Blockchain Papers

İsmail Erol, İlker Murat Ar, İskender Peker

No abstract is available for this record.

Weisheng Lu, Liupengfei Wu, Fan Xue

This research aims to develop a multicriteria decision matrix (MCDM) for project management practitioners, which will support blockchain type selection, evaluate blockchain platforms, and plan blockchain systems. The MCDM is substantiated through a case study, which includes a questionnaire and an illustrative example pertinent to the construction industry. It was discovered in this study that consortium blockchain is superior in dealing with the characteristics of projects, and Hyperledger Fabric is chosen as the best applicable platform. In planning a blockchain-based project management system, project management practitioners should consider user requirements such as network participants, principal transactions, communication channels, and smart contracts.

Benjamin Teisserenc, Samad M. E. Sepasgozar

The key challenges of the building, engineering, construction, operations, and mining (BECOM) industries are the lack of trust, inefficiencies, and the fragmentation of the information value chain into vulnerable data silos throughout the lifecycle of projects. This paper aims to develop a novel conceptual model for the implementation of blockchain technology (BCT) for digital twin(s) (DT) in the BECOM industry 4.0 to improve trust, cyber security, efficiencies, information management, information sharing, and sustainability. A PESTELS approach is used to review the literature and identify the key challenges affecting BCT adoption for the BECOM industry 4.0. A review of the technical literature on BCT combined with the findings from PESTELS analysis permitted researchers to identify the key technological factors affecting BCT adoption in the industry. This allowed offering a technological framework—namely, the decentralized digital twin cycle (DDTC)—that leverages BCT to address the key technological factors and to ultimately enhance trust, security, decentralization, efficiency, traceability, and transparency of information throughout projects’ lifecycles. The study also identifies the gaps in the integration of BCT with key technologies of industry 4.0, including the internet of things (IoT), building information modeling (BIM), and DT. The framework offered addresses key technological factors and narrows key gaps around network governance, scalability, decentralization, interoperability, energy efficiency, computational requirements, and BCT integration with IoT, BIM, and DT throughout projects’ lifecycles. The model also considers the regulatory aspect and the environmental aspect, and the circular economy (CE). The theoretical framework provides key technological building blocks for industry practitioners to develop the DDTC concept further and implement it through experimental works. Finally, the paper provides an industry-specific analysis and technological approach facilitating BCT adoption through DT to address the key challenges and improve sustainability for the BECOM industry 4.0.

Eladian Batista Rodrigues, Wagner Luiz Lourenzani, Eduardo Guilherme Satolo, Sérgio Silva Braga · 6 authors

Purpose This study aims to present consolidated information on blockchain, which seeks to better clarify the concept of blockchain and the associated implications and characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The methodological procedure used was Grounded Theory, based on a Systematic Bibliographic Review on the adoption of blockchain in supply chain management. To add experts' opinion on the subject to the analyzed panorama, data from a survey were also considered in the analysis. Findings The Grounded Theory enabled the development of consolidated information on blockchain related knowledge, identifying benefits, fragilities and contributions of the concept for supply chain management. Originality/value An epistemological gap has been identified between the use of blockchain in supply chain management and a theoretical basis to support the application. The originality of this study lies in providing a proposition of this theoretical basis.

Serkan Karakaş, A. Zafer Acar, Berk Küçükaltan

The supply chain is an important source of knowledge that enables potential emerging technologies and, in this ecosystem, logistics are regarded as an intermediary for disseminating innovative solutions in a coordinated manner. As an emerging solution in the supply chain area, blockchain has recently been discussed as a disruptive technology and has received growing attention from academics and practitioners. Despite this interest, insufficient knowledge on the potential benefits and risks of blockchain technology causes vagueness for its successful implementation. Therefore, since effective management of logistics and supply chain operations through advanced solutions is of utmost importance, adopting an innovative approach rather than providing anectodal evidences or narrative expressions plays a critical role in blockchain adoption. Accordingly, this research aims to an in-depth analysis of the blockchain in logistics and supply chain by investigating enablers, barriers, and risks of this adoption. To this end, through employing both the Methodi Ordinatio and the narrative network analyses, the future direction of blockchain adoption is presented in light of the presented current state of knowledge. Consequently, the obtained findings offer academic and practical insights into the ambiguous, insufficiently explained, and conflicted areas in the relationship between blockchain technologies and logistics and supply chain contexts.

