds that security, efficiency and cooperativeness are the predominant public values expected to result from BCT adoption in the public sector. This aligns with the findings of Batubara et al. (2018), who emphasise the importance of BCT in enhancing transparency and preventing fraud, though they note that there remain challenges in some areas, such as security and scalability. Other internal values, such as compliance with law and integrity, were less frequently mentioned in our cases. According to Warkentin and Orgeron (2020), BCT demonstrates “non-reputability” in distributed ledgers, which bolsters internal governance systems but may fall short in addressing broader legal compliance concerns, especially in varied jurisdictional contexts.

Furthermore, examination of BCT application types reveals that the application types most often expected to deliver internal public values are those relating to data sharing management, certification and validation processes and internal management processes, suggesting that public administrations place the greatest value on BCT’s technical strengths, in particular data security, operational efficiency and financial accountability. The large number of cases relating to these domains indicates that organisations recognise BCT’s potential to strengthen the core functions of public administration through enhanced data integrity and streamlined processes. This focus on the use of BCT for internal applications can perhaps be explained by the fact that the benefits that such applications provide – or at least are expected to provide – are immediate and tangible, which can be attributed to BCT’s inherent technical properties such as immutability and decentralisation.

The study’s findings on the potential for efficiency improvements through the adoption of BCT in the public sector echo a prevalent theme in contemporary research. The ability of BCT to streamline administrative processes and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks aligns with insights from recent literature. For example, research in the field has highlighted BCT’s role in enhancing data transparency, immutability and efficiency (Cagigas et al., 2021).

Regarding relational public values, our study notes their under-representation in BCT applications, aligning with the findings of Bannister and Connolly (2014) and Maragno et al. (2021a, b). Similarly, Madan and Ashok (2023), when examining AI adoption in the public sector, found that socially oriented values, such as citizen collaboration and co-production, are rarely cited as a specific outcome expected to result from the use of AI. Likewise, Tangi et al. (2022) found that in only 12% of cases of AI implementation, the aim was to enhance socially oriented public values. The large majority of cases addressed duty-oriented or service-oriented values.

In the case of BCT, this could be explained by the technical complexities of BCT, which may limit its deployment for relational purposes, necessitating significant investment in user education, regulatory alignment and interface design. This gap in understanding or prioritising the transformative potential of BCT in fostering citizen engagement and co-creation in the public realm aligns with the findings of previous studies (Tan and Rodriguez Müller, 2023), echoing the findings of Tan and Crompvoets (2022) and Criado and Gil-Garcia (2019) on governance and regulatory complexities.

Relational uses of BCT in governance and civic engagement require organisations to navigate a maze of regulatory, legal and ethical considerations. Therefore, it could be argued that the reason for the relative infrequency of relational public values is that such values are among those that are the most challenging to achieve, as well as those providing the least benefit for public administrations, especially in the short to medium term. As the technology matures, and more pilot projects and studies emerge, we might see an increase in BCT applications that aim to enhance relational public values, potentially including initiatives that encourage citizen participation in governance through blockchain-based voting systems and community engagement platforms. The public sector must ensure that these applications comply with existing laws and regulations, including privacy laws such as the GDPR. This can be a complex process when those applications involve the use of BCT, owing to the immutable nature of the technology.

In summary, the current focus on internal and external values could also be attributed to the fact that relational applications of BCT in the public sector are still at a nascent stage. As technology matures, and more pilot projects and studies emerge, we might see an increase in BCT applications that aim to enhance relational public values. These could include initiatives that encourage citizen participation in governance through blockchain-based voting systems, community engagement platforms and programmes that incentivise civic-minded behaviours.

The analysis of the data collected allowed us to draw up a research agenda on public values dimensions and BCT adoption in the public sector (Table 2). This review takes stock of the results of the current work and suggests topics for future research and questions to be answered to continue the line of research initiated in this study.

Our analysis attempted to identify and categorise the (expected) public values associated with BCT adoption. However, as evidenced by prior research, public values often conflict with each other, necessitating decision-making and prioritisation by public administrations (Rodriguez Müller and Steen, 2019). Future studies should embrace this conflicting perspective, exploring the context-specific trade-offs between public values that are implicated in BCT adoption. This approach could provide deeper insights into the nuanced decisions that must be made when integrating such transformative technologies into public sector operations.

