Intemational Journal of information Management xx (eee) axe ELSEVIER Contents lists avilable at ScienceDirect F International Journal of Information Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.comi/locaterijinfomgt 4 Blockchain, adoption, and financial inclusion in India: Research opportunities Sebastian Schuetz, Viswanath Venkatesh’ nest of kava USA the iterative on financial ncuron, adoption, and Sackehain fn Ta, and post that to resolve finan xe ‘son, the four challenges af geographical access, high cost, inappropriate barking products, and fsancal ofthese challenges. However, (or blckehainlechnolopies to became the emerson of fsancl Inclusion Iniuatives, an understanding of technology adoption in india ks needed. To guide the development of sich understanding. we develop esearch agenda on the antecedents of adoption, adopton patterns, and outcomes of adoption. Answering hese research questons wil lead i a anced understanding of adoption of bleckchals- ‘based technologies in ural Inde. The practical coneibuton ofthis paper ithe dscusionof how bocca can slleviate the sue of iaapeal excision in wal nda thereby providing ass for a solution that could connect ‘ural Indians global supply chain networks, The theoretical contribution he inthe entiation of knowledge ‘aps that shouldbe answered to achieve financial inlusion of ral Ina. 1. Introduction ‘AI the scientists and technologits should workin appropriate reson, spectically the raral technologies, to transform Indian rural sector" A P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of Ina To Abdul Kalam, the Key to India's growth isin empowering rural India tough technology. In 2017, rural India housed more than 68% of the nation’s population an 7286 ofthe workforce (Chand, Srivastava, & Singh, 2017). Tis amounts to over 700 million people that liv, work, and consume in rir India (Census of India, 2001), However, a¢ many of these villages are badly connected to local and global supply chains the ability of rural Indians to participate in global financial, trade, and labor markets is limited. This is a major impediment to economic growth that caused rural India to fll far behind urban India on virtually all incicatrs of progres, ie, GDP, employment, pavery, literacy and ‘even, health (sulunthan, 2015), The key diference between rural and ‘urban India is the access to global supply chains. While urban citizens ‘enjoy access to global markete for service, goods and labor, rural In- dians remain disenfranchised, Thus, for rual India to develop, access to supply chains is require, = Conrepending ester. ‘Bmall dire: veshstesh@vvenkateshs(¥. Venkat nups://doorg/101016/)informg: 2019 04.008 The development of mature supply chain networks in rural India hinges on financial inclusion, Financial inclusion refers to the “access t0 appropriate, low cost, fair and safe financial product and services from main-sream service providers” (Varghese & Viswanathan, 2018, p. 2). ‘Without access to financial services, such as bank accounts and gov- ferment programs, rural Indians cannot connect to supply chain net works as they lack the ability 19 make or receive electronic payments {for products and services. In 2014, this wa the reality for over 415 nillion Indians, rendering India to be one of the word’ largest “un baked” populations (Varian, 2015). To addres this issu, the Indian government immediately set financial inclusion at & nations privity Ganerjec, 2016). The financial inclusion initiatives that followed were successful in providing more rural Indians with bank accounts but have not yet ‘rogeesed to having rural indans actually using banking products snd services. This is Because rural Indians still lek physical access to f= ‘nancial institutions, financial products and services are too costly 10 ‘se, oF simply do not meet the needs ofthe targeted population who are often helplessly literate about financial topics, Due to these chal- lenges, more than 190 million people remain without a bank account (orld Bank, 2017) and only 23 percent ofthe rural Indians who have [Received 11 Febroary 2019; Received in revised form 16 April 2018; Accepted 16 Apr 2018 (0n68-4012/ 6 2019 levi Lt. Al rights reversed ‘ntps://dol org/10.1016/).jjinfomgt-2019.04.009 Please cite this article as Sebastian Schuetz and Viswanath Venkatesh, International Journal of Information Management,5 Sct and ¥. Vea ‘bank aecounts use them ceguladly (AVIS, 2017). Thus, finaneal n= ‘lusion remains a pressing problem that hinges on addressing these ‘elated issues, Blockchain technology holds the potential to connect rural Indians to local and global supply chains by resolving some of the issues faced by financial inclusion campaigns. As we will make the ease, their