Blockchain technology can play a crucial role to facilitate the transition from a linear to a circular economy. This article evaluates those enablers that influence technology adoption in the circular economy. A comprehensive literature review and feedback from experts revealed nineteen critical enablers. The Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology was used to determine the cause-and-effect relationships between them. The findings identified five critical causal enablers: transparency, security, smart contracts, traceability, and enhanced collaboration. Effect enablers were identified as immutability, decentralization, privacy, automation, information sharing, and enhanced regulation.
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 individualsâ 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 authorsâ 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.
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.
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.
Gloria Luzzani, Erica Grandis, Marco Frey, E. Capri
Sustainability standards have not yet been commonly adopted by the whole wine chain, and indicator assessments are not widely spread. A deep understanding of how embedding sustainability into business while controlling costs related to the adoption of sustainability certification standards such as data collection and management practices could allow one to overcome most barriers relevant to sustainability compliance. Blockchain technology (BCT) may answer these needs. In order to verify BCT potential to be used as a sustainability management tool in the wine industry, with a qualitative triple bottom line research approach, this article explores the connections among BCT adoption in agri-food, issues posed by wine sustainability certification, and whether wine companies that already own a wine sustainability certification are prepared to adopt it. Results show that (1) the blockchain allows collecting data and information that are relevant for monitoring and improving sustainability: Soil and water features, climate conditions, treatment with pesticides and fertilizers, production process, traceability, transparency, labor and human rights, quality and safety, waste reduction, authenticity, relationship with stakeholders; (2) wine companies that already own a sustainability certification have little familiarity with blockchain applications (57.1%, n.21) and only 14% of the respondents support their intention to invest in BCT in the coming years; (3) the case study shows improvements in traceability and transparency along the supply chain and an increase in consumersâ trust that was reflected in sales growth, and the main costs are linked to complexity in data management.
Blockchain technology has been promised as a solution to social and environmental issues in supply chains. The potential includes reduction of vulnerable party exploitation and avoiding environmentally harmful practices. Yet, it remains unclear how these potential improvements are created and whether blockchain can truly contribute. Therefore, this field study explores and identifies the mechanisms for blockchain technology to facilitate positive social and environmental impacts in supply chains. We applied an explorative qualitative research approach and interviewed blockchain technology implementers and practitioners that allowed a detailed analysis of this problem despite the scarcity of practice data. The results include the development of a middle-range theory that shows barriers and drivers of blockchain-based technologies in supply chains, introduces the concept of blockchain-enabled system, and outlines expected outcomes and impacts. We further identify four impact pathways that describe how blockchain-enabled system create positive impact: (voluntary) market mechanisms, plausibility checks, smart contracts and tokenisation, and peer-to-peer trust. The study contributes by providing insights into âhowâ blockchain-based technologies in supply chains can lead to social and environmental impacts. The study also furthers the discussion on blockchain technologyâs role in supply chain implementation and addresses the yet unresolved problem of measuring the impact of such blockchain-enabled systems.
Blockchain technology, best known as the decentralised transactional ledger of Internet currencies such as Bitcoin, could provide possibilities for tracking the origin of timber products. As such, it could ease the complex job of timber procurement officers in companies that seek to purchase timber products from trustworthy origins. This study explores how trust among purchasers in suppliers of sustainable timber can be increased and the roles that blockchain technology could play as a factor influencing purchasing decisions. The study examines the attributes influencing purchaser trust in timber products, revealing that the country of origin is the strongest predictor of purchaser trust, followed by the price level for the timber product, the presence of a certification scheme, and the duration of the relationship with the supplier. Blockchain technology also had a significant effect on purchaser trust and could become an important factor for generating trust in timber products during international trade.
Rebekkah Navas, Hyo Jung Chang, Samina Khan, Jo Woon Chong
Consumers and professionals realize the importance of adopting social and environmental responsibility, but it is not easy for companies to implement transparent sustainability strategies that consumers can trust. Thus, it is often hard for consumers to compare brands to make conscious sustainability decisions. Blockchain technology is proposed as a bridge between ecolabels and industry initiatives as this technology provides the transparency of sustainable business practices. The objective of this study is to examine the effects of effectiveness, knowledge of the sustainability initiative, and trust in claims made by a company in ecolabels (i.e., traditional and blockchain ecolabels) on intention to buy products by comparing Generations X and Y. A total of 200 participants completed the survey. The results indicated that both the trust and knowledge measures were higher for the blockchain label than for the traditional ecolabel for Generation Y. Thus, the companies should determine how to effectively integrate this technology to the mutual benefit of the retailer and consumer by different generations.