Lianju Ning, Yaqin Yuan

This paper aims to explore how blockchain facilitates supply chain finance (SCF) platform business model reconfiguration. We conduct a case study on a typical Chinese SCF platform to address research questions and propose a blockchain-enabled SCF platform business model framework. The results show that (1) the reconfiguration of the SCF platform business model is driven by internal factors (content, governance, transaction structure) and external factors (sector dynamics, geographical environment, technology) in the context of blockchain. (2) Blockchain influences the SCF platform business model reconfiguration through empowering the operation of SCF information, financial, material, and value flows. (3) The introduction of blockchain changes the business model of the SCF platform significantly, which is mainly reflected in the improved value proposition, expanded value network, strengthened value creation, and generated value appropriation. This study contributes to the existing literature on SCF, business model, and blockchain. The research also provides some important practical implications.

Michael Paul Kramer, Linda Bitsch, Jon Henrich Hanf

Coffee is the second most important commodity in terms of global trade value, with its global market value exceeding $460 billion in 2020. Its supply networks, which encompass multiple stakeholders, are complex and nontransparent. Blockchain is a trust technology, and some coffee firms have embraced this technology to provide trust attributes to consumers while making their supply chain more transparent. For businesses to gain the expected productivity advantages, a technology must be adopted and used. As theoretical and empirical research on blockchain technology adoption is scarce, this article attempts to identify behavioral intentions of stakeholders in the supply network toward its adoption. Based on exploratory interviews, this article develops a blockchain technology adoption model based on factors relevant to individuals’ use behavior. The results provide evidence that a normative stakeholder management approach positively impacts use behavior. Managers can use the model to benchmark and improve their corporate social responsibility strategy to obtain better returns on blockchain investments. This study closes a research gap as, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been conducted so far on the impact of an instrumental stakeholder management approach on blockchain technology adoption behavior. Understanding how stakeholder management can compensate for the lack of consensus mechanisms in private and consortium blockchains, as well as understanding the factors influencing behavioral intentions toward the use of a technology, can provide for managerial guidance toward the development of an effective stakeholder management strategy, which eventually can result in a competitive advantage.

Vijaya Kumar Manupati, Tobias Schoenherr, M. Ramkumar, Suraj Panigrahi · 6 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Nesrin Ada, Manavalan Ethirajan, Anil Kumar, Vimal K.E.K · 7 authors

A robust traceability system would help organizations in inventory optimization reduce lead time and improve customer service and quality which further enables the organizations to be a leader in their industry sector. This research study analyzes the challenges faced by the automotive industry in its supply chain operations. Further, the traceability issues and waiting time at different nodes of the supply chain are considered to be priority issues that affect the overall supply chain efficiency in the automotive supply chain. After studying the existing blockchain architectures and their implementation methodology, this study proposes a new blockchain-based architecture to improve traceability and reduce waiting time for the automotive supply chain. A hyper ledger fabric-based blockchain architecture is developed to track the ownership transfers in inbound and outbound logistics. The simulation results of the proposed hyper ledger fabric-based blockchain architecture show that there is an improvement in the traceability of items at different nodes of the supply chain that enhances the Inventory Quality Ratio (IQR) and the mean waiting time is reduced at the factory, wholesaler, and retailer, which thereby improves the overall supply chain efficiency. The blockchain embedded supply chain is more capable to eliminate the risks and uncertainties associated with the automotive supply chain. The benefits of adopting blockchain technology in the automotive supply chain are also described. The developed blockchain-based framework is capable to get more visibility into goods movement and inventory status in automotive supply chains.

Raja Zuraidah Raja Mohd Rasi, Umol Syamsyul Rakiman, Raja Zahilah Raja Mohd. Radzi, Nor Ratna Masrom · 5 authors

As blockchain technology is continuously evolving, questions arise regarding the possible risk of implementing blockchain technology in supply chain management (SCM). Prominent among these concerns is the risk that may negatively influence SCM and consider the potential solution to managing the risk. This study adopts an integrative review method. An online search is performed by considering relevant keywords related to “blockchain technology risks” closely connected with the SCM context within the period of 2017 until 2021. Several major risks are identified—privacy, regulatory, financial, technological, fraud, and operational risk. This article adopts an integrative literature review method to select relevant literature related to blockchain technology implementation in the supply chain. The integrative literature review method is suitable for this study since the risk of implementing blockchain technology is often shadowed by the benefits of implementing blockchain technology in SCM. The findings are highlighted by categorizing the potential risk that must be recognized in SCM to accompany the blockchain technology and the importance of rectifying the risk according to the organization's capacity and resources.

