Despite the scholarly consent that blockchain technology can play a central role for implementing circular economies (CEs) to arrive at cleaner consumption and production, the blockchain adoption rate by companies for this purpose is low. While this might be partly caused by technology maturity problems, scholars also recognize a lack of vision about blockchain technology applications that might assist companies in implementing CE business models. Particularly, we miss knowledge about consumerdesired future CE scenarios to help the understanding of the likelihood of consumer adoption. In this paper, we therefore ask: What are, from the perspective of future consumers, desirable far-future CEs that use blockchain technology? We present the findings of a study that analyzed 57 consumer-desired CE scenarios in 2041 in which blockchain is used. From the analysis, we identify four ideal types of consumer-desired CEs, and the blockchain use cases in them. Based on that, we discuss and conclude on value propositions for CE business models that companies can use to attract consumer participation and blockchain adoption in pro-circular shifts. Second, we aimed at gathering consumer visions that can guide the strategic investment of companies in the development of blockchain technology applications for efficient CE business models.
The overproduction and overconsumption of textile products has led to a call for systems and behavioural change towards a circular economy. Correct material flows through a circular system are difficult to achieve, but emerging technology may provide some answers. Among these technologies, blockchain, smart tags and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are showing promising solutions. However, adopting technology gives rise to certain challenges. Observing the global trend in digital transformation, this paper investigates the adoption of blockchain and its associated technologies. Through interviews with designers and technology providers, it identifies the challenges specific to the small and medium enterprise sector. It finds a number of areas that require focus – some outside and some within the control of the business owner. These include the need for more effective communication channels between the information systems (IS) sector and fashion industry stakeholders if the digital transformation of the circular economy is to be effective.
Nishant Kumar, Kamal Upreti, Shitiz Upreti, Mohammad Shabbir Alam · 5 authors
Infectious diseases a curse for humanity can be curbed through immunization. Vaccination can make people more resilient toward infectious diseases and the safety of the vaccine is of prime importance for public health. A smart vaccine management system can address the issue of vaccine expiration and counterfeiting. The study was conducted in twofolds: Stage I, a quantitative cross-sectional survey design was deployed to understand stakeholder adoption intention (ADI) toward blockchain-enabled vaccine supply chain through extended technology adoption model using partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings entail stakeholders' trust and perceived ease of use for blockchain-enabled vaccine supply chain directly affect perceived usefulness (PUS) and individual subjective norm. PUS significantly influences the ADI of stakeholders toward blockchain in the vaccine supply chain. Stage II, a blockchain integrated vaccine supply chain architecture with Internet of things devices was proposed to bring transparency and flexibility to the vaccine supply chain. Architecture would benefit the beneficiary to approve or disapprove the vaccines through the self-generated report and medical health centers can see the efficacy of vaccines before clinical delivery to patients.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to formulate strategic interventions that can contribute to adoption of blockchain in Asian health market. Design/methodology/approach A methodological framework based on the three qualitative phases of the systems thinking and modelling methodology, namely, problem structuring, causal loop modelling and developing strategic interventions were used. Data was collected using thirty interviews and secondary research. Findings The reference model developed in the study captured the system behavior, showing health market blockchain adoption increasing in other countries but struggling in Asia. The qualitative systems model developed explained this behavior by capturing the underlying system structure using six interconnected feedback loops. Three strategic interventions were formulated to change the system structure to improve its adoption. Research limitations/implications This study acknowledges its limitation that blockchain integration in health supply chain management (SCM) and adaptability to technological trends are just few elements that contributes to challenges in blockchain adoption in Asia Pacific health market . It also acknowledges the limited scale of this study using 30 interviews with a narrow set of stakeholders, limiting its generalisability. Practical implications Although the blockchain technology has medical data security benefits, its integration in health SCM could potentially improve cost of health service delivery to patient. Not only it prevents drug counterfeiting, it enhances patient’s safety by reducing the time it takes to alert the supply chain of a product recall from few days to few seconds. Social implications “Blockchain-as-a-Service” has wide applications in SCM, identity management, payments, smart contracts, governance risk and compliance management, with its market size expected to grow in future. This affordable solution opens up the roads for future empirical research for information systems academicians and information technology practitioners. Originality/value This research provides a holistic analysis of the challenges facing blockchain adoption in the health market for Asia. It offers a methodological approach based on systems thinking and modelling to improve its adoption.
