@inbook{65310,
  abstract     = {{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.
To 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       = {{Hemmrich, Simon and Nissen, Volker}},
  booktitle    = {{ Advanced Studies in Consulting Research and Digitalization – A Scientific Update on the Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry. Springer.}},
  editor       = {{Nissen, Volker}},
  keywords     = {{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}},
  title        = {{{A blockchain-based reputation system for consulting}}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}

@phdthesis{65309,
  author       = {{Hemmrich, Simon}},
  keywords     = {{Reputation Systems, Rating systems, monetary ratings, incentive mechanism, systems theory, Market coordination, advanced review system}},
  pages        = {{347}},
  publisher    = {{Universität Paderborn}},
  title        = {{{A Design Theory for Blockchain-Based Reputation Systems : Trust and Coordination in B2B Markets}}},
  doi          = {{https://doi.org/10.17619/UNIPB/1-2414}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}

@inproceedings{54916,
  abstract     = {{Reputation systems for companies to rate each other's performance are largely unexplored in research and hardly available in practice. However, these systems are relevant for prospective buyers to find a trustworthy seller. This observation applies especially to short-lived business relationships where fulfilling the performance promise is subject to a high degree of uncertainty. This paper explores the value of a reputation system for a business-to-business (B2B) context and focuses on three novel solutions for designing reputation systems. These solutions include selling ratings, conducting ratings as payments, and employing a counter-rating mechanism. We interview buyers to fathom the added value of these solutions in different contexts. Our findings suggest that such a system is useful for companies acting in less transparent markets and also helps when companies already have a good market overview. Depending on the market conditions and business context, the perceived value of the proposed system varies.}},
  author       = {{Hemmrich, Simon and Schäfer, Jannika Marie and Hansmeier, Philipp and Beverungen, Daniel}},
  booktitle    = {{Proceedings of the 57th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences}},
  keywords     = {{Electronic Marketing, business-to-business, new design approach, reputation systems, value for buyers.}},
  location     = {{Honolulu}},
  title        = {{{The Value of Reputation Systems in Business Contexts–A Qualitative Study Taking the View of Buyers}}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}