Blockchains: a Systematic Multivocal Literature Review
This work provides a foundational synthesis for researchers and practitioners in blockchain, though it is incremental as it consolidates existing knowledge rather than introducing new methods or applications.
The paper tackles the problem of synthesizing the fragmented and diverse literature on blockchain technology by conducting a systematic multivocal literature review, resulting in a coherent definition and architectural overview derived from formal concept analysis and grounded theory.
Blockchain technology has gained tremendous popularity both in practice and academia. The goal of this article is to develop a coherent overview of the state of the art in blockchain technology, using a systematic(i.e.,protocol-based, replicable), multivocal (i.e., featuring both white and grey literature alike) literature review, to (1) define blockchain technology (2) elaborate on its architecture options and (3) trade-offs, as well as understanding (4) the current applications and challenges, as evident from the state of the art. We derive a systematic definition of blockchain technology, based on a formal concept analysis. Further on, we flesh out an overview of blockchain technology elaborated by means of Grounded-Theory.