---
_id: '65310'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Trust between client and consultant is perhaps the most important asset in
    con-sulting, as this is a highly intangible knowledge-intensive business that
    concerns is-sues of outstanding strategic and operational importance for the customers.
    Cli-ents who have not worked with a particular consultancy face considerable risk
    when they place an order while lacking reliable information about the service
    quality they can expect. There is a strong link between trust and reputation,
    as the positive reputation of a consultancy can act as a substitute for a new
    client’s missing individual experience with the provider, fostering trust in the
    service quali-ty. Thus, creating, maintaining, and demonstrating a good reputation
    is of signifi-cant importance for consultancies in a very competitive industry.\r\nTo
    facilitate trustworthy signals, we design and implement a novel reputation mechanism
    that carries a monetary weight stored on a blockchain network as an immutable,
    decentralized, and transparent ledger. Based on an implementation in the Ethereum
    network and subsequent evaluation, we conclude that the reputation mechanism can
    contribute to leveling information asymmetry and reducing risk while increasing
    reputation and trust. The mechanism lends itself to being used in other business-to-business
    scenarios that suffer from similar information asymmetries."
author:
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Hemmrich, Simon
  id: '83557'
  last_name: Hemmrich
- first_name: Volker
  full_name: Nissen, Volker
  last_name: Nissen
citation:
  ama: 'Hemmrich S, Nissen V. A blockchain-based reputation system for consulting.
    In: Nissen V, ed. <i> Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization
    – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry.
    Springer.</i> ; 2026.'
  apa: Hemmrich, S., &#38; Nissen, V. (2026). A blockchain-based reputation system
    for consulting. In V. Nissen (Ed.), <i> Advanced Studies in Consulting Research
    and Digitalization – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the
    Consulting Industry. Springer.</i>
  bibtex: '@inbook{Hemmrich_Nissen_2026, title={A blockchain-based reputation system
    for consulting}, booktitle={ Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization
    – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry.
    Springer.}, author={Hemmrich, Simon and Nissen, Volker}, editor={Nissen, Volker},
    year={2026} }'
  chicago: Hemmrich, Simon, and Volker Nissen. “A Blockchain-Based Reputation System
    for Consulting.” In <i> Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization
    – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry.
    Springer.</i>, edited by Volker Nissen, 2026.
  ieee: S. Hemmrich and V. Nissen, “A blockchain-based reputation system for consulting,”
    in <i> Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization – A Scientific
    Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry. Springer.</i>,
    V. Nissen, Ed. 2026.
  mla: Hemmrich, Simon, and Volker Nissen. “A Blockchain-Based Reputation System for
    Consulting.” <i> Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization –
    A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry.
    Springer.</i>, edited by Volker Nissen, 2026.
  short: 'S. Hemmrich, V. Nissen, in: V. Nissen (Ed.),  Advanced Studies in Consulting
    Research and Digitalization – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation
    of the Consulting Industry. Springer., 2026.'
date_created: 2026-04-02T04:06:47Z
date_updated: 2026-04-02T04:32:01Z
department:
- _id: '195'
editor:
- first_name: Volker
  full_name: Nissen, Volker
  last_name: Nissen
extern: '1'
keyword:
- Reputation Systems
- Consulting
- Design Science Invention
- Incentive
- Blockchain
- Monetary ratings
- building trust
- reduce information asymmetry consulting
- B2B reputation system
- consulting risk reduction
- supplier evaluation system
language:
- iso: eng
publication: ' Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization – A Scientific
  Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry. Springer.'
publication_identifier:
  unknown:
  - 978-3032173836
publication_status: published
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: A blockchain-based reputation system for consulting
type: book_chapter
user_id: '83557'
year: '2026'
...