Seyyed-Alireza Radmanesh, Alireza Haji, Omid Fatahi Valilai

Cloud manufacturing is a new globalized manufacturing framework which has improved the performance of manufacturing systems. The service-oriented architecture as the main idea behind this framework means that all resources and capabilities are considered as services. The agents interact by way of service exchanging, which has been a part of service composition research topics. Service allocations to demanders in a cloud manufacturing system have a dynamic behavior. However, the current research studies on cloud-based service composition are mainly based on centralized global optimization models. Therefore, a distributed deployment and real-time synchronization platform, which enables the globalized collaboration in service composition, is required. This paper proposes a method of using blockchain to solve these issues. Each service composition is considered as a transaction in the blockchain concept. A block includes a set of service compositions and its validity is confirmed by a predefined consensus mechanism. In the suggested platform, the mining role in blockchain is interpreted as an endeavor for proposing the proper service composition in the manufacturing paradigm. The proposed platform has interesting capabilities as it can increase the response time using the blockchain technology and improve the overall optimality of supply-demand matching in cloud manufacturing. The efficiency of the proposed model was evaluated by investigating a service allocation problem in a cloud manufacturing system in four large scale problems. Each problem is examined in four centralized modes, two, three and four solvers in blockchain-based model. The simulation results indicate the high quality of the proposed solution. The proposed solution will lead to at least 15.14% and a maximum of 34.8 percent reduction in costs and 20 to 68.4 percent at the solving time of the problem. It is also observed that with increasing the number of solvers (especially in problems with larger dimensions) the solution speed increases sharply (more than 68% improvement in some problems), which indicates the positive effect of distribution on reducing the problem-solving time.

Horst Treiblmaier, Abderahman Rejeb, Remko van Hoek, Mary C. Lacity

Background: Companies partaking in modern supply chains face numerous intra-and interorganizational barriers when it comes to the adoption of blockchain technology. Empirical research is missing that explores how exactly these barriers can be overcome. In this paper we first explore barriers that organizations need to overcome to successfully deploy blockchain technology. In a second step, we investigate the agrifood industry and highlight differences in coping strategies between incumbents and start-ups. Methods: We conducted a quantitative survey with 190 supply chain experts to identify barriers and an in-depth qualitative study that included 10 expert interviews to better understand the current situation in agrifood organizations. Results: The findings from the quantitative study show that the most relevant organizational barrier to blockchain adoption is the widespread lack of understanding of the technology and its potential benefits. In the qualitative study we illustrate how various intra-and interorganizational barriers can be overcome and how the resources and capabilities differ between incumbents and start-ups. Conclusions: Our results provide academics with a better understanding of the relevant barriers and bridges of blockchain adoption. Practitioners benefit from learning about the resources and capabilities they need to deploy in order to benefit from blockchain technology.

Kirti Nayal, Rakesh D. Raut, Balkrishna E. Narkhede, Pragati Priyadarshinee · 6 authors

Blockchain can solve the problems that the agriculture supply chain (ASC) is facing to achieve sustainable growth. In a nation like India, blockchain application in the supply chain is still new; therefore, supply chain players need a better understanding and awareness of blockchain through valuable insights. This article aims to study the mediating role of blockchain technology adoption (BLCT) for sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP). This study investigates the influence of numerous factors such as green and lean practices, supply chain integration, supply chain risk, performance expectancy, top management support, cost, internal and external environmental conditions, regulatory support, and innovation capability on BLCT adoption. A sample of 316 respondents from Indian ASC industries was collected, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. This study's outcomes show that green and lean practices, supply chain integration, supply chain risks, internal and external conditions, regulatory support, innovation capability, and cost positively influence BLCT adoption. Moreover, BLCT positively influences sustainable agriculture supply chain performance. This article is valuable for policymakers, managers, service providers, researchers, and academicians to understand the role of factors in influencing BLCT and BLCT's role in improving sustainable supply chain performance (SSCP).