Open access
Environmental Sustainability in Business
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Purpose In the disruptive technologies era, the lack of convincing business cases on blockchain (BC) adoption about food supply chain, the existence of uncertainties and barriers to adoption due to knowledge scarcity on characteristics as well as the potentialities and risks involved in it, have triggered the need to investigate the first multinational BC adoption for food supply chain in Europe, to consider how it can guarantee knowledge for the consumption/purchase decision-making and the creation-mechanism of consciousness for sustainable behavioral choice. Design/methodology/approach The authors provide a field exploratory analysis based on customers' perceptions and real knowledge about BC (as a knowledge-constructive tool) in the food and beverage sector. This connected with the need for an informed context, favoring sustainable conscious decision-making related to both the food chain and innovation acceptance. This analysis included the use of innovation acceptance as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategic orientation through a survey- and interview-based field analysis (80 respondents). Findings The findings of this study can be considered as antecedents of innovation acceptance in the sector. The analysis assesses consumers' scarce knowledge and perceptions on the BC system, the scarce usage level and the higher acquiring propensity for traceable foodstuffs generating bi-directional/dimensional value, considering that consumption habits could change through security and certainty antecedents and induced knowledge provided by external technological intervention. Originality/value By trying to match innovation and the knowledge-construction need as a vehicle for acceptance, the theoretical contribution would empower the literature on food traceability from the perspective of strategic BC application through a from-knowledge-to-knowledge strategy.
Mobashar Mubarik, Raja Zuraidah Raja Mohd Rasi, Muhammad Faraz Mubarak, Rashid Ashraf
Purpose This study investigates the impact of blockchain technology on green supply chain practices with the aim to promote pro-environmental settings in supply chains of manufacturing firms. Moreover, mediating role of environmental orientation is examined between blockchain technology and green supply chain practices. Also, moderating role of technological orientation in this connection is undertaken. Design/methodology/approach The authors have applied a quantitative methodology in which a questionnaire was developed from literature. After that, data are collected from manufacturing firms of Malaysia. The data collected are analysed by using PLS-SEM in which multiple regression and moderation are applied. Findings The results of this study confirm the positive impact of blockchain on green supply chain practices. Also, the mediating role of environmental orientation is revealed in this relationship. Moreover, technological orientation is confirmed as a moderator which strengthens the relationship between blockchain technology and green supply chain practices. Research limitations/implications This study has collected data from manufacturing firms of Malaysia. However, the authors have not undertaken service sector firms. Thus, they recommend future researchers to consider service sector firms in this context. Moreover, they have taken SMEs for this study and have neglected large firms. Therefore, in future, large firms could be taken to test the current study's perspective in them. Furthermore, this study suggests to the policymaker and managers, especially of manufacturing concerns, to infuse Industry 4.0 technologies such as blockchain technology because of its manifold benefits. Practical implications This study suggests to the policymaker and managers, especially of manufacturing concerns, to infuse Industry 4.0 technologies such as blockchain technology because of its manifold benefits. First, it will enhance the integration across the streams of the supply chain; secondly, it will improve the demand and supply planning which will eliminate the extra production and will enable firms to adopt just-in-time production by saving various costs associated otherwise. Importantly, these processes are against the pro-environmental behaviour which is pivotal to achieve green supply chain practices. Originality/value This study contributes by joining the technological perspective of Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainability perspective of green supply chain in manufacturing concerns. In addition, the related concepts of technological orientation and environmental orientation are also undertaken to further adjoin the former fields. As a practical contribution, this study will, first, enhance the integration across the streams of supply chain; secondly it will improve the demand and supply planning which will eliminates the extra production and will enable firms to adopt just-in-time production by saving various costs associated otherwise. It is also suggested to instil pro-environmental behaviour or environmental orientation in the employees at all levels of firm. Moreover, technological orientation should also be improved by emphasizing on the importance of technology for environmentally friendly and green supply chain practices.
