IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v187y2023ics004016252200676x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Blockchain technologies for sustainability in the agrifood sector: A literature review of academic research and business perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Dal Mas, F.
  • Massaro, M.
  • Ndou, V.
  • Raguseo, E.

Abstract

In the realm of digital transformation, Blockchain technologies are considered prominent for managing agrifood supply chains due to their contribution to traceability, safety, quality, transparency, and scalability. Both academia and businesses are paying increased attention to the application of Blockchain technologies in the agrifood sector, also highlighting their potential to address sustainable issues. Aiming to deepen the understanding of how Blockchain technology is being applied in the agrifood sector for sustainable supply chain management, this paper investigates the link between Blockchain, agrifood, and sustainability, focusing on both professional and scientific sources. The article employs a content-based analysis methodology of both academic literature and professional documents like patents and business cases to delineate an up-to-date picture of the current scenario as well as to provide integrated insights regarding the opportunities and potentialities of Blockchain technologies for agrifood sustainability. Our findings show that Blockchain technologies are playing a crucial role in speeding up the digital transformation process of the agrifood supply chains and are being considered essential for fostering the development of new sustainable business models. New research avenues and practical implications for businesses and policy-makers are also presented and discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Dal Mas, F. & Massaro, M. & Ndou, V. & Raguseo, E., 2023. "Blockchain technologies for sustainability in the agrifood sector: A literature review of academic research and business perspectives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:187:y:2023:i:c:s004016252200676x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122155
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016252200676X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122155?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. Oguntegbe, Kunle Francis & Di Paola, Nadia & Vona, Roberto, 2022. "Behavioural antecedents to blockchain implementation in agrifood supply chain management: A thematic analysis," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Carlo Bagnoli & Francesca Dal Mas & Maurizio Massaro, 2019. "The 4th Industrial Revolution: Business Models and Evidence From the Field," International Journal of E-Services and Mobile Applications (IJESMA), IGI Global, vol. 11(3), pages 34-47, July.
    3. Mariani, Marcello M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel, 2020. "Exploring how consumer goods companies innovate in the digital age: The role of big data analytics companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 338-352.
    4. 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.
    5. Fosso Wamba, Samuel & Queiroz, Maciel M. & Trinchera, Laura, 2020. "Dynamics between blockchain adoption determinants and supply chain performance: An empirical investigation," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    6. Maurizio Massaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Carlo Bagnoli, 2020. "Crypto‐economy and new sustainable business models: Reflections and projections using a case study analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2150-2160, September.
    7. Millán, José María & Lyalkov, Serhiy & Burke, Andrew & Millán, Ana & van Stel, André, 2021. "‘Digital divide’ among European entrepreneurs: Which types benefit most from ICT implementation?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 533-547.
    8. Chirumalla, Koteshwar, 2021. "Building digitally-enabled process innovation in the process industries: A dynamic capabilities approach," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    9. Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Luthra, Sunil & Rich, Nick & Kumar, Divesh & Rana, Nripendra P. & Dwivedi, Yogesh K., 2018. "Enablers to implement sustainable initiatives in agri-food supply chains," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 379-393.
    10. Wolfram Schlenker & Sofia B. Villas-Boas, 2009. "Consumer and Market Responses to Mad Cow Disease," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1140-1152.
    11. Jiang Duan & Chen Zhang & Yu Gong & Steve Brown & Zhi Li, 2020. "A Content-Analysis Based Literature Review in Blockchain Adoption within Food Supply Chain," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, March.
    12. Aldieri, Luigi & Gatto, Andrea & Vinci, Concetto Paolo, 2021. "Evaluation of energy resilience and adaptation policies: An energy efficiency analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    13. Andrea Gatto, 2020. "A pluralistic approach to economic and business sustainability: A critical meta‐synthesis of foundations, metrics, and evidence of human and local development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1525-1539, July.
    14. Nambisan, Satish & Wright, Mike & Feldman, Maryann, 2019. "The digital transformation of innovation and entrepreneurship: Progress, challenges and key themes," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8), pages 1-1.
