What advantages of blockchain affect its adoption in the elderly care industry? A study based on the technology-organisation-environment framework

Blockchain technology is considered a logical solution to the problems of security, privacy and trust in the collection, storage and sharing of data related to the elderly in the elderly care industry (ECI); however, its adoption in the ECI remains in its initial stage. To improve the efficiency of adopting this technology in the ECI and to facilitate decision-making by managers, this study combines the diffusion of innovation theory and the technology-organisation-environment framework models to study the factors affecting blockchain adoption intention in the ECI. In addition, the direct predictors of the relative advantages of blockchain technology in the ECI are explored. Through a questionnaire survey of 124 elderly care institutions in China, we collected 181 valid questionnaires and analysed them using a partial least squares regression structural equation model. The results show that relative advantage, corporate social responsibility, top management support and organisational readiness have a positive effect on blockchain adoption intention in the ECI, while the effects of complexity, government support and competitive pressure are insignificant. However, competitive pressure and government support can indirectly promote blockchain adoption intention by influencing top management support. Furthermore, technology trust and information security positively affect the relative advantages of blockchain technology and indirectly affect blockchain adoption intention, while privacy protection is insignificant.