Nicola Friedman, Jarrod Ormiston

Blockchain technology has been forwarded as an innovation to address pressing sustainability challenges in global food supply chains. However, limited studies have critically examined the technology's role in advancing sustainability. Drawing on the literature on sustainability-oriented innovation and innovation resistance theory, we explore the potential of blockchain technology to contribute to sustainable transformations within food supply chains. We reflect on 18 expert interviews with various actors across global food supply chains to evaluate the opportunities for, and resistance to, Blockchain technology as a driver of sustainability. The findings reveal that Blockchain is used within food supply chains as both a tool for sustainability as well as a broader philosophical mindset for addressing sustainability challenges. We reveal the opportunities for Blockchain technology as a sustainability-oriented innovation that can ensure fairer supply chains, enhance food traceability, and drive environmental sustainability. We also unpack the resistance to Blockchain that hinder its potential as a sustainability-oriented innovation which include functional and psychological barriers alongside cooperative barriers and protection of the status quo. Our study contributes to the broader literature on sustainability-oriented innovation and innovation resistance theory.

Ehsan Bakhtiarizadeh, Wajiha Shahzad, Mani Poshdar, Malik Khalfan · 5 authors

New Zealand’s rising demand for new and affordable homes is driving innovative and effective methods for project delivery. Prefabrication or off-site construction is considered an innovative approach to project delivery that eliminates the limitations of traditional construction methods. However, the prefabrication industry struggles with several challenges, including poor coordination and low supply chain integration amongst its partner organisations. There has been previous literature on improving the prefabrication supply chain integration, but few studies about the role of technology in this sector. Therefore, this article provides intuitions into the applicability and benefits of advanced technologies, namely blockchain, for improving supply chain integration in the context of prefabrication in New Zealand. A questionnaire survey was used to identify the channels used for information exchange between clients and contractors. Moreover, the questionnaire ascertained the positive effects of blockchain on enhancing supply chain integration between the two partners. Blockchain has proven to be a secure information integration instrument that can improve the integration of the prefabrication supply chain by fostering collaboration between organisations.

Xuda Lin, Xing Li, Sameer Kulkarni, Fu Zhao

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely recognized tool used to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or process, based on the environmental inventory database and bills of material. Data quality is one of the most significant factors affecting the analysis results. However, currently, most datasets in inventory databases are generic, i.e., they may represent the material and energy flow of a process at a market average, instead of a specific process used by a manufacturer. As a result, stockholders are unable to track their supply chain to find out the actual environmental impact from each supplier and to compare the environmental performance of alternative options. In this paper, we developed a new framework, i.e., blockchain-based LCA (BC-LCA), where blockchain technology is adapted to secure and transmit inventory data from upstream suppliers to downstream manufacturers. With BC-LCA, more specific data can be acquired along the supply chain in a real-time manner. Moreover, the availability, accuracy, privacy, and automatic update of inventory data can be improved. A case study is provided based on an industrial supply chain to demonstrate the utilization of BC-LCA.

Jonas Voorter, Christof Koolen

Abstract The construction sector plays a crucial role in the transition to a circular economy and a more sustainable society. With this objective in mind, Flanders – the Dutch speaking part of Belgium – makes use of a traceability procedure for construction and demolition waste in order to guarantee that value can be derived from downstream waste processing activities. This article takes this traceability procedure as a legal case study and examines if the use of blockchain technology could lead to even stronger supply chains, better data management, and, more generally, a smoother transition to circular practices in the construction sector.

Moritz Berneis, Herwig Winkler

Background: In relevant research, blockchain technology (BCT) is credited with great potential for supply chain management (SCM). However, even after more than 10 years of the technology’s existence, it is barely used for any self-sustaining applications. This raises the question of why BC cannot prevail against its alternatives. With this paper we want to identify criteria by which the added value of BCT can be measured. Furthermore, we want to evaluate how well the different supply chains (SC) exploit the added values of BCT. Methods: For this, we identified real-world examples and case studies for luxury, food, and healthcare SCs. These examples are described in detail and then analyzed for their added value compared to possible alternatives. Results: The results show that in the clusters of food and healthcare SCs, no general added value of BC over current best-practice solutions could be verified. Luxury SCs manage valuable products that are typically traded in small quantities. It is within this cluster that the implementation of BC can be justified best. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study shows that the application of BCT is especially beneficial for goods with a high value and low trade volume. In addition, the interface between reality and the digital twin should be as secure as the database or BC solution itself. Furthermore, the demand for transparency and immutability of data should be more important than the need to protect sensitive data. Finally, SC participants, especially the end customer, must also be able to appreciate the advantages of BCT.

