IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/proeco/v231y2021ics0925527320302012.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers

Author

Listed:
  • Kouhizadeh, Mahtab
  • Saberi, Sara
  • Sarkis, Joseph

Abstract

Blockchain technology has gained global attention with potential to revolutionize supply chain management and sustainability achievements. The few applied ongoing use cases include blockchain for food, healthcare, and logistics supply chains have emphasized blockchain's untapped potential. Potential support for supply chain and sustainability issues include improving efficiency, transparency, and traceability in addition to billions of dollars in corporate financial savings. Given its promise, the adoption of blockchain technology, although hyped for years, has not seen rapid acceptance. In this study, the technology-organization-environment framework and force field theories are utilized to investigate blockchain adoption barriers. Using various literature streams on technology, organizational practices, and sustainability, a comprehensive overview of barriers for adopting blockchain technology to manage sustainable supply chains is provided. The barriers are explored using technology, organizational, and environmental – supply chain and external – framework followed by inputs from academics and industry experts and then analyzed using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) tool. The results show that supply chain and technological barriers are the most critical barriers among both academics and industry experts. We further determine the similarities and differences among academics and practitioners in perceiving the barriers. This exploratory study reveals interesting relative importance and interrelationships of barriers which are necessary, theoretically and practically for further adoption and dissemination of blockchain technology in a sustainable supply chain environment. It also sets the stage for theoretical observations for understanding blockchain technology implementation in sustainable supply chains. A series of research propositions and research directions culminate from this exploratory study.

