Blockchain Management: Strategic Applications, Governance, Challenges and Future Directions

Blockchain is no longer discussed only in connection with cryptocurrencies. Firms, public agencies and industry consortia now examine it as a way of recording, verifying and coordinating transactions that involve several independent parties. The managerial value of a blockchain, however, is not inherent in the technology. It depends on whether a shared ledger solves a real coordination problem, whether participants accept the rules that govern the network, and whether the expected gains outweigh the cost of building and running it. This conceptual review organises the topic around five linked dimensions: strategic fit, organisational and inter-organisational governance, operational applications, risk management, and implementation capability. Drawing on published reviews of blockchain applications, supply-chain integration, adoption barriers and sustainability, the paper explains how distributed ledgers and smart contracts can support traceability, common records, process automation and accountability. It also sets out the constraints that managers routinely underestimate, including the quality of data entering the ledger, scalability, privacy, interoperability, regulatory uncertainty, energy use, skills shortages and the uneven bargaining power of network members. The paper argues that blockchain should be managed as a socio-technical, ecosystem-level investment rather than as a self-contained information technology project. A six-stage adoption framework is proposed, moving from problem definition and suitability testing through consortium design, controlled piloting and selective scaling to continuous assurance. The review closes with a research agenda on realised value, consortium governance, adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the link between blockchain and sustainable business performance. Keywords: Blockchain management; distributed ledger technology; organisational governance; smart contracts; supply chain management; digital transformation; risk management; sustainability. Title: Blockchain Management: Strategic Applications, Governance, Challenges and Future Directions Author: Dr. Chong Guat Kit, Dr. P. Ravindran Pathmanathan, Dr. Venkatesh Karanam International Journal of Management and Commerce Innovations ISSN 2348-7585 (Online) Vol. 14, Issue 2, October 2026 - March 2027 Page No: 83-90 Research Publish Journals Website: www.researchpublish.com Published Date: 21-October-2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23535503 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/blockchain-management-strategic-applications-governance-challenges-and-future-directions