Blockchain Adoption in Assurance Practice: The Role of Trust, Governance, and Behavioral Intention

Abstract

Blockchain technology has the potential to improve transparency, data integrity, and efficiency within accounting and assurance practices. However, adoption among professionals remains limited despite strong conceptual alignment with the objectives of verification and trust. This dissertation examines the factors influencing blockchain adoption in the assurance profession by integrating established technology adoption theories with constructs specific to decentralized systems. Building on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this research develops and tests extended frameworks that incorporate distributed trust, governance, smart contracts, and prior experience with decentralized systems. Data were collected from Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results indicate that trust is a central determinant of adoption and serves as a mediating mechanism between blockchain system characteristics and behavioral intention. Governance and distributed trust significantly influence trust formation, which in turn affects perceived usefulness, subjective norms, and intention to adopt. Prior experience with distributed trust environments also positively influences trust, suggesting that familiarity reduces resistance to decentralized verification models. Additionally, the integrated TAM and TPB framework provides greater explanatory power than either model alone. This dissertation contributes to the literature by demonstrating that blockchain adoption represents a shift in trust from institution-based mechanisms to protocol-based systems. It extends traditional adoption models by incorporating blockchain-specific constructs and provides a more comprehensive framework for understanding adoption in decentralized environments. The findings offer practical implications for practitioners and policymakers by emphasizing the importance of governance structures, regulatory clarity, and user exposure in facilitating blockchain adoption within assurance practice.