---
_id: '60050'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Reputation systems to rate companies’ performances remain largely unexplored
    inresearch and are scarcely used in business-to-business (B2B) practice. Such
    systemsare essential for businesses seeking trustworthy partners, as they help
    reduce infor-mation asymmetry, lower buyers’ transaction risks, and allow high-quality
    serviceproviders to justify premium pricing. Unlike traditional review-based systems
    in thebusiness-to-consumer (B2C) context, we propose a B2B reputation mechanism
    inwhich buyers commit to a rating payment before a transaction. Once the buyer
    final-izes the rating, this payment is executed and recorded on a blockchain as
    an immu-table, secure ledger. Our system mimics natural trust-building mechanisms
    with rat-ings that are (1) monetary-based, (2) stake-based, (3) non-aggregated,
    (4) involvecounter-ratings, (5) selectively sellable, (6) individually comparable,
    (7) stored ona blockchain, (8) and monitored by a third instance. This system
    provides a novelapproach to fostering trust in B2B transactions by reducing information
    asymme-try and transaction risk. We illustrate the mechanism’s application in
    the consultingsector. Our analysis has identified 23 institutional trust and distrust
    dimensions thatpromote establishing institutional trust through the proposed mechanism.
    Qualita-tive interviews suggest that, while complex and challenging to apply,
    this mecha-nism can foster trust in B2B transactions. Given the low maturity in
    the applicationdomain—rating professional business services with business reputation
    systems—and solution domain—using monetary stakes for ratings, this system stands
    as apotential invention.
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Hemmrich, Simon
  id: '83557'
  last_name: Hemmrich
- first_name: Volker
  full_name: Nissen, Volker
  last_name: Nissen
- first_name: Daniel
  full_name: Beverungen, Daniel
  id: '59677'
  last_name: Beverungen
- first_name: Josias Daniel Miño
  full_name: Pauls, Josias Daniel Miño
  last_name: Pauls
citation:
  ama: 'Hemmrich S, Nissen V, Beverungen D, Pauls JDM. Blockchain‑based reputation
    systemsfor business‑to‑business services: designing a reputation mechanism to
    reduce information asymmetry in professional consulting. <i>Information Systems
    and e-Business Management</i>. 2025;23(1). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>'
  apa: 'Hemmrich, S., Nissen, V., Beverungen, D., &#38; Pauls, J. D. M. (2025). Blockchain‑based
    reputation systemsfor business‑to‑business services: designing a reputation mechanism
    to reduce information asymmetry in professional consulting. <i>Information Systems
    and E-Business Management</i>, <i>23</i>(1). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>'
  bibtex: '@article{Hemmrich_Nissen_Beverungen_Pauls_2025, title={Blockchain‑based
    reputation systemsfor business‑to‑business services: designing a reputation mechanism
    to reduce information asymmetry in professional consulting}, volume={23}, DOI={<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>},
    number={1}, journal={Information Systems and e-Business Management}, publisher={Springer},
    author={Hemmrich, Simon and Nissen, Volker and Beverungen, Daniel and Pauls, Josias
    Daniel Miño}, year={2025} }'
  chicago: 'Hemmrich, Simon, Volker Nissen, Daniel Beverungen, and Josias Daniel Miño
    Pauls. “Blockchain‑based Reputation Systemsfor Business‑to‑business Services:
    Designing a Reputation Mechanism to Reduce Information Asymmetry in Professional
    Consulting.” <i>Information Systems and E-Business Management</i> 23, no. 1 (2025).
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>.'
  ieee: 'S. Hemmrich, V. Nissen, D. Beverungen, and J. D. M. Pauls, “Blockchain‑based
    reputation systemsfor business‑to‑business services: designing a reputation mechanism
    to reduce information asymmetry in professional consulting,” <i>Information Systems
    and e-Business Management</i>, vol. 23, no. 1, 2025, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>.'
  mla: 'Hemmrich, Simon, et al. “Blockchain‑based Reputation Systemsfor Business‑to‑business
    Services: Designing a Reputation Mechanism to Reduce Information Asymmetry in
    Professional Consulting.” <i>Information Systems and E-Business Management</i>,
    vol. 23, no. 1, Springer, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9</a>.'
  short: S. Hemmrich, V. Nissen, D. Beverungen, J.D.M. Pauls, Information Systems
    and E-Business Management 23 (2025).