Suggested Citation

  • Kouhizadeh, Mahtab & Saberi, Sara & Sarkis, Joseph, 2021. "Blockchain technology and the sustainable supply chain: Theoretically exploring adoption barriers," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:231:y:2021:i:c:s0925527320302012
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107831
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527320302012
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ijpe.2020.107831?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huaiqing Wang & Kun Chen & Dongming Xu, 2016. "A maturity model for blockchain adoption," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 1-5, December.
    2. Sachin Kamble & Angappa Gunasekaran & Himanshu Arha, 2019. "Understanding the Blockchain technology adoption in supply chains-Indian context," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(7), pages 2009-2033, April.
    3. Sara Saberi & Mahtab Kouhizadeh & Joseph Sarkis & Lejia Shen, 2019. "Blockchain technology and its relationships to sustainable supply chain management," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(7), pages 2117-2135, April.
    4. William Nikolakis & Lijo John & Harish Krishnan, 2018. "How Blockchain Can Shape Sustainable Global Value Chains: An Evidence, Verifiability, and Enforceability (EVE) Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Min, Hokey, 2019. "Blockchain technology for enhancing supply chain resilience," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 35-45.
    6. Sarkis, Joseph & Talluri, Srinivas, 2004. "Evaluating and selecting e-commerce software and communication systems for a supply chain," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(2), pages 318-329, December.
    7. Jasneet Kaur & Ramneet Sidhu & Anjali Awasthi & Satyaveer Chauhan & Suresh Goyal, 2018. "A DEMATEL based approach for investigating barriers in green supply chain management in Canadian manufacturing firms," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 312-332, January.
    8. Montecchi, Matteo & Plangger, Kirk & Etter, Michael, 2019. "It’s real, trust me! Establishing supply chain provenance using blockchain," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 283-293.
    9. Ball, Amanda & Craig, Russell, 2010. "Using neo-institutionalism to advance social and environmental accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 283-293.
    10. Sher Zaman Khan & Qing Yang & Abdul Waheed, 2019. "Investment in intangible resources and capabilities spurs sustainable competitive advantage and firm performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(2), pages 285-295, March.
    11. Wang, Yingli & Singgih, Meita & Wang, Jingyao & Rit, Mihaela, 2019. "Making sense of blockchain technology: How will it transform supply chains?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 221-236.
    12. Hackius, Niels & Petersen, Moritz, 2017. "Blockchain in logistics and supply chain: Trick or treat?," Chapters from the Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), in: Kersten, Wolfgang & Blecker, Thorsten & Ringle, Christian M. (ed.), Digitalization in Supply Chain Management and Logistics: Smart and Digital Solutions for an Industry 4.0 Environment. Proceedings of the Hamburg Inter, volume 23, pages 3-18, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Institute of Business Logistics and General Management.
    13. Luthra, Sunil & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Xu, Lei & Diabat, Ali, 2016. "Using AHP to evaluate barriers in adopting sustainable consumption and production initiatives in a supply chain," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(PB), pages 342-349.
    14. Kannan Govindan & Mia Hasanagic, 2018. "A systematic review on drivers, barriers, and practices towards circular economy: a supply chain perspective," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 278-311, January.
    15. Marcos Paulo Valadares de Oliveira & Robert Handfield, 2019. "Analytical foundations for development of real-time supply chain capabilities," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(5), pages 1571-1589, March.
    16. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1504-1511, December.
    17. Nicholas Economides, 1997. "The Economics of Networks," Brazilian Electronic Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, vol. 1(0), December.
    18. Stephen P. Borgatti & Rob Cross, 2003. "A Relational View of Information Seeking and Learning in Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 49(4), pages 432-445, April.
    19. Bailu Fu & Zhan Shu & Xiaogang Liu, 2018. "Blockchain Enhanced Emission Trading Framework in Fashion Apparel Manufacturing Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, April.
    20. Mahtab Kouhizadeh & Joseph Sarkis, 2018. "Blockchain Practices, Potentials, and Perspectives in Greening Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    21. Dmitry Ivanov & Alexandre Dolgui & Boris Sokolov, 2019. "The impact of digital technology and Industry 4.0 on the ripple effect and supply chain risk analytics," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(3), pages 829-846, February.
    22. Joseph Sarkis & Qingyun Zhu, 2018. "Environmental sustainability and production: taking the road less travelled," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 743-759, January.
    23. Fu, Xiaoyong & Zhu, Qinghua & Sarkis, Joseph, 2012. "Evaluating green supplier development programs at a telecommunications systems provider," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 357-367.
    24. Ye Guo & Chen Liang, 2016. "Blockchain application and outlook in the banking industry," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 2(1), pages 1-12, December.