un- {gue abilities afford blockchain-based solutions to deliver (1) financial products and service digitally tothe doorstep, (2) cut down the costs of ‘engaging infinancal transactions, and (3) provide more suitable pro- ‘ducts. Further, do to their distributed nature, Blockchains can help rural Indians to connect to global markets. However, the general capability of blockehain technology to resolve these issues does not ensure such ef- ‘ought to improve access for rural Indians, they have only received marginal adoption (AIS, 2017). What is required isan understanding how this unique technology can receive widespread adoption among a demographic a unique as the rural Indian population. Technology adoption research is ane ofthe mast mature streams of 1S research (Venkatesh, Thong, & Xv, 2018), However, the research on adoption on blockchain and general teehnologies in rural India is stil highly limited. As most blockehain adoption research focuses on the adoption by professionals (e., Kamble, Gunasekaran, te Atha, 2018; ‘Queiroz & Wamba, 2019), itis unclear how rural Indians would adopt such a technology. Although general adoption research in rural India sheds some light on the phenomencn of adoption ané how adoption brings about economic benefits (eg, Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013; ‘Venkatesh, Sykes, & Venkatraman, 2014), eis stream of research has ‘ot examined new, complex technologies suchas blockchain. Although it ean be expected that blockehain technologies deliver distinet benefit ‘that could provide a thrust in technology adoption (Huges itis eypieal in underprivileged communities, such ain ru use simple and established, rather than more complex, technologies. ‘This isan asue Deeause the seant research on bloekehain and financial Inclusion hat suggested that blockchain adoption might be a complex ‘endeavor (Variovllemandes, 2017; Svan, 2017), Thus, although the ‘opie of adoption has received considerable research atention, adop- tion of Blockchain Based solutions by rural Indians holds its own con- textual challenges that have not been understood (see Johns, 2006, 2017) Against this backdrop, ths paper develops a research agenda that tees questions that, fanewere, wil inform our understnding of how bloekehaia-based financial inclusion initiatives ean be successful in rural India. By drawing from existing adoption research, our research ‘agenda highlights gaps that broaly relate the antecedents of adoption, “diferent adoption patterns, and outcomes of adoption inthe specie ‘contest of blockchain and ral India, Tackling new contexts, expec in developing countries and more so Indi, has been identified as an Important direction for future rseateh in this mature area (Vente, Raj Sykes, & Aljfai, 2016). Moreover, Hugs el (2018) eaution that the application of blockchain technologies requires a careful examina- tion of whether the technology brings about distinct benefits that aid the resolution ofthe problem at hand. To that end, our work serves the ‘ual outcomes of (a) highlighting blockehain as a potential solution to the issue of financial inclusion, and (b) proposing a research agenda that will be a valuable spring broad for research on technology adop- tion in general and blockchain in particular in developing counties, especially India, 2. Background In this paper, we explore how blackehain technology may help ‘overcome many of the financial inelusion challenges faced by rural India. To support this case, we frst provide the necessary background by summarizing the current state of knowledge inthis esearch domain ‘tet Jal of oman Maaco We systematically searched forall papers related to financial inclusion, India, and blockehain’ . The following sections present a narrative synthesis of the current state ofthe literature (Pace, rude, Jaana, & ‘isis, 2015). Then, we argue how blockchain solutions ean overcome the challenges for Enancialinclssion, followed by a disesion of the research gaps in Blockchain adoption research in rural India 2.1. Fancial inclusion in India ‘As noted earlier, financial inclusion refers to the “access to appro- priate, low cos, fair and safe financial products and services from main- sueam service providers” (Varghese & Viswanathan, 2018, p. 2). Wout ch acess the fran exuded anor ae advarage of the most basie financial instruments, such at affordable credi initanes, insurance products or even simple saving accounts The tones being left out are mostly marginal farmers, migrants, ethnic minorities, seniors, and women (Varghese & Viswanathan, 2018). Ror example, in 2017, the percentage of households with at least one _member having health insurance was only 6 perceat and only 26 per- cent of women had saving accounts (WAFIS, 