The use of Internet services is currently creating data silos that are not very transparent and can hardly be controlled. In terms of the digital sovereignty of the individual, it is therefore desirable for users to be able to decide for themselves when, how and for what purpose personal data is transmitted. The concept of self-sovereign identities addresses this point and attempts to address the current challenges of digital identity management.

On behalf of the Verbraucherzentrale NRW, I have written a (German-language) article that discusses the conceptual foundations as well as the opportunities and challenges of self-determined identities and shows how they can contribute to strengthening consumers' digital sovereignty. Please find the article here.

In our discussion paper "Mythbusting Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI)" (so far only available in German), we take current opinions about SSI in the public domain and critically examine them in the context of seven myths. An English version will most probably also be available in a couple of weeks.

Blockchain-based systems become increasingly attractive targets for cybercrime due to the rising amount of value transacted in respective systems. However, a comprehensive overview of existing attack vectors and a directive discussion of resulting research opportunities was missing up to now.

Thus, employing a structured literature review, we extracted and analyzed 87 relevant attacks on blockchain-based systems and assign them to common attack vectors. We subsequently derived a research framework and agenda for information systems research on the cybersecurity of blockchain-based systems.

We structured our framework along the users, developers, and attackers of both blockchain applications and blockchain infrastructure, highlighting the reciprocal relationships between these entities. Our results show that especially socio-technical aspects of blockchain cybersecurity are underrepresented in research and require further attention.

Please read more about our research in our latest paper published in the International Journal of Information Management (50 days' free access).

Whether companies or citizens: All of them need certificates from public authorities for submission to third parties. However, conventional paper certificates entail time-consuming processes and media disruptions. Self-governed identities with Self Sovereign Identity could fundamentally change administration. Read more about certificates by means of blockchain in our paper "Bescheinigungen mittels Blockchain neu gedacht" (in German).

Empirical evidence indicates that Enterprise Social Networks facilitate intra-organizational knowledge sharing. While organizations continue to invest in Enterprise Social Networks, many implementation projects fail due to insufficient user adoption.

Against this background, we investigated factors that influence individuals' adoption of Enterprise Social Networks in a recent research project. We thoroughly reviewed the existing literature and crafted a comprehensive adoption model. Besides commonly known adoption factors, we introduced perceived network externalities and perceived social capital advantage to account for the specific context of Enterprise Social Networks. We tested our model using structural equation modeling and empirical survey data of 155 respondents.

Our results show that perceived network externalities are by far the strongest predictor for enterprise social network adoption, followed by perceived enjoyment and perceived social capital advantage. In contrast to other studies, we find perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use to be insignificant.

Please read more about our research in our paper "Individual Enterprise Social Network Adoption: The Influence of Perceived Network Externalities and Perceived Social Capital Advantage" which has been accepted for presentation at the 17th International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI 2022) which will take place from February 21 to 23 in Nuremberg, Germany.

I am pleased to have been selected as an AIS Distinguished Member Cum Laude for my support of the Association for Information Systems through continued membership, leadership roles, and promotion of research through AIS journals.

A couple of days ago, I gave an interview on the role and career of an IT consultant (in German). The interview has now been published in the HI:TECH CAMPUS magazine.

The second volume of Digitalization Cases presents a rich compilation of real-world cases on digitalization, aiming to share first-hand insights from renowned organizations and to make digitalization tangible. With all economic and societal sectors being challenged by emerging technologies, the digital economy is highly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It confronts established organizations with substantial challenges and opportunities.

Against this backdrop, this book reports on best practices and lessons learned from organizations that succeeded in tackling the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the digital economy. It illustrates how twenty organizations leveraged their capabilities to create disruptive innovation, to develop digital business models, and to digitally transform themselves. These cases stem from various industries (e.g. automotive, insurance, consulting, and public services) and countries, covering the many facets that digitalization may have. As all case descriptions follow a unified template, they are easily accessible for readers and provide insightful examples for practitioners as well as interesting cases for researchers, teachers, and students.

The book is available here.

Know your customer (KYC) processes place a great burden on banks, because they are costly, inefficient, and inconvenient for customers. While blockchain technology is often mentioned as a potential solution, it is not clear how to use the technology’s advantages without violating data protection regulations and customer privacy.

In a recent research project, we demonstrated how blockchain-based self-sovereign identity (SSI) can solve the challenges of KYC. We followed a rigorous design science research approach to create a framework that utilizes SSI in the KYC process, deriving nascent design principles that theorize on blockchain’s role for SSI.

Please read more about our research in our latest paper published in Information & Management (50 days' free access).