    25. Wu, Kuo-Jui & Tseng, Ming-Lang & Chiu, Anthony S.F. & Lim, Ming K., 2017. "Achieving competitive advantage through supply chain agility under uncertainty: A novel multi-criteria decision-making structure," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 96-107.
    26. Bai, Chunguang & Sarkis, Joseph, 2013. "A grey-based DEMATEL model for evaluating business process management critical success factors," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(1), pages 281-292.
    27. Jesse Yli-Huumo & Deokyoon Ko & Sujin Choi & Sooyong Park & Kari Smolander, 2016. "Where Is Current Research on Blockchain Technology?—A Systematic Review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(10), pages 1-27, October.
    28. Ingemar Dierickx & Karel Cool, 1989. "Asset Stock Accumulation and the Sustainability of Competitive Advantage: Reply," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(12), pages 1514-1514, December.
    29. Islam, A.K.M. Najmul & Mäntymäki, Matti & Turunen, Marja, 2019. "Why do blockchains split? An actor-network perspective on Bitcoin splits," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    30. Yanling Chang & Eleftherios Iakovou & Weidong Shi4, 2019. "Blockchain in Global Supply Chains and Cross Border Trade: A Critical Synthesis of the State-of-the-Art, Challenges and Opportunities," Papers 1901.02715, arXiv.org.
    31. Henry M. Kim & Marek Laskowski, 2018. "Toward an ontology‐driven blockchain design for supply‐chain provenance," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 18-27, January.
    32. Olga Chkanikova & Oksana Mont, 2015. "Corporate Supply Chain Responsibility: Drivers and Barriers for Sustainable Food Retailing," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(2), pages 65-82, March.
    33. Ahl, A. & Yarime, M. & Goto, M. & Chopra, Shauhrat S. & Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj. & Tanaka, K. & Sagawa, D., 2020. "Exploring blockchain for the energy transition: Opportunities and challenges based on a case study in Japan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    34. Mengelkamp, Esther & Gärttner, Johannes & Rock, Kerstin & Kessler, Scott & Orsini, Lawrence & Weinhardt, Christof, 2018. "Designing microgrid energy markets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 870-880.
    35. Stefan Gold & Nathan Kunz & Gerald Reiner, 2017. "Sustainable Global Agrifood Supply Chains: Exploring the Barriers," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(2), pages 249-260, April.
    36. Lee Won Park & Sanghoon Lee & Hangbae Chang, 2018. "A Sustainable Home Energy Prosumer-Chain Methodology with Energy Tags over the Blockchain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    37. Govindan, Kannan & Kaliyan, Mathiyazhagan & Kannan, Devika & Haq, A.N., 2014. "Barriers analysis for green supply chain management implementation in Indian industries using analytic hierarchy process," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(PB), pages 555-568.
    38. Raja Jayaraman & Khaled Salah & Nelson King, 2019. "Improving Opportunities in Healthcare Supply Chain Processes via the Internet of Things and Blockchain Technology," International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics (IJHISI), IGI Global, vol. 14(2), pages 49-65, April.
    39. Aymen Sajjad & Gabriel Eweje & David Tappin, 2015. "Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Motivators and Barriers," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(7), pages 643-655, November.
    40. Angelis, Jannis & Ribeiro da Silva, Elias, 2019. "Blockchain adoption: A value driver perspective," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 307-314.
    41. Morkunas, Vida J. & Paschen, Jeannette & Boon, Edward, 2019. "How blockchain technologies impact your business model," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 295-306.
    42. Mohamed Ben-Daya & Elkafi Hassini & Zied Bahroun, 2019. "Internet of things and supply chain management: a literature review," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(15-16), pages 4719-4742, August.
    43. Pilkington Marc, 2016. "Blockchain Technology: Principles and Applications," Post-Print halshs-01231205, HAL.
    44. Witold Nowiński & Miklós Kozma, 2017. "How Can Blockchain Technology Disrupt the Existing Business Models?," Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, Centre for Strategic and International Entrepreneurship at the Cracow University of Economics., vol. 5(3), pages 173-188.
    45. Marsal-Llacuna, Maria-Lluïsa, 2018. "Future living framework: Is blockchain the next enabling network?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 226-234.
    46. Andoni, Merlinda & Robu, Valentin & Flynn, David & Abram, Simone & Geach, Dale & Jenkins, David & McCallum, Peter & Peacock, Andrew, 2019. "Blockchain technology in the energy sector: A systematic review of challenges and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 143-174.
    47. Wu, Lei-Yu, 2010. "Applicability of the resource-based and dynamic-capability views under environmental volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 27-31, January.
    48. Hannes Hofmann & Christian Busse & Christoph Bode & Michael Henke, 2014. "Sustainability‐Related Supply Chain Risks: Conceptualization and Management," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 160-172, March.
    49. Guo Chao Peng & Miguel Baptista Nunes, 2010. "Barriers to the successful exploitation of ERP systems in Chinese state-owned enterprises," International Journal of Business and Systems Research, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 4(5/6), pages 596-620.
