Purpose

This study aims to explore the key challenges and drawbacks of smart contracts (SCs) and how they impact digital resilience within small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Whilst this type of technology is seen as a step forward in terms of traceability, transparency and immutability to increase digital resilience, we argue that it should be approached with trepidation.

Design/methodology/approach

In developing this paper, the authors conduct a systematic literature search using the Scopus database. Through this, we identified 931 relevant articles, of which 30 were used as the focus of this article. Thematic analysis was used as the analytical approach to develop themes and meaning from the data.

Findings

In this paper, there is an emphasis on the importance of understanding the potential risks associated with SC implementation, as well as identifying appropriate strategies for mitigating any negative impact. In our findings, we puts forward three key themes, namely legality, security and human error, which we argue are key smart contract challenges that impact SME digital resilience.

Originality/value

In this paper, we propose the notion of “centralised control in decentralised solutions”. This comes from the research highlighting SC weaknesses in digital resilience for SMEs. We argue that there is a need for standards, regulations and legislation to address these issues, advocating, ironically, a centralised approach to decentralised technology.

中文翻译：

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智能合约对中小企业数字弹性的挑战和缺点

 目的

本研究旨在探讨智能合约 (SC) 的主要挑战和缺点，以及它们如何影响中小企业 (SME) 的数字弹性。虽然此类技术被视为在可追溯性、透明度和不变性方面向前迈出了一步，以提高数字弹性，但我们认为应该谨慎对待它。

设计/方法论/途径

在撰写本文时，作者使用 Scopus 数据库进行了系统的文献检索。通过此，我们识别出931篇相关文章，其中30篇作为本文的重点。主题分析被用作从数据中开发主题和含义的分析方法。

 发现

本文强调了解与供应链实施相关的潜在风险以及确定减轻任何负面影响的适当策略的重要性。在我们的研究结果中，我们提出了三个关键主题，即合法性、安全性和人为错误，我们认为这是影响中小企业数字弹性的关键智能合约挑战。

 原创性/价值

在本文中，我们提出了“去中心化解决方案中的中心化控制”的概念。这是来自强调供应链在中小企业数字弹性方面的弱点的研究。我们认为，需要制定标准、法规和立法来解决这些问题，具有讽刺意味的是，我们提倡对去中心化技术采取集中化方法。