Francesco Mercuri, Gaetano della Corte, Federica Ricci
The lack of transparency along global supply chains poses challenges in the areas of fraud, pollution, human rights abuses, and inefficiencies. In this context, the blockchain has the potential to offer an unprecedented level of transparency, with a shared and decentralized database in which immutable and encrypted copies of information are stored on every node of the network. Using a single case study methodology, this paper investigates how blockchain technology can improve and facilitate sustainable business models. The aim of this paper is to understand how blockchain technology can drive the development of sustainable business models. Recent studies show the importance of sustainability perspectives for business models. The study was conducted by applying the CAOS (âCharacteristic, Ambience, Organization, Start-upâ) model to a start-up operating in the agri-food sector, not yet institutionalized, called Devoleum. The results indicate that blockchain technology can increase sustainability through realizing the traceability, security, and non-manipulability of information, which are particularly useful in the agri-food sector. Furthermore, the absence of intermediaries in blockchain technology contributes to reducing transaction costs and the time required to consolidate relations between the company and the environment. The limitations of this study must be identified in that the company is operational but not yet incorporated.
Purpose This paper aims to examine and overcome the barriers to the widespread adoption of blockchain technology, introducing a novel concept of sustainability in the fashion supply chain. Design/methodology/approach This work is an exploratory study of a well-known fashion company operating in the Veneto region (Italy). Data extracted from interviews and focus groups are coded using the (CAQDAS) software AQUAD. The outcome is then organized according to an adapted TOE view. Findings This exploration study's findings support the idea that the blockchain solution could be a valuable add-on in sustainable supply chains. However, a high understanding of technology and extensive communication with clients is required for successful integration. Research limitations/implications Being the outcome of qualitative analysis, the findings require further investigation to be inferable at a broader scale. As the project is still incomplete, some managerial choices are always subject to change. Practical implications Focused on a practitioner approach, this paper should guide managers in the process of successfully implementing blockchain technology. Arguably, similar companies may opt for similar choices. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first paper to contextualize and address the blockchain adoption barriers in the fashion supply chain. Furthermore, it offers an overview of how blockchain affects sustainable production.
The purpose of this research is to examine the green supply chain (GSC) financing decisions of manufacturers and capital-constrained retailers in order to establish a Stackelberg game model under decentralized and centralized decision-making. This paper studies the influence of retailersâ choice of trade credit or bank loan financing strategy on a GSCâs performance and analyzes their decision-making tendency. The results show that manufacturers should provide trade credit and participate in retailersâ financing decisions to avoid double marginal effects under both centralized and decentralized decision-making. Interestingly, the optimal value of green marketing effort and retailer order quantity was twice as high as the decentralized under the centralized decision, indicating that the centralized decision could better improve GSCâs financing efficiency. Especially when the trade credit financing strategy is feasible, this effect is more significant. Finally, the outcomes are verified through numerical simulation, which references GSC practitioners in management decisions.
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 ChinaâPakistan-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 firmsâ 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.
Using environmentally friendly materials is a popular business practice in the fashion industry nowadays, which can affect both a fashion product's cost and its environmental impacts in the manufacturing process. Given the growing social consciousness of the public, the integration of environmentally friendly materials can also influence the market demand of fashion products. This article studies the information disclosure games over the environmental efforts in fashion supply chains. We consider a fashion retailer, which is the Stackelberg leader, orders sustainable fashion products made from environmentally friendly materials from a manufacturer. The fashion retailer can choose either to affix the eco-label or to adopt the blockchain technology, to declare the environmental quality of the fashion product to consumers. Meanwhile, given that the environmental quality is unobservable to the fashion retailer and the consumers, the manufacturer with credibility concerns can have the actual environmental quality of the fashion product discounted. We discuss how the application of the blockchain technology influences the information disclosure games over the environmental efforts in the fashion industry. Findings in this article advance the understanding on the application of the blockchain technology in sustainable practices in fashion supply chains.
