Welcome to the academic and research portal of Dr. Muhammad Nauman Shahid. My research examines how AI, financial technology, and blockchain reshape financial systems, institutions, and economic decision-making. Using empirical and computational approaches, I study their implications for governance, capital allocation, markets, and economic outcomes.
I earned my Ph.D. in Information Systems from the National University of Singapore (NUS). My dissertation, Blockchain Beyond Borders: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Evolving Legitimacy in ICO-Driven Entrepreneurship, examined the institutional, governance, and market mechanisms underlying blockchain-enabled entrepreneurship and decentralized capital formation.
My research examines how AI, blockchain, and financial technologies transform institutions, markets, and economic decision-making. I use computational econometrics, natural language processing, and high-frequency data analysis to study technology-mediated financial and organizational phenomena, including governance, capital allocation, market behavior, and institutional legitimacy. This agenda extends my doctoral work on blockchain governance while engaging with emerging questions surrounding AI and digital financial systems.
At NUS, I have taught software development, ethical computing, blockchain architectures, and applied business analytics, integrating computational methods with organizational and societal perspectives. My broader scholarly writing also examines the relationship between technology, human behavior, and societal change.
Ph.D. in Information Systems • NUS Research Scholar
nus.edu.sg
M.S. Information Science & Computer Engineering • Saint Petersburg, Russia
english.spbstu.ru
M.S. Project Management • Islamabad, Pakistan
vcomsats.edu.pk
B.S. Computer Science • Islamabad, Pakistan
fuuastisb.edu.pkNational University of Singapore (NUS)
Conferred in recognition of outstanding doctoral research output, empirical rigor, and scholarly contributions in Information Systems.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Full 5-year prestigious doctoral fellowship awarded for advanced doctoral training, teaching, and empirical research.
Ministry of Education & Science of the Russian Federation
Full government scholarship awarded for Master of Science study at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
Federal Urdu University (FUUAST)
Awarded for distinguished academic standing, leadership, and outstanding contributions beyond the classroom.
Runner-Up Distinction
Recognized for computational business model innovation and digital enterprise transformation concepts.
NUS Residential Life (UTown & Prince George's Park Residences)
Orchestrated student life initiatives for thousands of residents; recognised as Distinguished Student (2019) by PGPR.
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital at NUS
Amplified healthcare awareness; led breast cancer prevention campaigns reaching a broad international audience.
Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology
Steered academic discourse, programmed literary competitions, and chaired university-wide declamation contests.
Muhammad Nauman Shahid
National University of Singapore (Singapore) ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2024.32248407
How is blockchain changing both research and entrepreneurship? This thesis examines how blockchain research has evolved across disciplines and how blockchain ventures build legitimacy when seeking funding in uncertain, rapidly changing markets. It shows how the way ventures present themselves, communicate online, and differentiate their ideas can shape how investors and other stakeholders evaluate them.
This doctoral thesis investigates the evolution of blockchain scholarship and the institutional processes through which blockchain-based ventures establish legitimacy and acquire resources. It combines large-scale bibliometric analysis and computational topic modeling of 35,604 publications with empirical investigation of entrepreneurial narratives, online media, and legitimacy in ICO markets. The thesis develops an interdisciplinary account of blockchain research and examines how venture distinctiveness and media-mediated perceptions influence legitimacy and resource acquisition in decentralized entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Muhammad Nauman Shahid & Jungpil Hahn
Proceedings of the 42nd International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2021)
Can standing apart actually help a new venture gain legitimacy? Studying 306 ICOs across 29 market categories, this research shows that being distinctive can strengthen a venture's legitimacy when its audience values novelty. The findings challenge the conventional assumption that young ventures must closely resemble established players to gain acceptance and attract resources.