    15. Schlenker, Wolfram & Villas-Boas, Sofia, 2009. "AJAE appendix for ‘Consumer and Market Responses to Mad-Cow Disease’," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1-12, March.
    16. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2015-1939 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Valentina Cattivelli & Vincenzo Rusciano, 2020. "Social Innovation and Food Provisioning during Covid-19: The Case of Urban–Rural Initiatives in the Province of Naples," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, May.
    18. Gong, Cheng & Ribiere, Vincent, 2021. "Developing a unified definition of digital transformation," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    19. Kshetri, Nir, 2018. "1 Blockchain’s roles in meeting key supply chain management objectives," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 80-89.
    20. Ferreira, João J.M. & Fernandes, Cristina I. & Ferreira, Fernando A.F., 2019. "To be or not to be digital, that is the question: Firm innovation and performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 583-590.
    21. Kamble, Sachin S. & Gunasekaran, Angappa & Sharma, Rohit, 2020. "Modeling the blockchain enabled traceability in agriculture supply chain," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    22. Maurizio Massaro & John Dumay & James Guthrie, 2016. "On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 767-801, June.
    23. Filippo Corsini & Rafael Laurenti & Franziska Meinherz & Francesco Paolo Appio & Luca Mora, 2019. "The Advent of Practice Theories in Research on Sustainable Consumption: Past, Current and Future Directions of the Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, January.
    24. Kim, Namil & Lee, Hyeokseong & Kim, Wonjoon & Lee, Hyunjong & Suh, Jong Hwan, 2015. "Dynamic patterns of industry convergence: Evidence from a large amount of unstructured data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(9), pages 1734-1748.
    25. Angelis, Jannis & Ribeiro da Silva, Elias, 2019. "Blockchain adoption: A value driver perspective," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 307-314.
    26. Maciel M. Queiroz & Samuel Fosso Wamba & Marc De Bourmont & Renato Telles, 2021. "Blockchain adoption in operations and supply chain management: empirical evidence from an emerging economy," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(20), pages 6087-6103, October.
    27. Morkunas, Vida J. & Paschen, Jeannette & Boon, Edward, 2019. "How blockchain technologies impact your business model," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 295-306.
    28. Queiroz, Maciel M. & Fosso Wamba, Samuel, 2019. "Blockchain adoption challenges in supply chain: An empirical investigation of the main drivers in India and the USA," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 70-82.
    29. Carlo Bagnoli & Maurizio Massaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Matteo Demartini, 2018. "Defining The Concept Of Business Model: Searching For A Business Model Framework," International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science (IJKSS), IGI Global, vol. 9(3), pages 48-64, July.
    30. Jana Schmitz & Giulia Leoni, 2019. "Accounting and Auditing at the Time of Blockchain Technology: A Research Agenda," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 29(2), pages 331-342, June.
    31. Maurizio Massaro & John Dumay & James Guthrie, 2016. "On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 767-801, June.
    32. Lin, Hsiu-Fen, 2014. "Understanding the determinants of electronic supply chain management system adoption: Using the technology–organization–environment framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 80-92.
    33. Urbinati, Andrea & Bogers, Marcel & Chiesa, Vittorio & Frattini, Federico, 2019. "Creating and capturing value from Big Data: A multiple-case study analysis of provider companies," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 84, pages 21-36.
    34. Futemma, Célia & De Castro, Fábio & Brondizio, Eduardo S., 2020. "Farmers and Social Innovations in Rural Development: Collaborative Arrangements in Eastern Brazilian Amazon," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    35. Perry, Chris & Steduto, Pasquale & Allen, Richard. G. & Burt, Charles M., 2009. "Increasing productivity in irrigated agriculture: Agronomic constraints and hydrological realities," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1517-1524, November.
    36. Sjödin, David & Parida, Vinit & Kohtamäki, Marko & Wincent, Joakim, 2020. "An agile co-creation process for digital servitization: A micro-service innovation approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 478-491.
