Marc Hübschke, Marius Gros, Benedikt Latos, Elmar Holschbach · 5 authors
Purpose Blockchain technology is widely discussed as an enabler of transparency, efficiency and trust in supply chain management (SCM). However, empirical evidence on which blockchain-related success dimensions translate into value perceptions remains limited. This study aims to examine how the perceived relevance of blockchain success dimensions relates to realized benefits and whether these benefits contribute to overall perceived blockchain value. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative survey of 41 companies with blockchain experience in SCM is conducted. Success dimensions are prioritized using best–worst scaling (MaxDiff). Relationships between perceived relevance, dimension-specific benefits and overall perceived value are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Exploratory analyses assess company characteristics. Findings Contrary to dominant expectations in academic and practitioner narratives, even highly prioritized blockchain success dimensions fail to translate into measurable firm-level value perceptions. While transparency and traceability are associated with significant dimension-specific benefits, these improvements do not produce statistically significant direct or indirect effects on overall perceived blockchain value. This suggests that localized operational gains alone may be insufficient to generate overall perceived value and indicates that blockchain benefits may depend on broader organizational and technological complements. Originality/value The study moves beyond identifying potential blockchain benefits by empirically differentiating which success dimensions matter and which do not. By combining MaxDiff with PLS-SEM, it offers a structured, mechanism-oriented framework for evaluating blockchain success and highlights boundary conditions for value realization in SCM.
With the standardization of the logistics market and advancements in innovation, trust issues arising from information asymmetry among supply chain participants have become increasingly prominent. This paper examines a blockchain-enabled collaborative regulatory system for logistics service supply chains involving the government, logistics enterprises, and the logistics market. Using evolutionary game theory, a three-party evolutionary game model is constructed and validated through system dynamics simulations to explore the impacts of various factors on the collaborative regulatory system. The results indicate that, during the system’s evolution, logistics enterprises stabilize first, followed by the government, with the logistics market converging the slowest. The added value of logistics services is identified as the core factor driving logistics enterprises to adopt blockchain, exhibiting a significantly stronger impact compared to regulatory benefits or improvements in quality and safety. While robust incentive policies can rapidly increase enterprises’ willingness to adopt blockchain technology, they concurrently weaken the government’s enthusiasm for regulation.
Background Scientific output on digital transformation in healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chains increased substantially after 2020, indicating growing research attention to resilient and digitally integrated logistics systems. However, the literature remains fragmented across technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, predictive analytics, cold chain monitoring and healthcare logistics optimization. Methods This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications related to digital transformation and emerging technologies in healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chains. Data were retrieved from Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases following PRISMA 2020 screening principles. After duplicate removal and eligibility assessment, 83 peer-reviewed English-language journal articles published between 2015 and 2026 were included in the final analysis. Bibliometric mapping and thematic analysis were performed using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny. Results Within the analyzed corpus, the results showed a substantial increase in scientific publications after 2020, consistent with growing research attention to resilient and digitally integrated healthcare supply chains. Blockchain showed the highest visibility in keyword and citation-based analyses, particularly in relation to traceability, transparency and anti-counterfeit systems. Additional major research areas included artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, IoT-based cold chain monitoring and healthcare logistics optimization. Thematic analysis identified strong literature-based associations between digital technologies, supply chain resilience and pharmaceutical traceability systems. Conclusions Digital technologies are increasingly represented in research on healthcare and pharmaceutical supply chain transformation. The findings suggest that blockchain, AI and IoT technologies may support transparency, traceability and operational resilience. However, implementation barriers related to interoperability, infrastructure costs, data privacy and regulatory complexity remain significant challenges. These findings should be interpreted as bibliometric and thematic patterns within the analyzed English-language journal literature rather than direct evidence of technology implementation effectiveness.