IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/bstrat/v35y2026i3p3505-3522.html

How Organizations Utilize Blockchain Technology to Improve Sustainable Performance: Unveiling the Role of Blockchain Capability and Social Capital

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoxin Zhang
  • Jiabao Lin
  • Xin (Robert) Luo

Abstract

Sustainable performance has emerged as a critical concern for firms, and blockchain plays a pivotal role in facilitating sustainability outcomes. However, the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which blockchain use affects sustainable performance are unclear. Drawing on information technology‐enabled organizational capabilities theory, we propose how and when blockchain use affects sustainable performance, depending on the mediating role of blockchain capability and the moderating role of social capital. Based on survey data from 207 Chinese firms, the empirical results reveal that blockchain capability fully mediates the link between blockchain use and sustainable performance. Further analysis finds that social capital negatively moderates the connection between blockchain use and blockchain capability; namely, when blockchain is used to develop blockchain capability, social capital creates a substitution relationship. This research offers valuable insights into how firms can leverage blockchain to achieve sustainable performance by introducing a novel capability perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoxin Zhang & Jiabao Lin & Xin (Robert) Luo, 2026. "How Organizations Utilize Blockchain Technology to Improve Sustainable Performance: Unveiling the Role of Blockchain Capability and Social Capital," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 3505-3522, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:3:p:3505-3522
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.70351
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.70351
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/bse.70351?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:35:y:2026:i:3:p:3505-3522. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-0836 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.