Kathleen M. Bakarich, John âJackâ Castonguay, Patrick E. OâBrien
ABSTRACT The changing dynamics of the accounting profession have been strongly influenced by emerging technologies and the demand for nontraditional metrics and information by stakeholders and regulators. In this article, we perform an exploratory content analysis to examine the role that blockchain technology can play in enhancing sustainability reporting and assurance. The benefits to companies and assurance professionals in using the distributed ledger technology of blockchain are increased trust, transparency, and traceability, which matches stakeholders' demands as it relates to sustainability reporting. This article identifies and analyzes potential and current use cases of blockchain in the United States and Canada to assist accountants and auditors in preparing and reviewing sustainability information. We highlight how augmenting traditional reporting systems with blockchain can overcome problems with sustainability reporting. We discuss implications for practice in detailâfinding that blockchain is wellâpositioned to provide reliable tracking and custodial support as it relates to sustainability information currently being selfâreported by many firms, such as greenhouse gas emissions, conflict mineral disclosure, or product provenance, among others. Expanded adoption of blockchains by companies will lead to higherâquality information being included in sustainability reports and allow assurance professionals to verify a wider range of information, potentially leading to uniform standards in the evaluation of sustainability reports.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to the adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management (GSCM) and further analyze the cause and effect relationship to prioritize the barriers for making strategic decisions. Design/methodology/approach The study examines 15 potential barriers related to the adoption of blockchain in GSCM which is identified from the literature review and finalized after subsequent discussions with industry professionals. Integrated Fuzzy-Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory approach is used to analyze cause and effect relationships and prioritize the barriers. Fuzzy set theory is used to handle the uncertainty and vagueness associated with the personnel biases and data deficiency problems. Three small to medium enterprisesâ (SMEsâ) are considered for gathering data and further analyzing the crucial barriers that are impeding the adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM. Findings The findings reveal that âlack of management visionâ and âcultural differences among supply chain partnersâ are the most influencing barriers, whereas; âcollaboration challengesâ and âhesitation and workforce obsolescenceâ are the most influential barriers in the adoption of blockchain in GSCM. Research limitations/implications The study is developed based on 15 selected barriers which were further tested using data from three SMEsâ in the emerging economy of India. The adoption of blockchain technology in GSCM is at a nascent stage and more research studies are necessary to extend the knowledge base. Practical implications Managers need to eliminate the barriers and extend the blockchain technology application in GSCM. Managers need to develop the mission and vision of the company by doing proper alignment of blockchain technology with GSCM goals. Second, managers need to make strong collaborations and remove the hesitation and workforce obsolescence barrier by providing the right education and pieces of training. Originality/value Blockchain technology in GSCM is in a nascent stage. This study extends the knowledge base by identifying and further prioritizing the leading blockchain barriers that need to be overcome for effectively adopting blockchain in GSCM.
Santosh B. Rane, Shivangi Viral Thakker, Ravi Kant
Purpose Environmental sustainability has become a primary factor for organisations to compete globally. Stakeholders' involvement with necessary commitment at the right stage of supply chain management (SCM) plays a vital role in development of green supply chain. This paper aims to explore the involvement aspect of stakeholders towards greening of the supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors for stakeholder involvement in development of green supply chain and develop use cases for managers and practitioners planning to implement recent technologies to support stakeholders' involvement. Design/methodology/approach After a thorough literature survey and interviews with experts from industry and academia, the factors for involvement of stakeholders for greening the supply chain were identified. A survey-based research has been used to collect primary data for effective people involvement in development of green supply chain. The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method is used for ranking the critical success factors. Effective implementation of success factors using merits of blockchain and internet of things (IoT) technologies are discussed. Use cases are developed for practitioners for using a blockchain IoT-integrated architecture. Findings The results show that criterion C21 (cooperation with buyer for green initiatives) is the most important for green supply chain, and criterion C5 (global customers) has least effect on greening the supply chain. Involving stakeholders in the green product design ensures improved efficiency of the supply chain. Merits of technologies like blockchain and IoT may be reaped successfully for incorporating critical success factors to develop green supply chain. Research limitations/implications The research can further be extended by developing the research model with hypothesis and conducting a survey for validation. Automobile industry use cases are considered for this research, and it may be further developed for different industry sectors like process industries, service, etc. Practical implications Managers can make use of these 22 critical success factors and capabilities of the blockchain IoT-integrated architecture to successfully involve stakeholders. Practitioners/managers can dramatically change SCM with respect to the response speed, accuracy of decision-making, data acquisition, data storage and data accessibility, transparency, trust-building, opportunity of participation, communication quality, freedom in payment based on blockchain IoT-integrated architecture. Preventing pollution and converting the enterprises into green and sustainable organisations have created lot of concerns worldwide. This research addresses the issue of green initiatives and the role of stakeholders in improving the green status of industry. Originality/value Though there is research on involving suppliers and customers in the supply chain activities, there is a significant delay in integrating human resource management in the supply chain. This research proposes integration of stakeholders using recent technologies for green supply chain. Use cases developed for the automobile industry gives path to future research in this domain.