Circular supply chain management with blockchain technology: A dynamic capabilities view

Achieving a circular economy (CE) is considered one of the most significant challenges of our time, as environmental challenges and social discrepancies keep increasing. While companies need to transform their supply chains towards sustainability and circularity, implementing CE concepts into practice is not straightforward and requires technical and non-technical capabilities, referring to dynamic capabilities. One of the most promising digital technologies for improving sustainability and circularity is blockchain. However, the literature on relationships between blockchain technology (BCT), sustainability, and the CE is still in its infancy. This study illustrates how BCT can help implement circular supply chain management (CSCM) from a dynamic capabilities perspective. A multiple case study approach examines how BCT’s potential impacts CSCM. Building on the case evidence, necessary dynamic capabilities are deduced for successful CE implementations with BCT. The analysis demonstrates that supply chain traceability and related sensing capabilities are major benefits of BCT-driven CSCM. Thus, we contribute to theory by examining which dynamic capabilities need to be developed when realizing CSCM through BCT. The results indicate that the BCT potentials depend on the business model pointing to certain contingencies.