date_created: 2025-05-28T08:12:28Z
date_updated: 2026-04-02T04:32:13Z
ddc:
- '000'
department:
- _id: '195'
doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9
external_id:
  unknown:
  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9
file:
- access_level: closed
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: hemmrich
  date_created: 2025-05-28T08:05:18Z
  date_updated: 2025-05-28T08:05:18Z
  file_id: '60051'
  file_name: Hemmrich_et_al-2025-Information_Systems_and_e-Business_Management.pdf
  file_size: 1440251
  relation: main_file
  success: 1
file_date_updated: 2025-05-28T08:05:18Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        23'
issue: '1'
jel:
- D81
- D82
- L86
- L10
- M30
keyword:
- Information asymmetry
- Trust
- Reputation system
- Monetary rating
- Blockchain
- Consulting
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10257-025-00702-9?sharing_token=fOiWqZx_ScKFAKjxu5UqWPe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY6mjxpZFPB3OtpVT0rAZf9eEBt3_qXIVcZ67l3R9JVYasmuCsIimzE-xfP0N5Rimun248j0jFOnL1eBu4rypKSDFnbmR3kJ5xx-HLnCXvPvQPwpm09qOkS9GSNsiG-du60%3D
oa: '1'
publication: Information Systems and e-Business Management
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: 'Blockchain‑based reputation systemsfor business‑to‑business services: designing
  a reputation mechanism to reduce information asymmetry in professional consulting'
type: journal_article
user_id: '83557'
volume: 23
year: '2025'
...
---
_id: '49785'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: "Reputation is indispensable for online business since it supports customers
    in their buying decisions and\r\nallows sellers to justify premium prices. While
    IS research has investigated reputation systems mainly\r\nas review systems on
    online platforms for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions, no proper solutions\r\nhave
    been developed for business-to-business (B2B) transactions yet. We use blockchain
    technology to\r\npropose a new class of reputation systems that apply ratings
    as voluntary bonus payments: Before a\r\ntransaction is performed, customers commit
    to pay a bonus that is granted if a service provider has\r\nperformed a service
    properly. As opposed to rival reputation systems that build on cumulated ratings\r\nor
    reviews, our system enables monetized reputation mechanisms that are inextricably
    linked with online\r\ntransactions. We expect this system class to provide more
    trustworthy ratings, which might reduce\r\nagency costs and serve quality providers
    to establish a reputation towards new customers, building on\r\nsecond-order trust."
author:
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Hemmrich, Simon
  id: '83557'
  last_name: Hemmrich
citation:
  ama: 'Hemmrich S. Business Reputation Systems based on Blockchain Technology—A Risky
    Advance. In: <i>Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information Systems
    (ECIS 2023)</i>. ; 2023.'
  apa: Hemmrich, S. (2023). Business Reputation Systems based on Blockchain Technology—A
    Risky Advance. <i>Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information Systems
    (ECIS 2023)</i>.
  bibtex: '@inproceedings{Hemmrich_2023, title={Business Reputation Systems based
    on Blockchain Technology—A Risky Advance}, booktitle={Proceedings of 31st European
    Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2023)}, author={Hemmrich, Simon}, year={2023}
    }'
  chicago: Hemmrich, Simon. “Business Reputation Systems Based on Blockchain Technology—A
    Risky Advance.” In <i>Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information Systems
    (ECIS 2023)</i>, 2023.
  ieee: S. Hemmrich, “Business Reputation Systems based on Blockchain Technology—A
    Risky Advance,” Kristiansand, 2023.
  mla: Hemmrich, Simon. “Business Reputation Systems Based on Blockchain Technology—A
    Risky Advance.” <i>Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information Systems
    (ECIS 2023)</i>, 2023.
  short: 'S. Hemmrich, in: Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information
    Systems (ECIS 2023), 2023.'
conference:
  location: Kristiansand
date_created: 2023-12-18T12:55:32Z
date_updated: 2024-04-15T13:33:21Z
jel:
- D47
- D82
- D81
- E42
keyword:
- Trust
- Risk
- Reputation System
- Blockchain Technology
- Business Reputation System.
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2023_rip/51/
oa: '1'
publication: Proceedings of 31st European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS
  2023)
publication_status: published
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Business Reputation Systems based on Blockchain Technology—A Risky Advance
type: conference
user_id: '83557'
year: '2023'
...