Study goals
Analyze how combinations of technological, organizational, and environmental factors drive blockchain adoption in healthcare. Propose and validate a decision framework, grounded in the TOE model, through fsQCA using sector-specific evidence.
Relevance / originality
Presents an innovative perspective integrating bibliometrics, thematic analysis, and fsQCA to explain blockchain adoption in healthcare systems. The configurational approach identifies multiple viable pathways, generating evidence for theory, management, and policy in regulated contexts.
Methodology / approach
The study was structured in three sequential stages. It included bibliometric mapping from Scopus, with analysis of trends, sources, and keyword co-occurrence. Subsequently, qualitative coding in NVivo and fsQCA application were undertaken, with robustness and sensitivity testing.
Main results
Technological benefits emerge as a key driver of blockchain adoption in healthcare. Four distinct TOE factor combinations lead to success, confirming multiple viable pathways dependent on alignments or trade-offs shaped by organizational and regulatory context.
Theoretical / methodological contributions
Integrates the TOE model with a configurational perspective, refining its application in regulated digital health contexts. Demonstrates fsQCA’s utility in identifying multiple adoption pathways, strengthening its applicability in technological innovation research and sectoral policy studies.
Social / management contributions
Provides a diagnostic framework for healthcare managers and policy-makers, enabling context-sensitive planning. Supports service expansion in resource-constrained settings, strengthens data governance, reduces organizational frictions, and promotes equity, trust, and patient safety.