Purpose Many commodity supply chains suffer from an unfair value distribution across the supply chain like “Coffee Paradox.” This study explores the coffee supply chain to determine how the country of origin–geographical indicator can be used as a method of fair distribution of value and provenance across the supply chain effectuated by the blockchain technology. By looking at an exemplar case study for India, this study provides insights into diverse research streams and practice. Design/methodology/approach Based on the case method, analyzing the implementation of blockchain in the coffee industry by a leading Indian software implementation of the logic, dynamics and forces for a provenance model has been devised. It further adopts a stakeholder cum institutional theory framework to understand the logical implementation of a blockchain project embedded in a territorial logic for a commodity supply chain. Findings This study specifically looks at coffee which is representative of a commodity supply chain. It also explores how the malaise of unfair value distribution gets addressed by bringing farmers and the consumers on a common platform facilitated by blockchain technology. This study contributes to the literature on blockchain, territory, commodity and supply chain. Using stakeholder cum institutional theory, this study helps to explore how the implementation is successful by different actors in the supply chain through collaboration. Research limitations/implications This study provides a new stream of multi-disciplinary study at the interface of supply chain, technology, international trade and geography. Practical implications Blockchains are embedded in the supply chain, and supply chains are embedded in territories. This linkage is paramount and the ability to make these blockchain projects successful requires the deep study of the interaction of territory, technology and actors from the provenance angle. De-commodification of coffee can be actualized through blockchain. Social implications The coffee paradox and skewed value distribution is also a social problem wherein the farmers do not get the right price of their produce and are exploited. This case also highlights how this social malaise can be addressed and rightful and equitable distribution of value happens across the value chain. Originality/value This linkage between territory, blockchain, commodity supply chain and institutions has not been discussed in the literature. Adopting the territorial design approach, this study is an attempt to stimulate inter-disciplinary conversations and thereby create a provenance framework for commodity and research questions for scholars from different disciplines and divergent disciplinary perspectives.
Grazia Dıcuonzo, Francesca Donofrıo, Antonio Fusco, Vittorio Dell’Atti
New technologies are assuming a prominent role in the transformation of economic and social systems and are capturing the interest of many businesses and international institutions. Blockchain is an emerging technology that is relevant in all sectors, as its applications can be adapted to multiple contexts with possible significant advantages for business. The ability to perform transactions without a central entity acting as a trust guarantor, typical of blockchain, offers the opportunity to rethink the way business processes are managed. Based on the case study methodology, this work aims to understand how blockchain could affect the business model in the banking sector and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the implementation of blockchain.
As the world is striving to recover from the shockwaves triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, all hands are needed on deck to transition towards green recovery and make peace with nature as prerequisites of a global sustainable development pathway. In this paper, we examine the blockchain hype, the gaps in the knowledge, and the tools needed to build promising use cases for blockchain technology to accelerate global efforts in this decade of action towards achieving the SDGs. We attempt to break the “hype cycle” portraying blockchain’s superiority by navigating a rational blockchain use case development approach. By prototyping an SDG Acceleration Scorecard to use blockchain-enabled solutions as SDG accelerators, we aim to provide useful insights towards developing an integrated approach that is fit-for-purpose to guide organizations and practitioners in their quest to make informed decisions to design and implement blockchain-backed solutions as SDG accelerators. Acknowledging the limitations in prototyping such tools, we believe these are minimally viable products and should be considered as living tools that can further evolve as the blockchain technology matures, its pace of adoption increases, lessons are learned, and good practices and standards are widely shared and internalized by teams and organizations working on innovation for development.
Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, Zhang Yu, Salman Sarwat, Danish Iqbal Godil · 6 authors
This paper aims to examine the role of blockchain technology for the circular economy to enhance organisational performance in the context of China–Pakistan-Economic-Corridor (CPEC). A close-ended questionnaire-based survey of manufacturing firms was administered to collect cross-sectional data from 290 respondents, which has been analysed through structural equation modelling. The circular economy approach in supply chain management offers environmental as well as economic benefits to the organisations. With the beginning of the Industry 4.0 era, there is an emphasis on technology in every field. A relatively recent phenomenon of blockchain technology promises lots of potential improvement in business operations. According to our results, with features such as visibility, transparency, relationship management, and smart contracting, blockchain technology was found to play a positive role in the circular economy. Furthermore, green practices were found to have a positive nexus with environmental and economic pathways to the firms’ performance, whereas environmental performance was also found to have a positive nexus with the economic health of the firm. Last but not the least, both environmental and economic performances were found to be the cause of a boost in organisational performance.
