Blockchain evolution and management theoretical (BEMT) model based on integrated semantic similarity and co-citation analysis for next generation service industry

The emergent blockchain technology has led to the transformation of knowledge-based economies and business innovation. Yet, there is a lack of research models to explain the development and evolution of blockchain technology in the management and financial applications. This study adopted a co-citation analysis based on the correlation matrix of highly cited papers extracted from the Web of Science to develop a related theory named the BEMT model. We systematically reviewed 91 publications that fit our inclusion and exclusion criteria and had co-citations associated with similar intellectual studies. The articles were reduced to seven research themes and four clusters in technology and financial, security, application, and digital platforms and network management across four stages of blockchain evolution. based on the factor analysis and the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The results are concluded by a management theoretical model to explain the evolution of blockchain and technology management in the service industry. We firstly employed semantic similarity and co-citation analysis to explore the relationship among relevant research, clustering it into distinct main focuses across different periods. We addressed the existing issue of insufficient organization of existing articles and developed a theoretical model to systematically explain the experimental observations. This article provides important theoretical and management implications in explaining the blockchain evolution from blockchain 1.0 to 4.0 based on how digital information is being processed and managed for future development of applicational features.