NFTs in business: cross-disciplinary insights from a systematic and thematic review
Robyn McCormack et al.
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) within the business-related disciplines of finance, marketing, management, law, economics, accounting and entrepreneurship. Key research themes and directions for future research are identified. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods synthesis is employed, combining bibliometric mapping with qualitative thematic analysis to trace the development of NFT research across business disciplines from 2021 to 2024. Findings The most dominant theme across the disciplines is the underlying economic modeling and valuation explaining how NFTs grow and maintain value. Researchers question whether NFTs hold legitimacy as tradeable assets within traditional financial systems. The consumer behavior discipline covers another central idea that NFT adoption introduces additional complexity to established assumptions about digital ownership, identity expression and platform engagement. Other notable themes include hedging and safe haven roles, fraud and financial integrity, legal and intellectual property issues, blockchain infrastructure, innovation, arts and entertainment, taxation and fiscal policy, and review and conceptual work. These themes are covered across the disciplines with the highest number of papers in finance (57 papers), followed by marketing (42), management (17), law (14), accounting and economics (6 each) and entrepreneurship (5). Originality/value NFT research has largely been fragmented within individual disciplines. This study adds value by offering an integrated review across business domains using bibliometric mapping and thematic analysis.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.