Trust through Digital Technologies: Blockchain in Online Consultancy Services

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of trust in an increasingly digital society on the one hand and how it can be established with regard to digital documentation of online help services on the other. Trust is particularly important in the sector of digital services sector because requests and offers for help, and thus highly sensitive data, are offered, processed, and used on various online channels. With the advent of blockchain technology, there is a new central opportunity to create trust on digital platforms such as those used for online help services. After clarification of relevant concepts and terms, diverse forms of the blockchain technology are explained on the basis of the individually specific configuration of a blockchain. The main emphasis lies on federated blockchains which provide the central advantages of blockchain technology while avoiding the risk of passing on sensitive data. This results in a possible use of the technology for the area of digital services.