Blockchain technology in the supply chain: An integrated theoretical perspective of organizational adoption

Blockchain technology has recently gained importance as a promising technology in the area of supply chain management. For instance, Maersk used an IBM blockchain solution to efficiently track its containers around the world. Catina Volpone vineyard (www.cantinavolpone.it) in Puglia, Italy and Ernst and Young’s EZ Lab (www.ezlab.it) developed a blockchain-based solution that enables full transparency through the wine supply chain and allows customers to access information about the harvesting, pressing, and bottling dates and conditions, among many other details for each bottle or case of wine. Enabling traceability, enhancing transparency and establishing product provenance as shown in the above examples are not the only benefits of using blockchain technology.

Improve supply chain coordination and process

Indeed, blockchain is a distributed ledger (database) through which supply chain partners can interact and create, verify, validate, and securely store various kinds of records such as product information, certificates, localization data, transaction records, data acquired from sensors and other connected devices. Thus, in addition to providing traceability and making the whole history of products digitally available, blockchain promises to improve supply chain coordination and process efficiency and to achieve supply chain sustainability goals.

The enormous potential of blockchain technology

Despite the promises and the enormous potential of blockchain technology, its adoption in supply chains is still underexplored. Few studies address this question, offering a fragmented view of adoption’s enablers. Our objective in this research is to further investigate blockchain adoption in supply chains, develop a comprehensive framework for adoption enablers, measure their level of influence and understand their mutual relationships.

Findings

Our results demonstrate that firm’s management commitment and cooperation between supply chain partners on various aspects related to data sharing, confidentiality and system governance are both of primary importance for adopting blockchain technology in the supply chain. Findings also reveal that management commitment and cooperation between supply chain members for blockchain adoption are mainly triggered and supported by factors that may be addressed by extending efforts in three main directions.

• First, for raising awareness among consumers and firms’ managers about the usefulness of the availability of product data and the capability of blockchain to provide such data availability.
• Second, for developing and harmonizing the technology standards, in addition to enhancing blockchain interoperability.
• Third, for preparing a regulatory environment that favors the adoption and use of the technology.

Insights

Our paper provides both theoretical and practical contributions that improve our understanding of the enablers of blockchain adoption in supply chains and offer guidance to managers and policymakers on how they can best direct their efforts to enhance adoption. From the theory perspective, our work is the first effort to provide an extensive list of enabling factors of blockchain adoption in supply chains, evaluate their effects and map their interdependencies. Our study also contributes to the practice by providing an evaluation of the importance of the enablers of blockchain adoption for supply chain management and by analyzing their mutual effects. Managers and policymakers may use the results and insights from this study to inform their decisions and action plans for blockchain adoption in their supply chains.

Methodology: Dematel method

We used DEMATEL method in this research. DEMATEL is a decision-making support tool that helps in acquiring the input of experts regarding complex problems, and appropriately using this information to improve our understanding of such problems. The analysis is based on responses from a sample of 37 experts in blockchain technology and supply chain management.

Applications and beneficiaries

Our study contributes to the practice by providing an evaluation of the importance of the enablers of blockchain adoption for supply chain management and by analyzing their mutual effects. Managers and policymakers may use the results and insights from this study to inform their decisions and action plans for blockchain adoption in their supply chains.

• Reference to the research

Agi, M. A., & Jha, A. K. (2022). Blockchain technology in the supply chain: An integrated theoretical perspective of organizational adoption. International Journal of Production Economics, 247, 108458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2022.108458

• Keywords

Blockchain, supply chain management, adoption, enablers, DEMATEL

Consult the research paper