Unlocking the potential of blockchain in enterprise upgrading: Insights from resource orchestration theory

Promoting enterprise transformation and upgrading is essential for optimizing production processes and improving economic quality. However, research on the impact of blockchain technology (BCT), a disruptive digital technology, on enterprise upgrading remains limited. Existing studies lack large-scale empirical evidence and fail to clarify the underlying mechanisms. Grounded in resource orchestration theory (ROT), this paper introduces operational resilience (OR) and supply chain finance (SCF) to elucidate the specific pathways through which BCT adoption influences enterprise upgrading and examines the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in this causal relationship. Based on a sample of 3087 enterprise-year observations from 2007 to 2021, the study finds that BCT adoption significantly promotes enterprise upgrading, with OR and SCF serving as critical mediators. Furthermore, environmental uncertainty moderates the relationship between SCF and enterprise upgrading and heterogeneity analysis shows that in labor-intensive industries and the western region of China, BCT has a stronger promotion effect on enterprise upgrading. The findings underscore the resource-based attributes of BCT and extend ROT by integrating it with emerging technology theory, creating a “resource-capability-growth” theoretical framework. In practice, these insights offer valuable guidance for enterprises in developing BCT strategies to enhance financing capabilities in uncertain environments and drive enterprise upgrading.