Katrien Steenmans, Phillip Taylor, Ine Steenmans

The literature on blockchain technology and circular economy is at a nascent stage, with only initial limited and superficial recognition of the possible role blockchain may have in supporting circular economy laws and policies. This paper contributes to this emerging area by exploring the regulatory opportunities and challenges for adoption of blockchain for circular waste management. In particular, through a mixed methods approach combining empirical and doctrinal research, this paper presents initial findings on: (1) the current role of blockchain within the legal landscape on circular economies; (2) the regulatory barriers of blockchain application to circular economies; and (3) opportunities of blockchain in supporting regulatory mechanisms promoting circularity.

Theodoros Dounas, Wassim Jabi, Davide Lombardi

The presented research study tackles the topic of economic and material sustainable development in the built environment and construction industry by introducing and applying the concept and the potential of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on blockchain within the early stages of the design process via the interface of common design software. We present a digital infrastructure layer for architectural assets and building components that can integrate with AEC supply chains, enabling a more effective and articulated development of circular economies. The infrastructure layer consists of a combination of topology graphs secured with a blockchain. The paper concludes with a discussion about the possibilities of material passports as well as circular economy and smart contracts as an infrastructure for whole lifecycle BIM and digital encapsulation of value in architectural design.

Jong Han Yoon, Pardis Pishdad-Bozorgi

This paper aims to highlight the critical problems associated with the construction supply chain (CSC) by analyzing the literature and shedding light on the existing research limitations and gaps. Moreover, this research aims to explore the applications of emerging blockchain technology in addressing the identified CSC issues and initiating the process of bridging the body of knowledge gap by proposing future research directions. The review demonstrates that the critical problems in the CSC are related to sustainability, collaboration, and information sharing. Existing CSC studies focus on each individual issue, and they have not yet tackled these key intertwined issues through a holistic system view approach. This research put into context the intertwined relationship of these key issues and proposes a supply chain management system coupled with emerging blockchain technology to enhance sustainability, promote collaboration, and facilitate information sharing. These findings are synthesized with different reviews of the literature on the use of blockchain applications in supply chains to propose a blockchain-enabled CSC that can fill the research gaps. The proposed blockchain applications in the CSC involve establishing a blockchain-enabled supplier selection and assessment, blockchain-assisted claims auditing, forensic analysis and dispute resolution, and smart contract-based governance to enforce a reward and punishment system that can facilitate information sharing, and thus promote collaboration. The integration of the two different literature reviews contributes to the body of knowledge by highlighting the research gaps in the existing CSC studies and providing opportunities for improvement through the use of an emerging state-of-art technology: blockchain. Furthermore, the construction industry can enhance its sustainability and promote collaboration and information sharing in its supply chains by leveraging the proposed applications.

Jian Xu, Yongrui Duan

No abstract is available for this record.

Massamba Thioye

No abstract is available for this record.

Zhiting Song, Jianhua Zhu

Purpose Smart manufacturing is the prime gripper for the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry. Smart manufacturing systems (SMSs) largely determine how smart manufacturing evolves in technical and organizational dimensions and how it realizes values in products, production or services. SMSs are growing rapidly and receiving tons of attention from academic research and industrial practice. However, the development of SMSs is still in its fancy, and many issues wait to be identified and solved, such as single point failures, low transparency and ineffective resource sharing. Blockchain, an emerging technology deriving from Bitcoin, is competent to aid SMSs to conquer troubles due to its decentralization, traceability, trackability, disintermediation, auditability and etc. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the blockchain applications in SMSs, seek out the challenges faced by blockchain-enabled SMSs (BSMSs) and provide referable research directions and ideas. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive literature review as a survey is conducted in this paper. The survey starts by introducing blockchain concepts, followed by the descriptions of a literature review method and the blockchain applications throughout the product life cycle in SMSs. Then, the key issues and challenges confronting BSMSs are discussed and some possible research directions are also proposed. It finally presents qualitative and quantitative descriptions of BSMSs, along with some conclusions and implications. Findings The findings of this paper present a deep understanding about the current status and challenges of blockchain adoption in SMSs. Furthermore, this paper provides a brand new thinking for future research. Originality/value This paper minutely analyzes the impacts that blockchain exerts on SMSs in view of the product life cycle, and proposes using the complexity science thinking to deal with BSMSs qualitatively and quantitatively, including tackling the current major problems BSMSs face. This research can serve as a foundation for future theoretical studies and enterprise practice.