2917) ue o financial exclusion, affected citizens need to rely on medieval practices (Table 1). In ew of bank accounts, the common practice is to store cash at home. In lieu of access to credits and insurance, the ‘common practic isto rely on savings orto borrow money from friends and family (AFIS, 2017). These practices put affected citizens at a disadvantage. Savings are more suscepti to theft or loss, parents cannot provide guarantees for school fees for their children; borrowers in need may not be able to get suficient credit from friends or family and lenders are at risk for ereit losses. Thus, nanelal exclusion is a rave economie disadvantage burdening already impoverished popu Tations : i ; "Wie wed Web of Knowledge to search fr papers published in he last years withthe Keyword combinations of () “Fiancial inion” and “indi.” (i) "Financial Inclusion” and “Blockehain," and in) “nda” and "Bloekchain” The searches returned () 75 papers (i) 3 papers, and (i) 2 papers, respectively5 Sct and ¥. Vea ‘tet Jal of oman Maaco Tablet Impees iy te provide uaanes an re io Impees oper for erepeneualvetret ‘able ‘ey Challenges ta Financ Inelsion, Key Challenge Decree 1 ako oral acess igs Canton et fo low ve etn napeopine padi sted hirer or tates, ‘ret oral vances func eons nd ak of pasar ‘Caret rode an eres oom tb eed fhe lected dogo Le, en puyneal ena ae a Sebi eeu a segue and adequate. at these challenges must be overcome gradual (ig. 1). With resolving each challenge, the portion of financially ex- ‘cluded wil shrink. However, we believe there isa hierarchy to these challenges. Resolving the challenge of access must come fist because lowering the cost, eeating adequate produes, or increasing literacy ‘ill have tle impact when products ate not avaiable inthe fist place Second, the availability of low cost products must be achieved frst before adequate products can be offered because even adeqiate pro- ‘ucts will be meaningles if they are not affordable. Third, adequate products must be offered before the population is iterate, because lit- ‘racy will have no impact if there are no suitable produets on the Fig. 1 Steps toward Finan Inchon in india ‘market (or if there are no suitable products abovt which citizens should be literate), 2.3. Ongoing inisaives toward financial inclusion 12014, nancial inclusion became a national priority ofthe Indian sovernment. This led tothe launch of Jan Dhan Yojana, « government initiative co tackle Challenge 3 by providing basi banking serves to every household in India Banerjee, 2016) In this program, bank ae counts ean be opened with zero dalances and overdraft credits are ranted after six months. Purher, customers need not provide valid ‘lenification to open accounts and ean benefit from accent and life insurance. As a result ofthis iiative, over 340 million bank accounts Ihave been opened.” In wake of this program, public and private f- ‘nancial institutions have begun to tackle Challenge 1 by increasing the number of branches across rural India and expanding their mobile banking ‘An older and successful government initiative was promoting mi- crofinance, Since the 1990s, the Indien government promoted micro finance institutions as a means to tackle Challenge 3 by providing small cxedit without the need for previous personal savings, guarantes, or txedit history. Microfinance institutions have been succesful such as ‘ith inereasing she sel-employment eat af low-income women (8s, 2008) and also helped alleviating financial inclusion in Chine (ong. ‘Tan, Xiao, Tan, & Sun, 2017), Despite the success of these initiatives to achieve much needed Improvements, the problem of financial exclusion remains grave Despite the large numberof new bank accounts opened, many of them ‘remain dormant (Banc, 2016) asthe rural poor remain constrained by access and literacy issues (Sen & De, 2018), The efforts toward in ‘creasing access remain similarly insufficient, as still only 5 percent of ‘the rural population have a commercial bank branch within reach (Varghese & Viswanathan, 2018). The potential solution to that issue, ‘mobile banking, has similarly had low adoption rates with only 1.4 percent of households using mobile banking (WAPIS, 2017). Asa result, bank-driven efforts to increase financial inckision has not led to any drastic improvements (Wanda, 2017). Further, microcredit remains texpensive and inadequate, with interest rates between 15 percent to 30 "This the Inet offical mber drawn from the natives’ goverment website c/w pmey gow iv accoun on January 28rd, 2018,percent being the norm (Phrbeck, Lon, & Gaul, 2011) and often with Inflexible repayment teem (Bnet, 2076) To achieve financial inclusion, it appears other solutions are needed. Solutions that tackle