ENHANCING INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS THROUGH THE POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IN THE INTEGRATION OF QUALITY AND INFORMATION SECURITY

Abstract

In modern business environments, establishing a clear and concise mechanism for harmonizing various management areas, such as quality management, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, risk management, and information security, is of great importance. A fragmented approach to different aspects of management brings numerous challenges. To achieve more efficient management, the concept of Integrated Management Systems (IMS) has been developed, based on connecting individual systems. This paper presents the theoretical foundations and models for the integration of Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). In addition to the analysis of the influential factors and challenges associated with integration, the focus of this work is on improving data security and integrity through the potential application of blockchain technology. Examples of practical application of blockchain-supported IMS in the healthcare sector, supply chain management, and the management of academic and institutional documents illustrate the benefits, including improving information infrastructure security and the preserving of data integrity within IMS. The qualitative results obtained by reviewing existing literature on this topic and the comparative analysis of IMS with and without blockchain support show that this technology has the potential to significantly enhance the integration of management systems, but also that there are numerous challenges related to implementation costs, scalability and regulatory frameworks.