In addition, our data are limited by the stated public values that administrations aim to achieve through BCT implementation. This limitation also applies to the previous literature, which has mostly focused on the “potential” benefits, risks or challenges associated with BCT (see, for example, Maragno et al., 2021b; Riyoldi et al., 2023). Further research should examine whether and to what extent these intended public values are actually realised, particularly given that many BCT projects remain in the pilot phase. Longitudinal studies that track the evolution of BCT projects and their impact on public values over time will be key in identifying any gaps between initial goals and final outcomes.

Finally, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of the practical implementation of BCT within the public sector. The limited empirical foundation of real-life BCT applications hampers our ability to fully grasp how public administrations can achieve targeted public values. Future studies should, therefore, delve deeper, aiming to uncover the implementation practices that are most conducive to the realisation of public values through BCT. By examining real-world examples and drawing on practical experience, researchers can develop a richer theoretical framework that can guide public administrations in leveraging BCT to its fullest potential.

The study’s findings hold relevant implications for public managers and policymakers, as they offer some guidelines for the implementation of blockchain-based solutions in the public sector. Firstly, the results of this study could increase awareness and provide evidence of BCT’s potential to improve public services, considering the different actors involved in the decision-making processes of public administration. This evidence, viewed from a public value perspective, has the potential to enrich discussions, stimulating fruitful conversations where there is value divergence, especially of economic values, as opposed to social and relational values (Brown et al., 2021).

Secondly, the study’s findings can support public sector managers in their decision-making processes by elucidating which application types are most likely to benefit from BCT. In addition, the findings suggest that adopting a public value perspective when implementing BCT solutions has multiple benefits and, despite the conventional view, BCT is more than “merely another IT project”. This prioritisation of public values, during the implementation process of blockchain-based public services, can introduce new societal benefits and often necessitates a comprehensive transformation that spans technological, environmental, organisational and cultural dimensions. Therefore, deploying a BCT solution in the public sector is recognised as a complex endeavour that demands preliminary assessments of suitability, scalability and feasibility, alongside a pilot study, a defined roadmap for implementation and thorough risk and impact analyses (Martin-Bosch et al., 2022).

Finally, public organisations have the opportunity to enhance public values delivered to society, increasing security, transparency, efficiency, accountability and trustworthiness in a wide range of public services. This gives rise to a key implication for policymakers: the need to establish clear regulations that promote experimentation and the implementation of innovative blockchain-based solutions.

This study is not without its limitations. Firstly, the availability of public information and the search capacity of the research team constrained the completeness and representativeness of the overview of public values expectations. As a result, there may be gaps in the coverage of expected public values.

Secondly, the study relied solely on secondary data sources, which means that it was limited to the identification of declarations of as expected or achieved public values and was unable to investigate possible discrepancies between declarations and reality.

Finally, we confined ourselves to listing and enumerating public values and made no attempt to delve into potential interactions, synergies and trade-offs between different public values in the realisation of BCT projects. This limits the depth of analysis regarding the nuanced dynamics of public value realisation in BCT implementations.

Overall, this study offers a novel overview of the adoption of BCT in Europe from a public values perspective and furthers our understanding of the implications of prioritising certain public values over others in adopting BCT. In addition, the study’s emphasis on the importance of considering public values when adopting BCT aligns with previous research that has identified the need to prioritise public values to ensure the successful implementation of BCT in the public sector (Ølnes et al., 2017; Maragno et al., 2021a; Tan et al., 2022).

As BCT continues to evolve, its potential to transform public sector operations and services is becoming increasingly evident. This study provides a foundational understanding of the current implementation and future trajectory of BCT applications in the European public sector, of which the public values provided by such applications are considered the most important, offering valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners and researchers. The categorisation framework developed in this study can serve as a guide for future BCT initiatives, ensuring that they are aligned with the public values they are intended to deliver.

In conclusion, while the adoption of BCT in the European public sector has delivered promising results thus far, the technology is still at a nascent stage. The findings of this study reveal the potential benefits of implementing BCT in the public sector but emphasise the need for careful consideration of public values in the design and governance of BCT projects. The path ahead is one of the continued exploration and learning, as the public sector seeks to harness the transformative potential of BCT while navigating its challenges and ensuring the realisation of desired public values.

Figure A1 

Table A1