all challenges in tandem by increasing acces, ‘reducing cost, and rlsing the adequacy of financial products and ser- 24, What is Blockchain? ‘Tae advent of blockchain technologies provide a potential solution to the firs three challenges of financial inclusion. In simple terms, the term blockchain refers to distributed digital ledgers (Lacity, 20186). ‘These ledgers employ consensus protocols to create a single Version of truth, Recorded entries eannot be altered due to encryption protocle rendering the digital ledger immutable. What is posted to the blocke chain can be regarded a8 the one, unchangeable truth, These features render blockthain technologies as attractive technical solulons for f4- ‘tating Gansaetions between parties that often have different inter- ‘ests suchas lenders and borrowers or suppliers and customers. The frst Dlockehatn ledger was implemented by Nskroto (2008) to support the electronic ash system Bitcoin Blockehain can be characterized by three specifi features (Wang, Singgih, Wang. & Rit, 2029), First, blockchain is a distributed tech- nology that increases the visibility and transparency of the stored transactions (Lacity. 2018b; Wang et al. 2019). Second, as an im- ‘mutable ledger blockchain ensures a single version of truth that helps brllding crust in the stored information (Queior, Teles, & Bonills, 2019; Wang eal. 2019). Third, abloekchain allows forthe automatic ‘execution of transations (Lact, 20182). ‘These features allow blockehain to realize a range of benefits (Huge ‘a, 2019) hat are aligned with supply chain management objectives (ee. Kshetri, 2018; Queiroz etal, 2019; Queiroz & Wambs, 2019; Ying Js, & Du, 2018), For example, because a blockehain is distributed and immutable, it effectively eliminates the need for intermediaries Ciuges et), 2019; Lae, 20189). Purther, a blockchain allows forthe automated execution of contracts (Hhuges et al, 2018; Wang et al, 2019). Without intermediaries and with automated execution of con- tracts, blockchain-based supply chains ean operate more efficiently and with lower costs (Queiroz et al, 2019; Ying etal, 2018). Unsorpris- ingly, recent supply chain research thus sees much potential for the application of blockehains (See Queiroz etal, 2019 fora recent review ‘of blockchain research in the supply chain literature). Importantly, the ‘objectives for supply chains align with the challenges of financial in- ‘clusion, Further, recent research sees auch potential for blockchains to aid the UN's sustainable development agenda that includes finding solutions that addeest impoverishment and inequality ineluding, for ‘example, preventing the exploitation of ural Indian farmers (ef. ages ‘tal, 2019). To expand on this notion, we discuss next how the unique features of blockchain help avereoming the Challenges 1, 2, and 3 of financial inclusion in Inds 25. Opportunies for financial inclusion through Blockchain based solutions SLL Addresing challenge 1: access ‘Challenge 1is addressed through the fact that blockehain isa digital technology. Hence, a blockchain-based financial solution can be de livered through mobile applications. Although adoption of mobile banking apps as been low among rural Indian, the willingness to use mobile banking applications is 38 percent (AFIS, 2017). This suggests that Challenge 1 can be overcome with mobile banking if the other ‘Challenges are addressed too. As we will argue, blockchain technology holds unique potential for addressing Challenges 2 and 3 (Table 3) 25.2. Addresing challenge 2: high cost ‘One ofthe key advantages of Blockchain technology ists ability to neato neal of eration Mangement (0) ‘Tables ‘remove the need for the intermediary. Because the ledge is distributed across partiipants and governed via a consensus protocol, thd parties ace not needed to facilitate transactions (Laci, 20188), This is an important lever in reducing transaction costs tht are usually driven up by third-party fees. In contrast, blockchain-based transactions can be facilitated with very low transactions fees, For example, blockchain, implementations, such as Noaheoin', help Filipino workers in Japan perform remittance payments at » much lower cost than traditional banks. Similar would be tue for Indian foreign workers or even for low value transactions in Ina, ‘Another key factor is that blockehain reduces the time that is needed for transactions to be settled. While traditional bank trans seton may tke several work days tobe settled, blockehain transactions may settle within minutes, thus substantially reducing settlement times (aru, 2019), Ths is important because Tong setlement times might discourage the adoption of financial services when immediate money iansfer is needed. Hence, blockehaia