    37. Maurizio Massaro & Silvana Secinaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Valerio Brescia & Davide Calandra, 2021. "Industry 4.0 and circular economy: An exploratory analysis of academic and practitioners' perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1213-1231, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shekhar Rathor & Mingyu Zhang & Taehoon Im, 2023. "Web 3.0 and Sustainability: Challenges and Research Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Kumar, Devinder & Singh, Rajesh Kr & Mishra, Ruchi & Daim, Tugrul U., 2023. "Roadmap for integrating blockchain with Internet of Things (IoT) for sustainable and secured operations in logistics and supply chains: Decision making framework with case illustration," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Myriam Caratù & Valerio Brescia & Ilaria Pigliautile & Paolo Biancone, 2023. "Assessing Energy Communities’ Awareness on Social Media with a Content and Sentiment Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-28, April.

    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. Kirti Nayal & Rakesh D. Raut & Balkrishna E. Narkhede & Pragati Priyadarshinee & Gajanan B. Panchal & Vidyadhar V. Gedam, 2023. "Antecedents for blockchain technology-enabled sustainable agriculture supply chain," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 293-337, August.
    2. Massaro, Maurizio, 2023. "Digital transformation in the healthcare sector through blockchain technology. Insights from academic research and business developments," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. Maurizio Massaro & Silvana Secinaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Valerio Brescia & Davide Calandra, 2021. "Industry 4.0 and circular economy: An exploratory analysis of academic and practitioners' perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 1213-1231, February.
    6. Qingyu Zhang & Salman Khan & Safeer Ullah Khan & Ikram Ullah Khan, 2023. "Understanding Blockchain Technology Adoption in Operation and Supply Chain Management of Pakistan: Extending UTAUT Model With Technology Readiness, Technology Affinity and Trust," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    7. Yousefi, Samuel & Mohamadpour Tosarkani, Babak, 2022. "An analytical approach for evaluating the impact of blockchain technology on sustainable supply chain performance," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    8. Soumyadeb Chowdhury & Oscar Rodriguez-Espindola & Prasanta Dey & Pawan Budhwar, 2023. "Blockchain technology adoption for managing risks in operations and supply chain management: evidence from the UK," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 539-574, August.
    9. Ulpan Tokkozhina & Ana Lucia Martins & Joao C. Ferreira, 2023. "Uncovering dimensions of the impact of blockchain technology in supply chain management," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 99-125, March.
    10. Maurizio Massaro & Francesca Dal Mas & Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour & Carlo Bagnoli, 2020. "Crypto‐economy and new sustainable business models: Reflections and projections using a case study analysis," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5), pages 2150-2160, September.
    11. 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.
    12. 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).
    13. Sahebi, Iman Ghasemian & Mosayebi, Alireza & Masoomi, Behzad & Marandi, Fatemeh, 2022. "Modeling the enablers for blockchain technology adoption in renewable energy supply chain," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    14. 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).
    15. Drago, Carlo & Gatto, Andrea & Ruggeri, Matteo, 2023. "Telemedicine as technoinnovation to tackle COVID-19: A bibliometric analysis," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    16. Yadav, Amit Kumar & Shweta, & Kumar, Dinesh, 2023. "Blockchain technology and vaccine supply chain: Exploration and analysis of the adoption barriers in the Indian context," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    17. Priyanka Vern & Anupama Panghal & Rahul S Mor & Sachin S. Kamble & Md. Shamimul Islam & Syed Abdul Rehman Khan, 2023. "Influential barriers to blockchain technology implementation in agri-food supply chain," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 1206-1219, September.
    18. Giuliano Sansone & Flavio Santalucia & Davide Viglialoro & Paolo Landoni, 2023. "Blockchain for social good and stakeholder engagement: Evidence from a case study," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2182-2193, September.
    19. Taab Ahmad Samad & Rohit Sharma & Kunal K Ganguly & Samuel Fosso Wamba & Geetika Jain, 2023. "Enablers to the adoption of blockchain technology in logistics supply chains: evidence from an emerging economy," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 251-291, August.
    20. Rodríguez-Espíndola, Oscar & Chowdhury, Soumyadeb & Dey, Prasanta Kumar & Albores, Pavel & Emrouznejad, Ali, 2022. "Analysis of the adoption of emergent technologies for risk management in the era of digital manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

    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:tefoso:v:187:y:2023:i:c:s004016252200676x. 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.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    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.