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Achieving economic sustainability: operations research for risk analysis and optimization problems in the blockchain era

  • S.I.: OR for Sustainability in Supply Chain Management
  • Published:
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Abstract

In the digital era, achieving economic sustainability requires proper management of risk with deployment of technologies. In this paper, we discuss how the popular blockchain technology can be applied for risk analysis and optimization (RAO) in real-world oriented operations research (OR) problems. We first present the OR approach and examine the related literature for some critical topics and key research issues in RAO. Then, we present the features and functions of blockchain technology. After that, we propose how the blockchain technology can be applied to support different steps in the OR approach and enhance our investigation and real-world applications of RAO models. Finally, we discuss future research directions and establish a research framework.

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Notes

  1. For non-separable problems, see Li and Haimes (1990) for an early important study.

  2. In the literature, supply chain coordination commonly refers to the case when the supply chain is optimized under the respective gaming structure (Xu et al., 2015).

  3. https://coinmarketcap.com/ico-calendar/ (accessed 19 July 2021).

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by Yushan Fellow Program (NTU-110VV012). Before closing, I would like to dedicate this paper in memory of my teacher Professor Duan Li (1952-2020). Professor Li is a very special teacher to me as he is my research advisor in my undergraduate, master and doctoral studies. He is a very humble, kind and knowledgeable professor. Professor Li’s contribution to the field of RAO and financial engineering is huge. In this paper, many of his research and theories are applied to help advance RAO. I am sure his impactful research will benefit generations of future research in RAO. I am very proud of being Professor Li’s student and he will always be missed.

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  1. Department and Graduate Institute of Business Administration, College of Management, National Taiwan University, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan, ROC

    Tsan-Ming Choi

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This paper discusses how the popular blockchain technology can be applied for risk analysis and optimization in real-world oriented OR problems, which is critically important to achieve economic sustainability. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first paper which examines this topic. The findings, such as the identified critical topics and key research issues in RAO, are new. The discussions on how the blockchain technology can be applied to support different steps in the OR approach and enhance our investigation and real-world applications of RAO models are novel. Finally, a research framework is established which lays the solid foundation for further studies in the area.

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Correspondence to Tsan-Ming Choi.

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Choi, TM. Achieving economic sustainability: operations research for risk analysis and optimization problems in the blockchain era. Ann Oper Res (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04394-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-021-04394-5

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