What drives blockchain technology adoption in the online advertising ecosystem? An interview study into stakeholders’ perspectives

This study examines factors that encourage and discourage blockchain technology adoption in the online advertising ecosystem from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts and analysed through the lens of the Interactive Communication Technology Adoption Model (ICTAM) as a guiding framework. The findings reveal that all factors of the ICTAM (system, audience, social, technology, adoption, and use) influence blockchain adoption simultaneously and often in contradictory ways. This study has several contributions. It is among the first to investigate blockchain adoption in online advertising, and from a communication perspective. It extends the application of the ICTAM to a whole ecosystem perspective and identifies which factors are essential for successful blockchain adoption in online advertising. The study concludes that while blockchain technology is a promising solution to challenges afflicting online advertising, more education about blockchain’s potential, favourable regulation, and ready-to-use applications are needed before wide-scale adoption can be realised.