Designing a Roadmap for Blockchain Deployment in Data Governance and Intellectual Property of Universities: A Causal Analysis Using the Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach

The present study aims to identify, analyze, and explain the causal structure of the factors affecting the implementation of blockchain technology in the management of university intellectual property, as well as to prioritize these factors for effective policy and executive interventions. Given the capacities of blockchain technology for immutable and time-stamped data recording, increasing transparency in research processes, tracing the provenance of research data, facilitating intellectual property rights management, and enabling smart contract execution, this technology offers considerable potential for data governance in universities. Accordingly, there is a clear need for a coherent analytical model to understand the interrelationships among the factors influencing its implementation. This study seeks to fill this gap by providing a causal, network-based, and hierarchical understanding of these factors in order to clarify the path for designing a blockchain implementation roadmap in university environments.



This research is applied in nature and was conducted using an exploratory–analytical mixed-method approach. In the first stage, through a systematic review of the theoretical foundations and previous studies in the fields of blockchain, data governance, intellectual property management, and university information systems, the key factors influencing blockchain implementation were identified and categorized into major dimensions and operational indicators. In the second stage, the fuzzy DEMATEL method was employed to analyze the causal relationships among the identified factors. For this purpose, expert judgments were collected from specialists in information technology, science and technology policy, and university management, and the direct-relation matrix among the factors was constructed using fuzzy linguistic scales. The matrix was then normalized, and the total-relation matrix was calculated. Subsequently, the indices of influence and influenced degree (D and R), as well as prominence and relation indices (D+R and D−R), were computed. Based on these values, the cause–effect diagram of the factors was drawn and the network structure of their influence and interdependence was determined.



The findings revealed that data governance is the most significant driving factor and has the highest prominence among the factors affecting blockchain implementation. This component not only plays an independent and decisive role but also has the greatest capacity for chain and multi-layered effects on other variables within the university intellectual property system. The results also showed that data standards and system interoperability, as a synergistic technical cluster, play a key role in enabling blockchain functionalities in the university context. In contrast, security and especially user acceptance were mainly categorized as effect factors, indicating that rather than being improved independently, these variables are largely shaped by the strengthening of institutional drivers, governance mechanisms, and data infrastructure.



Based on these findings, it is suggested that the roadmap for blockchain implementation in universities should begin with strengthening data governance, developing data standards, and improving system interoperability. In the subsequent phase, it is necessary to complete the legal requirements for intellectual property, expand the use of smart contracts in research processes, and design human resource capacity-building and data literacy enhancement programs so that security, trust, and user acceptance can be improved in a sustainable manner. The main innovation of this study lies in proposing a causal–network framework for prioritizing interventions and distinguishing between driving factors and key outcomes in the implementation of blockchain for university intellectual property management. This framework can serve as a practical guide for policymakers and university administrators in planning and implementing blockchain-based solutions.