    50. Akira Takeishi, 2001. "Bridging inter‐ and intra‐firm boundaries: management of supplier involvement in automobile product development," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 403-433, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dutta, Pankaj & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Somani, Surabhi & Butala, Richa, 2020. "Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges and research opportunities," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    2. Leng, Jiewu & Ruan, Guolei & Jiang, Pingyu & Xu, Kailin & Liu, Qiang & Zhou, Xueliang & Liu, Chao, 2020. "Blockchain-empowered sustainable manufacturing and product lifecycle management in industry 4.0: A survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    3. Vineet Paliwal & Shalini Chandra & Suneel Sharma, 2020. "Blockchain Technology for Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Literature Review and a Classification Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-39, September.
    4. Garg, Poonam & Gupta, Bhumika & Chauhan, Ajay Kumar & Sivarajah, Uthayasankar & Gupta, Shivam & Modgil, Sachin, 2021. "Measuring the perceived benefits of implementing blockchain technology in the banking sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Md Al Amin & Dewan Hafiz Nabil & Roberto Baldacci & Md. Habibur Rahman, 2023. "Exploring Blockchain Implementation Challenges for Sustainable Supply Chains: An Integrated Fuzzy TOPSIS–ISM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-25, September.
    6. Kimani, Danson & Adams, Kweku & Attah-Boakye, Rexford & Ullah, Subhan & Frecknall-Hughes, Jane & Kim, Ja, 2020. "Blockchain, business and the fourth industrial revolution: Whence, whither, wherefore and how?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    7. Agi, Maher A.N. & Jha, Ashish Kumar, 2022. "Blockchain technology in the supply chain: An integrated theoretical perspective of organizational adoption," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    8. Sundarakani, Balan & Ajaykumar, Aneesh & Gunasekaran, Angappa, 2021. "Big data driven supply chain design and applications for blockchain: An action research using case study approach," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    9. Orji, Ifeyinwa Juliet & Kusi-Sarpong, Simonov & Huang, Shuangfa & Vazquez-Brust, Diego, 2020. "Evaluating the factors that influence blockchain adoption in the freight logistics industry," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    10. Zhang, Jian & Zhang, Xuanjian & Liu, Wei & Ji, Ming & Mishra, Arunodaya Raj, 2022. "Critical success factors of blockchain technology to implement the sustainable supply chain using an extended decision-making approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Sachin Kumar Mangla & Yiğit Kazançoğlu & Abdullah Yıldızbaşı & Cihat Öztürk & Ahmet Çalık, 2022. "A conceptual framework for blockchain‐based sustainable supply chain and evaluating implementation barriers: A case of the tea supply chain," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 3693-3716, December.
    12. Yildizbasi, Abdullah, 2021. "Blockchain and renewable energy: Integration challenges in circular economy era," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 183-197.
    13. Manu Sharma & Sudhanshu Joshi & Sunil Luthra & Anil Kumar, 2022. "Managing disruptions and risks amidst COVID-19 outbreaks: role of blockchain technology in developing resilient food supply chains," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 268-281, June.
    14. Tsolakis, Naoum & Niedenzu, Denis & Simonetto, Melissa & Dora, Manoj & Kumar, Mukesh, 2021. "Supply network design to address United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: A case study of blockchain implementation in Thai fish industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 495-519.
    15. Xue Han & Pratibha Rani, 2022. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Evaluate the barriers of blockchain technology adoption in sustainable supply chain management in the manufacturing sector using a novel Pythagorean fuzzy-CRITIC-CoCoSo approach," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 725-742, December.
    16. Severin Bonnet & Frank Teuteberg, 2023. "Impact of blockchain and distributed ledger technology for the management, protection, enforcement and monetization of intellectual property: a systematic literature review," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 229-275, June.
    17. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Steve Simske & Horst Treiblmaier, 2021. "Blockchain Technologies in Logistics and Supply Chain Management: A Bibliometric Review," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-28, October.
    18. Amin Vafadarnikjoo & Hadi Badri Ahmadi & James J. H. Liou & Tiago Botelho & Konstantinos Chalvatzis, 2023. "Analyzing blockchain adoption barriers in manufacturing supply chains by the neutrosophic analytic hierarchy process," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 129-156, August.
    19. Vincenzo Varriale & Antonello Cammarano & Francesca Michelino & Mauro Caputo, 2021. "Sustainable Supply Chains with Blockchain, IoT and RFID: A Simulation on Order Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, June.
    20. Mahmoona Khalil & Kausar Fiaz Khawaja & Muddassar Sarfraz, 2022. "The adoption of blockchain technology in the financial sector during the era of fourth industrial revolution: a moderated mediated model," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 2435-2452, August.

    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:eee:proeco:v:231:y:2021:i:c:s0925527320302012. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ijpe .

    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.