Towards Blockchain Technology to Support Digital Government

Blockchain technology is considered as one of the fourth industrial revolution technologies that is transforming governments. This study systematically reviews literature on research into blockchain technologies for government with the aim to map opportunities, challenges and gaps. The main findings show that research has ignored the commercial value of blockchain for digital government with the emphasis on sharing, trust and security, as well as the ability to enhance government infrastructure and services. There is an opportunity to investigate further how blockchain could be gradually reinventing the traditional notion of government with its transactional intermediaries that are necessary for the classification of G2G, G2C or G2B. The methodological emphasis has been on the design research method, which unsurprisingly relates to the emerging nature of blockchain technology. There is a clear opportunity to begin more reflective research on emergent patterns. Limited research has been conducted in developing countries despite the leapfrogging and governance opportunities that blockchain technology presents.