This study challenges the conventional optimal-distinctiveness assumption that deviation from category prototypes necessarily undermines organizational legitimacy. Using data from 306 ICOs across 29 market categories, the study applies topic modeling to identify the content of entrepreneurial narratives and quantify their deviation from category prototypes. The findings indicate that greater narrative distinctiveness can enhance resource acquisition among novelty-seeking audiences, supporting the argument that distinctiveness may constitute a source of normative legitimacy rather than merely a liability to cognitive legitimacy. The study further examines the role of online media in shaping this relationship.
Muhammad Nauman Shahid & Jungpil Hahn
Proceedings of the 53rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-53)
Where has blockchain research been heading, and where are the gaps? By analyzing thousands of blockchain studies across disciplines, this research maps the evolution of the field, identifies recurring themes and methodological shifts, and reveals areas where researchers have yet to fully connect technological developments with broader organizational and societal questions.
This study applies computational topic modeling to systematically examine the evolution of blockchain scholarship across disciplines and over time. By analyzing a large corpus of blockchain research, the study identifies dominant research themes, methodological trajectories, disciplinary convergence, and emerging areas of inquiry. The findings provide a structured map of the intellectual development of blockchain research and identify opportunities for greater methodological and interdisciplinary integration.
Muhammad Nauman Shahid
29th Annual Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems (WITS 2019)
Can online reputation be evaluated more fairly by looking beyond a single rating? This research develops a multidimensional approach to evaluating participants in online crowdsourcing environments by considering their prior reputation, behavior, the credibility of evaluations, and potential misconduct. The goal is to provide a more comprehensive basis for assessing trust in decentralized digital marketplaces.
This study develops a multidimensional framework for evaluating participant reputation in crowdsourcing environments from a blockchain design perspective. The model integrates initial reputation, transaction behavior, evaluation credibility, and penalties for fraudulent behavior to address limitations associated with conventional reputation mechanisms. Empirical analysis using crowdsourcing data evaluates the model's capacity to differentiate participant reputation across multiple dimensions and provides a basis for decentralized trust mechanisms in digital marketplaces.
Over 5 years of tutorial instruction and project mentorship across 8 academic modules at the National University of Singapore. Spanning undergraduate and graduate cohorts with consistent student ratings exceeding faculty averages.
An interactive visualization of the theoretical model and empirical logic underlying the ICO study.
Institutional theory assumes new ventures must conform to established templates to be trusted. We ask whether novelty-oriented markets invert this rule.
Measured entrepreneurial storytelling texts (ESTs) using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to compute topic departure from category prototypes.
Distinctiveness simultaneously challenges cognitive comprehensibility while enhancing normative attractiveness.
When audiences actively seek innovation, standing apart does not create a legitimacy deficit; it functions as a powerful validating asset.
“Does this venture make sense? Does it fit what I understand this kind of venture to be?”
As a narrative diverges further from category norms, evaluators experience greater uncertainty about what category template it fits.
“Does this venture appear desirable, appropriate, innovative, or worthy of support?”
In novelty-oriented markets, standing apart signals forward-thinking innovation and high potential rather than rule-breaking deviance.
Moderate Distinctiveness: Balanced category clarity with strong novelty appeal, catalyzing investor endorsement.
Deep-dive into Latent Dirichlet Allocation geometry, category viability, impact claims, and media sentiment contingencies.
Provides baseline reassurance when narratives are distinctive.
Normative framing that reinforces legitimacy beyond financial promises.
Rethinking money, stress, and the hidden costs of financial carelessness in everyday life.
Why do attractive women often choose less conventionally handsome partners? Research reveals that female mate selection operates through sophisticated evolutionary mechanisms prioritising genetic quality, emotional intelligence, and reliability over pure physical attractiveness, challenging common assumptions about romantic partnerships.
A flood of formulaic research threatens scientific integrity, driven by flawed peer review, metrics obsession, and AI misuse. Spanning biomedicine, chemistry, and beyond, this crisis misleads students, doctors, and AI. Transparency in AI use and stricter standards are vital to restore rigour and ensure science pursues truth, not just papers.
Whether you are seeking postdoctoral collaboration, guest lectures in decentralized finance and AI, or prospective student advisement, I welcome your inquiry.
