{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,28]],"date-time":"2026-03-28T06:47:41Z","timestamp":1774680461834,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,19]],"date-time":"2021-12-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639872000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Future Internet"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Nowadays, business enactments almost exclusively focus on human-to-human business transactions. However, the ubiquitousness of smart devices enables business enactments among autonomously acting machines, thereby providing the foundation for the machine-driven Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy. Human-to-human business is governed by enforceable contracts either in the form of oral, or written agreements. Still, a machine-driven ecosystem requires a digital equivalent that is accessible to all stakeholders. Additionally, an electronic contract platform enables fact-tracking, non-repudiation, auditability and tamper-resistant storage of information in a distributed multi-stakeholder setting. A suitable approach for M2X enactments are electronic smart contracts that allow to govern business transactions using a computerized transaction protocol such as a blockchain. In this position paper, we argue in favor of an open, decentralized and distributed smart contract-based M2X Economy that supports the corresponding multi-stakeholder ecosystem and facilitates M2X value exchange, collaborations, and business enactments. Finally, it allows for a distributed e-governance model that fosters open platforms and interoperability. Thus, serving as a foundation for the ubiquitous M2X Economy and its ecosystem.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/fi13120319","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,19]],"date-time":"2021-12-19T20:37:27Z","timestamp":1639946247000},"page":"319","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["The Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy: Business Enactments, Collaborations, and e-Governance"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9191-7548","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benjamin","family":"Leiding","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Software and Systems Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8257-3931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Priyanka","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Software and Systems Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0593-8244","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexander","family":"Norta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Software Science, Tallinn University of Technology, 12616 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Leiding, B. 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