Santosh Nandi, Joseph Sarkis, Aref A. Hervani, Marilyn M. Helms
Purpose Using the resource-based and the resource dependence theoretical approaches of the firm, the paper explores firm responses to supply chain disruptions during COVID-19. The paper explores how firms develop localization, agility and digitization (L-A-D) capabilities by applying (or not applying) their critical circular economy (CE) and blockchain technology (BCT)-related resources and capabilities that they either already possess or acquire from external agents. Design/methodology/approach An abductive approach, applying exploratory qualitative research was conducted over a sample of 24 firms. The sample represented different industries to study their critical BCT and CE resources and capabilities and the L-A-D capabilities. Firm resources and capabilities were classified using the technology, organization and environment (TOE) framework. Findings Findings show significant patterns on adoption levels of the blockchain-enabled circular economy system (BCES) and L-A-D capability development. The greater the BCES adoption capabilities, the greater the L-A-D capabilities. Organizational size and industry both influence the relationship between BCES and L-A-D. Accordingly, research propositions and a research framework are proposed. Research limitations/implications Given the limited sample size, the generalizability of the findings is limited. Our findings extend supply chain resiliency research. A series of propositions provide opportunities for future research. The resource-based view and resource-dependency theories are useful frameworks to better understanding the relationship between firm resources and supply chain resilience. Practical implications The results and discussion of this study serve as useful guidance for practitioners to create CE and BCT resources and capabilities for improving supply chain resiliency. Social implications The study shows the socio-economic and socio-environmental importance of BCES in the COVID-19 or similar crises. Originality/value The study is one of the initial attempts that highlights the possibilities of BCES across multiple industries and their value during pandemics and disruptions.
Rohan Sanjay Pawar, Sarah Ashok Sonje, Shekhar Shukla
Developing economies provide basic food commodities to the economically backward sections of the society at subsidized prices to reduce food insecurity. The main objective of these programs is to insulate the poor from the impact of rising prices of food commodities and maintain the minimum nutritional status of the population. However, there are financial mismanagement and issues associated with the current working of these schemes that attributed to the illicit diversion of the commodities, urban bias, serious wastage of food and inefficient supervision during the distribution process. Thus, the policy implementation fails to reach its intended beneficiaries. We used principles of Value-Focused Thinking (VFT) to understand this problem at the grass root level by consulting the various stakeholders involved in the food subsidy value-chain. Based on these findings from VFT, we propose a Blockchain-based system demonstrated through a prototype to provide a robust solution for the aforementioned research context.
A strong need for evidence-based practice in the blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) research, development and action domains is currently clarifying. Literature highlights a lack of transparency around the outputs, outcomes and impacts of blockchain projects. As previously cited in this journal for example, the US Agency for International Development studied 43 projects, and found that nearly all did not want to share their results [1]. The Centre for Evidence Based Blockchain recently completed a study of 517 companies to see if their blockchain projects could be defined as evidence-based practice. Over four, years they measured companies using the PCIO framework (what evidence is there of Problem – Comparison – Intervention and Outcomes) of evidence-based practice. The studies concluded that almost half of blockchain companies showed “no explicit evidence of the problem to be solved. Approximately one-third fail[ed] to cite a comparison and intervention analysis, and less than 2% demonstrate[d] evidence of outcomes backed by filtered (critically appraised, peer reviewed) information” (Naqvi & Hussain, p. 8 [2].) This paper presents how qualitative research design and methodologies can help companies and academics achieve evidence-based practice. It presents a case study, in the PCIO framework, of a small-scale agriculture sector project to assure a specific quality. The case study is a conclusion of a project that was run as participatory action research (PAR), involving a consortium including academics, farmer practitioners and a technical DLT platform developer, between 2018 and 2020. The findings show that PAR is an appropriate research method for any democratic collaborative consortia to achieve evidence-based practice through dialogue, discussion, co-development and trusting relationships.
Malni Kumarathunga, Rodrigo N. Calheiros, Athula Ginige
This paper presents a conceptual model for an online agricultural commodity market that empowers farmers with a better price determination mechanism through collective marketing and Blockchain smart contracts. The model makes collective marketing possible by generating Many-one-Many relationships between farmers, farmers' groups, and buyers. While collective marketing improves farmers' bargaining position leading to higher rates, trust enabled by Blockchain smart contracts facilitates farmers to establish deals with buyers who offer the best rate transforming the commodity market into a sustainable market.
Distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) have been celebrated for promoting transparency, trust, and efficiency in several domains. However, recent research has also pointed out the potential of these technologies to increase power asymmetries and deepen social inequality. In this paper, we contribute to this discussion by reporting on a collective effort of academics, development partners, local authorities, businesses, and farming groups to look at the potential of DLTs, particularly Blockchains, to support socio-economic development in rural communities in the Caribbean. We present a series of design concepts resulting from this effort and reflect on a method to facilitate stakeholders' experience of possible implementations and enable them to voice concerns, preferences, and expectations. Results from workshops with different groups of stakeholders contribute insights into opportunities and limitations of these applications to enable social development and to level the playing field in agricultural exchanges in developing countries.
Purpose Blockchain is expected to have a significant impact on Systems of Innovation as the new General Purpose Technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Blockchain can revolutionise the Systems of Innovation by investigating its overall structure, actors and relationships. Design/methodology/approach This study used the systematic mapping method to explore and integrate the Blockchain and Systems of Innovation literature for the creation of a new conceptual model of Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation. In that scope, 37 Blockchain-related and 32 Systems of Innovation-related papers, besides two major books in the field of Blockchain, have been reviewed and then integrated based on the Systems Thinking approach. Findings The key findings for Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation are that there is (1) an increased distribution of networks and collaborations, (2) increased trust through the use of reputation systems, (3) an emerging new nature of platform characteristics, (4) a democratisation of entrepreneurship by the new funding landscape and (5) an increased significance of technological drivers, such as energy. Research limitations/implications The study shows new Systems of Innovation-related research implications. Accordingly, a new type of actor, relationship and attribute has been introduced where the boundaries of the role definitions are blurred and more distributed. This is where larger organisations can expect to lose their central position. The different types of actors are replaced by a network of actors as a result of the distributed new Blockchain-based system. The threshold for the Bottom of the Pyramid is expected to be reduced, leading to a more democratised innovation system. Practical Implications Blockchain appears to reduce the effects of distrust in collaborative innovation practices with its consensus mechanisms and the new Blockchain-enabled Systems of Innovation is expected to revolutionise the interactions in the future. Originality/value There are very few studies that have been found to integrate innovation management practices with Blockchain. This is the first Blockchain-based Systems of Innovation study enabling the fundamental revision of its structure, types of relationships and actors.
Coffee is both one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and one of the most important internationally traded commodities. However, the coffee value chain is opaque and unbalanced: less than 10% of the $200 billion industry value remains in producing countries. First, this article introduces the idea of a Commodity Fairness Index used to measure the inequality, or economic imbalance, in a commodity value chain, and calculates it in the case of Colombian coffee. Secondly, the paper describes the system architecture of a web app built upon Hyperledger Fabric that paves the way to improve coffee farmers’ lives by bringing transparency and traceability into the entire value chain and improving its fairness as a result. The application of blockchain technology to the coffee industry enables inclusive business models that reward quality and hard work, and in turn translates into greater trust, confidence and fairness across the entire industry as well as among end consumers.
Farmers are inhibited from Agri supply chains due to upfront transaction costs. There is ample evidence that farmers' participation in supply chains produce benefits for farmers. This paper analyses how blockchain might support farmers to reduce transaction costs and improve their involvement in supply chains by reviewing the literature. The study contributes some theoretical insights to our knowledge on how transaction costs can be reduced by implementing supply chain collaboration with blockchain technology. It further presents some design implications for a blockchain-enabled system that would also support collective marketing. Practitioners in the Agri domain can use this analysis as a support for developing a system that improves farmers' participation in Agri supply chains.
Open innovation is a concept in flux; from the practice of large-scale, internet-mediated collaboration, to a strategic option and business model for firms. However, the scope and breadth of its transformative dynamic is arguably restrained. Despite the theoretical and empirical benefits of openness, established firms face significant challenges deploying the coordination patterns of open innovation communities, further reducing the potential of spill-overs in the supply chain. Viewed differently, open innovation presents more user-centric and responsible innovation paths. These are manifested in the processes and outputs of open innovation by empowering participation and by successfully employing the capacities of user communities. To reap the benefits of open innovation, a rapid reconfiguration of the production and exchange structures is needed in intrafirm and interfirm relations. Sensorica is an open enterprise that achieves such forms of organization and a unique techno-social infrastructure supporting them. It illustrates a potential path that can realize the full potential of open innovation, for users, firms, and the economic system as a whole.