From technological signal to behavioral response: Unraveling the influence of blockchain traceability labels in fresh e-commerce

Fresh products have experienced rapid growth on e-commerce platforms but generally face the threat of quality uncertainty. Blockchain-based traceability technology is expected to address the issues of information asymmetry and trust deficit among consumers, thereby facilitating their purchase decisions. However, existing research has ignored the effect of blockchain traceability labels on consumer behavioral responses towards fresh products. Leveraging the procedural-signal nature of blockchain traceability labels, this study employs three experiments, including one field experiment (N = 200) and two laboratory experiments (N = 242; N = 398), to examine how blockchain traceability labels influence consumers’ behavioral responses (e.g., purchase intention, WOM intention) towards fresh products. The results indicate that blockchain traceability labels directly and indirectly increase consumer behavioral responses (i.e., click-through behavior, purchase intention, and WOM intention) through the serial mediating path of “supply chain transparency → platform trust†. Furthermore, customer innovativeness positively moderates the relationship between blockchain traceability labels and supply chain transparency. Specifically, for consumers with high innovativeness, the transparency perception and subsequent behavioral responses induced by blockchain traceability labels are stronger. This study integrates the signal-sensemaking theory in explaining the impact mechanism of blockchain traceability labels for fresh products, providing practical insights for understanding and optimizing the application of blockchain in fresh e-commerce.