technology allows to significantly drive down the monetary and time costs astciated with conducting financial transactions, 25.3. Addresing challenge 3: inadequate products and services ‘lockehain-based solutions might offer more suitable products to customers in three ways: (a) dgitalizing existing practices, (b) resolve urrent problems, (€) open up new opportunites to users. Fest, as we have discussed, the blockchain allows for fast and cheap transactions without the need for an intermediary. By replicating the direct, im- mediate nature of cash-based transactions, blackchain-based solutions can support the informal, peer-to-peer nature of current financial practices in rural Inia. For example, they could discus terms of bor- rowing with their family manners in an informal fashion (i, flexible payment tema), but ublize a blockchain solution to facilitate the fands transfer, The familiar fashion in hove to conduct transactions will 1 duce uncertainty and techno fear, with the direct nature of Blockchain- based transactions promoting the adoption of blockchain based tech- nologies for Financial service in India. Second, beyond digitizing existing practices, blockchain resolves further problems. A Key isue for unbanked etizens isto provide credit history and guarantees to Tenders. However, because the blockchain is, an immutable ledger, ican serve asa reliable source of ere history. I blockehain-based solutions were adopted, even for informal transie- Lions, the history of these transactions ean provide evidence of eredie worthiness, Further, the use of smart contracts, referring to automated saction protocols, can provide guarantees to individual and in stitutional lenders, ie, by enforcing loan repayments once funds are available, For these reasons, the social lending platform Kiva is in teoducing blockchain technologies in an effort to help the financially excluded in Africa (O'Neal, 2018). Finally, blockchain-based solutions would not be restricted to do- reste institutions. Because the ledger is distributed across all partic- ‘pants, rural Indians can easily tansact with anyone who is partici- ating. This allows fr acess to global financial markets with a greater Variety of products and services, Further, the globel nature of ps7 Paoaeoin or,Dlockchaln allows taking advantage of global produet and labor mar- kets, With the ability to make and receive cros-country payments, rural Indians can begin to purchase overseas products, ship their prodce ‘overseas, of undertake digital work Overall, the availabilty ofa global banking Solution would allow for rural Indians to be connected to the slobal financial, goods, and labor markets, 26. Gap in research Research on blockchain as @ means to alleviate financlal exclusion has not recognized the importance of adoption. Although there are studies that have recognized the potential of blockchain to be a key~ stone technology for future financial inclusion initiatives (Larios- Hemandez, 2017; Swan, 2027), these studies are conceptual and éo not ‘deal with the actual application of a blockchain-based solution to the problem. Sivan (2017) discusses opportunities and challenges for Dlockchain from a government perspective, Larios Hemandez (2017) takes the perspective of entrepreneurs and discusses the challenges for designing a blockchain-based solution for rural Indians. However, none fof these studies have examined the actual adoption of a blackchain= ‘based solution by rural Indians. This is a shortcoming of this yet ‘emergent literature because adoption is the erucial factor that de- termines how technology can generate favorable outcomes. For ex- ample, Venkatesh sid Sykes (2013) show that aetal use of a tech= nology influences economic benefits rural Indians can reap from that technology. However, existing financial inclusion campaigns con- sistently struggle ith adoption, Multiple studies provide accounts that technologically driven initiatives with mobile banking apps, tele-cen- ters, and information kiosks are faced with the challenge of achieving ‘widespread adoption and consequent wse among rural Indians (eg. Gollakota, 2008; Karjaluoto, Shaikh, Saarjarvi, & Saraniems, 2018 ‘Rao, 2008). Thus, the extent to which a blockchain-based solution will he successfully adopted by ths special demographie remains unknown. Although research on adoption in India isa growing body of re- search (eg, Tarafdar & Vaidya, 2006; Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013), thir literature has either not focused on rural Indians oF not focused on Dlockchaln. For example, Kamble el. (2018) and Quelror and Wamba (2018) researched the adoption of bloekchala technology in India but they studied adoption by Indian professionals, ot rural