Blockchain and Its Impacts on Agri-Food Supply Chain Network Management

Abstract

Blockchain is an emerging meta-technology and considered a new institutional technology with the potential to change the governance of vertically integrated food supply chains. This paper investigates the effects on coordination mechanisms in vertically cooperating agri-food networks that result from the implementation of different blockchain technology platform types (BCTPT). The research is based on an extensive literature overview and exploratory use cases of BCTPT implementations in the agri-food industry which are presented to illustrate the applicability of the findings. Our analysis shows that BCTPT predominantly differentiate through the coordination mechanisms exerting of power, information sharing, decision-making, and collective learning benefits. We also reveal that blockchain use cases with high success rates typically operate in a vertical ecosystem where a focal firm assumes the responsibility for coordinating the activities in the supply chain network. These use cases are typically operationalized in tracking and tracing applications as well as in provenance-based information provision, which either operate in vertically coordinated private blockchain or consortium-type blockchain platforms. We conclude that the choice of a specific BCTPT with its respective coordination mechanisms is a key determinant of the economic success of the intended use case, the efficient management of the supply chain network, and eventually for the chosen digital business model. This paper will close a research gap, as the potential impacts of different blockchain technology platform types on digital agri-food business models and its supply chain management have scarcely been researched.