Blockchain Technology Adoption in the Context of Saudi Arabia: An Empirical Analysis for a Future Outlook

Cutting-edge technologies are leveraging businesses value chain in order
to advance their competitive advantage, from this standpoint blockchain
technology (BCT) gained a relative pace over the recent years demanding
for more research cases. The present study aims to contribute in
understanding the customers' acceptance of BCT in Saudi Arabia and
tested through Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Although empirical
support for TAM varies depending on the context, it remains a popular
and effective conceptual framework for analysing aspects that contribute
to technological adoption or rejection. This study was validated with the
response from 740 respondents involved with BCT adoption in companies
listed in Tadawul (The Saudi Stock Market) in Saudi Arabia through the
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) regression technique using AMOS
software. The path analysis results revealed that a reasonable fit for the
model: chi2 (2476.851), chi2 / DF (3.057), RMSEA (0.054), CFI (0.829),
and TLI (0.904). Four main factors (Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived
Usefulness, Attitude Towards Use, and Intention to Use) were identified
as a determinant of Actual use of BCT. All factors show average variance
explained greater than 45%. The research findings help understanding
User’s adoption of BCT for researchers, regulators and developers and
providing supported evidence on factors contributing to the adoption of
BCT in Saudi Arabia. The study is restricted to firms based in Saudi
Arabia. Future study will concentrate on various countries’ BCT adoption
to assess for the multi-group analysis impact on the model.