Indians. Simic larly, various studies have investigated technology adoption ln rural India, but not focused on blockchain (€g, Gollakots, 2008; Gupta & Jain, 2014; Pal, 2008; Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013), However, evidence from these studies suggests that the adoption of ICTs hold much po- tential to connect rural Indians to global supply chain networks ('l) & ‘Kumar, 2011. To the extent that rural Indians differ from Indian neato neal of eration Mangement (0) profesional, and tothe extent that blockehain technology difers from ther technologies, there Is a need for research on the adoption of Dlockehain-based applications by rural Indians, This need is situated in the broader gap on blockehain research that studies the actual appl cation ofthis emergent technology (isis & Spohrer, 2017), 3. Research opportunities Blockehain applications hold a general potential to accelerate India's financial inclusion nitatives. By overcoming Challenges 1, 2 and 3, blockchain-hased mobile banking applications could allow the ‘Bnancially excluded to take advantage of attractive, far, and low-cost financial products and services. However, for such applications to be- come reality and alleviate financial exclusion in India, many inter Felated research questions need to be answered. Due to the special context of rural india and blockehain technology, research ie needed to understand how sueh applications can be adopted and how their po tential of eliminating financial exclusion can be achieved. We see three specific areas that require in-depth research (Vig. 2), these being antecedents to adoption, modes of adoptions, and the impacts of adoption 5.1. Antecedents to adoption Inthe endeavor co alleviate financial exclusion in india through blockchain-based solutions, ti crucial to understand the factors that drive and inhibit the adoption of such solutions. Certainly, the IT fea tures of a potential application wil be a decisive fctor for widespread adoption. With features, we specifically reer to affordances that are enabled through blockchain technology such as direct transfer of funds lor access to global markets, IS research has paid significant attention to afordances such athe affordances that drive the adoption of green IS (Geidel, Recker, & Vom Beocke, 2013). Hence, there is @ unique op- portunity to contribute tothe affordances literature by srudying the specific afordances that drive the adoption of blockchaln-based solu tions among rural Indians, The benefite of blockehain technologies identified by Huges et al (2019) can erve as a springboard into the reasons why rural Indians would adopt blocKehain-based solutions. Beyond usefulness, we believe that usability if Key concetn. Not only is usability an important faetor in users adoption (eg, Venkatesh, ‘Thong, & Xv, 2012; Venkatesh, Rai etal, 2016; Venkatesh, Thong eta, 2016), but also existing research has already shown thatthe effect of ‘wability differs between cultures (ochle, Zhang, & Venkatesh, 2025). We see a need for research to further investigate the role of usability for special demographics such ae rural Indians. With « majority of rural “Antecedente ‘Adoption Trpacts Tenures sieges Eoonomieal User charactristies wien howsehols Security Provider ‘Abandonment Irnovatveness Environment Fig. 2 Research Opportunities on Adoption of Blockchalo-based Banking in fda.Indians being late adopters of I, usability might be a Key obstacte in the adoption of blockchain-based solutions. Hence, the question [RQL. What IT feanwes drive adoption hough increasing usefulness and sail? Tre rural Indian population isa very snique user demographic. We believe that the special user characteristics of thie demographic will have a profound impact on how these wets adopt the technology, The impact of user characteristics on adoption is already a popular research stream. Existing studies have explored how elderly (eg. Nichaves & Plattfaur, 2024), women (eg, Venkatesh & Moris, 2000), or less technological literate people’ adopt technology (eg, Agger “Keyscynsk, Mid, &Singh, 2015). However, few studies have explored the special demographics of rural India, where expecially education and income play a major role in individuals’ ability to adopt and use tech- nology (Venkatesh etal, 2014). With the majority of rural Indians ‘being remote, uneducated, and poor, it remains poorly understood how these populations approach technology. It will thus be important for future research to answer the following question 1RQ2. What wer characterises (eg, location, ag, education, income) drive adoption? The adoption of a blockchain-based banking app may be heavily ‘dependent upon the provider. A potential technology-based solution ‘could he provided by the government private or public banks, or third ‘pariers within or outside Inia. The provider will not only impact how users develop trust in the solution (Gefen, Karahanna, & Straub, 2003), but also what support can and willbe provided. Studies have suggested that sere adoption behavior i influenced by the availability of peer and institutional support structures (Sykes, Venkatesh, & Gosain, 2008; Thatcher, ought, Liss, & MeKaight, 2007). Specifically, in rural ini, ‘where information is disseminated orally (Venkatesh & Sykes, 2013), i remains unclear how providers ean effectively stimulate adoption. As Gollakota (2008) deseribe, est providing rural Indians with technology ‘does not guarantee succesful adoption, Thus, to ensure the success of technology-based initiatives, research must answer the folowing ‘question: RQS. What provider characteristics (eg, support, rust) drive adoption? Whether a blockchain-based solution will be succesfully adopted will also depend on external variables (Venkatesh et al, 2012; ‘Venkatesh, Raj et al, 2016; Venkatesh, Thong et al, 2016). To support the use cases that blockehain-based applications make for rorl Indians, a great number of other users and financial product and service pro- viders need to adopt the application. Further, chese financial service providers need to make adequate offerings. Hence, the utility of the pplication depends on network externalities and market character- isles, We thus need to answer the following question: [QA What environmental variables (eg, network externalities, market characteristics) drive adoption? Although these general factors will all adoption rates, key question is to what extent one factor may compensate for another. For example, how much ean good usability (TT features) compensate for a lack of technological literacy (user characteristic)? To What extent can ex planations (IT features) increase users trust in the technology (pro- vider)? When does access to attractive products (environment) out- ‘weigh usability. problems (IT features) or illiteracy (user ‘characterstics)? Answering these questions willbe important to un~ derstand how technology-based initiatives ean overcome not only ‘Challenges 2 and 3, but also Challenge 4. Hence, we propose the fol- lowing question 1RQS. How do antecedents to adoption interplay and inerelate in the context of adopting a lockchain based mobile banking application? neato oral eration Mangement (020) 32. Adoption ‘The next challenge isto understand how the adoption of blockchain- based banking solutions would vnfold among rural Indians. A frst consideration is to what degree these technologies are adopted, To close the gap betvicen financially excluded and included, some rudimentary adoption of base features while keeping most of the traditional prac- tices in place might not be suficient. It i hence important to wnder- stand which features users adopt first (Le. storing wealth, wansfering ‘money), and whether and wihes they migrate tothe adoption of more advanced features (Le, purchasing products online, taking loans from strangers). Hence, an important question is: [RQ6. Which features are adopted fst? How does the adoption of specific feates charge overtime? Given the digital divide in India, itis questionable whether such blockchain-based solutions should be adopted by every individual, Because not every rural Indian (Le, elderly, impaired, or impoverished) nas had excessive experience or accesso current digital technologies, {hele technologies illiteracy can be a Key obstacle to adoption. While prior research has suggested that US households adopt technology for personal use, work, or opportunites for children (BcoWs te Venkatesh, 2005; Venkatesh & Brown, 2003), household adoption in rural India might be driven by other factors such ar by children 0 as to enable opportunities for the parents and the elderly. Along those lines, Zhang 1nd Marvping (2008) propose that culture may affect what drives household adoption. To understand the specifies of household adoption in rural India, we suggest exploring the following questions [RQ7. How is adoption fattated ina household? Is tone per perzon? The ead ofthe household? How would other members adopt? Beyond the initia adoption, iis important to understand if and why 4 blockchain-based technology would be abandoned, Just a8 the ma Jority of bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana initiative Thecame inactive after initial aetvation, € i reasonable to expecta sc mila fate (© befall other technology initiatives. Some research has suggested that technology can be abandoned for @ number of reasons, such as when inital expectations are not met (Bhattacherjee, 2001), when the technology is too inconvenient (Sccinbart, Keith, & Babb, 2016), oF when users overestimated their ovn abilities to wse the technology efficiently (Aggarwal et al. 2015). Likely, here are context- specific feasone for which rural Indians abandon technology alter adoption. Hence, there is an opportunity to add novel knowledge by exploring the question QS. What lads rural indians to abandon or dacontinue ther adoption? 3.3. Outcomes ‘To the end of alleviating financial exclusion, future research must study how the adoption of blockehain-based solutions improve the conditions forthe financially excluded. A key factor that we need to ‘understand are hence economic impacts. Some research has already reported that technology use can improve the income of rural Indians (Venkatesh & Sykes, 2015), or that technology can reduce infant mor- tality (Venkatesh, Rai ct al, 2016; Venkatesh, Thong ct al, 2016). Al though these studies report findings that answer whether adoption can improve the lives of rural Indians, there remains much opportunity to study in how bloekchain ean be leveraged to further these outcomes in a scalable fashion. For example, how éo rural Indians have more money at their disposal after adoption (Le, trough lower transaction cst, Dester saving products or investments)? How does technology protect rural Indians from blows of fate? Future research must henee answer the following question5 Sct and ¥ Vath RQB. How does adoprion lead ro econamic impacts (Le, more money, less Ps) for ndviduas? Aside from economic impacts, the adoption of blockchain-based ‘banking solutions will have substantial security impacts, While storing money digitally inereases the security of funds against physical theft ‘opens up rural Indians o a vast array of eybersecurity threats, CGyberthreats, such as phishing seams or malware (Jensen, Ding, Wright, & Thaceher, 20179, ean defraud rural Indians. Researeh has shown that users with low experience with eyberthreats are especially suseepuble (Wright & Maret, 2010) Thus, rural Indians ae specifically at risk because of ther limited experience and technological literacy Hence, successful adoption of blockehain-based applications entails mitigating cybersecurity because without that the benefits will not ‘outoteigh the risks. We thus suggest the following question RQLO. How does adoption impact the seewiy Cphysical as well as Information) of rare Indians? ‘Tae adoption of blockchain-based banking will llow rural Indiene to access global markets. Such acces allows for vastly new opporsi- nites. Ftom trading produets, taking up employment, to partnering ‘ith foreign firms, rural Indians will have unprecedented potential for novel, innovative ventures. I wll be important to understand the role ‘technology-based interventions have on eneouraging and enabling the Innovativeness of rural Indians. Henee, we [propose the folowing ‘question: [RQLL. How does adopion influence the tmovativenes of rural Indians? Taken together, these research questions formulate a research, agenda that will allow fature studies to make substantial contributions to the current literature on Mlockchain adoption and financial inclusion in ral India, The main contribution of our work i thus to fa) explain ‘how a blockchain-based solution could overcome the challenges of f= ‘ancal inclusion in India, and to (b) guide future research to make ‘theoretical contributions tothe erature, Although (a) is important to fulde research efforts toward an opportunity that could alleviate the Pressing ise of financial exchision that is currently suffered by hun- ‘reds of millions of indians, (6) i important to provide structure and direction to the currently emerging and thus highly unstructured Dlockehain literature. Further, we hope to spur future research on Dlockehalas inthe contexte of this important issue 4. Conclusion By resolving challenges to financial inclusion, blockehain tech- nology holds the potential to connect rural Indias to local and global supply chains. To unfold their potential, blockehain-based solutions require extensive adoption by rural Indians. As technology adoption (and specifically blockchain technology adoption) in emerging markets such as rural India remains under-researched, an attractive opportunity for high-impact research emerges. To guide research efforts into this direction, we propose several researeh questions on the antecedents, ‘outcomes, and patterns of blockehaintechnology adoption in rural India. Answering these questions will lead to important contextual ‘knowledge that can guide blockchain-based financial inclusion cam palgns which will connect rural Indians to global financial, tades, and Tabor markets References Agr R, Reson. 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