IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i22p12898-d684692.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Blockchain Technology in Wine Chain for Collecting and Addressing Sustainable Performance: An Exploratory Study

Author

Listed:
  • Gloria Luzzani

    (Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29122 Piacenza, Italy)

  • Erica Grandis

    (Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29122 Piacenza, Italy)

  • Marco Frey

    (Department of Management, Sant’Anna Scuola Superiore Universitaria di Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy)

  • Ettore Capri

    (European Observatory on Sustainable Agriculture (OPERA), Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 29122 Piacenza, Italy)

Abstract

Sustainability standards have not yet been commonly adopted by the whole wine chain, and indicator assessments are not widely spread. A deep understanding of how embedding sustainability into business while controlling costs related to the adoption of sustainability certification standards such as data collection and management practices could allow one to overcome most barriers relevant to sustainability compliance. Blockchain technology (BCT) may answer these needs. In order to verify BCT potential to be used as a sustainability management tool in the wine industry, with a qualitative triple bottom line research approach, this article explores the connections among BCT adoption in agri-food, issues posed by wine sustainability certification, and whether wine companies that already own a wine sustainability certification are prepared to adopt it. Results show that (1) the blockchain allows collecting data and information that are relevant for monitoring and improving sustainability: Soil and water features, climate conditions, treatment with pesticides and fertilizers, production process, traceability, transparency, labor and human rights, quality and safety, waste reduction, authenticity, relationship with stakeholders; (2) wine companies that already own a sustainability certification have little familiarity with blockchain applications (57.1%, n.21) and only 14% of the respondents support their intention to invest in BCT in the coming years; (3) the case study shows improvements in traceability and transparency along the supply chain and an increase in consumers’ trust that was reflected in sales growth, and the main costs are linked to complexity in data management.

Suggested Citation

  • Gloria Luzzani & Erica Grandis & Marco Frey & Ettore Capri, 2021. "Blockchain Technology in Wine Chain for Collecting and Addressing Sustainable Performance: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12898-:d:684692
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12898/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12898/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Young Chan Choe & Joowon Park & Miri Chung & Junghoon Moon, 2009. "Effect of the food traceability system for building trust: Price premium and buying behavior," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 167-179, April.
    3. Chiara Corbo & Lucrezia Lamastra & Ettore Capri, 2014. "From Environmental to Sustainability Programs: A Review of Sustainability Initiatives in the Italian Wine Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-27, April.
    4. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2018. "Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 208-233, December.
    5. Irina Santiago-Brown & Andrew Metcalfe & Cate Jerram & Cassandra Collins, 2015. "Sustainability Assessment in Wine-Grape Growing in the New World: Economic, Environmental, and Social Indicators for Agricultural Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-27, June.
    6. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    7. Johanna Gast & Katherine Gundolf & Beate Cesinger, 2017. "Doing business in a green way: A systematic review of the ecological sustainability entrepreneurship literature and future research directions," Post-Print hal-02008555, HAL.
    8. Emanuele Bonamente & Flavio Scrucca & Francesco Asdrubali & Franco Cotana & Andrea Presciutti, 2015. "The Water Footprint of the Wine Industry: Implementation of an Assessment Methodology and Application to a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(9), pages 1-19, September.
    9. 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.
    10. Sara Rinaldi & Emanuele Bonamente & Flavio Scrucca & Maria Cleofe Merico & Francesco Asdrubali & Franco Cotana, 2016. "Water and Carbon Footprint of Wine: Methodology Review and Application to a Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-17, July.
    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. Bojana Malisic & Nemanja Misic & Srdjan Krco & Aleksandra Martinovic & Sandra Tinaj & Tomo Popovic, 2023. "Blockchain Adoption in the Wine Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Kongmanas Yavaprabhas & Mehrdokht Pournader & Stefan Seuring, 2023. "Blockchain as the “trust-building machine” for supply chain management," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 327(1), pages 49-88, August.
    3. Lovina Yogarajan & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Mohd Helmi Ali & Norlin Khalid & Lokhman Hakim Osman & Syed Shah Alam, 2023. "Exploring the Hype of Blockchain Adoption in Agri-Food Supply Chain: A Systematic Literature Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-24, May.

    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. Inmaculada Carrasco & Juan Sebastián Castillo-Valero & Carmen Córcoles & Marcos Carchano, 2021. "Greening Wine Exports? Changes in the Carbon Footprint of Spanish Wine Exports," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Asterios Stroumpoulis & Evangelia Kopanaki, 2022. "Theoretical Perspectives on Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Digital Transformation: A Literature Review and a Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-30, April.
    3. Lisa Pizzol & Gloria Luzzani & Paolo Criscione & Luca Barro & Carlo Bagnoli & Ettore Capri, 2021. "The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Wine Industry: The Case Study of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Despoina Dede & Eleni Didaskalou & Sotirios Bersimis & Dimitrios Georgakellos, 2020. "A Statistical Framework for Assessing Environmental Performance of Quality Wine Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Nicola Casolani & Emilio Chiodo & Lolita Liberatore, 2023. "Continuous Improvement of VIVA-Certified Wines: Analysis and Perspective of Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-15, January.
    6. 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.
    7. Chiara Mio & Silvia Panfilo & Benedetta Blundo, 2020. "Sustainable development goals and the strategic role of business: A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3220-3245, December.
    8. Luis Fonseca & Vitor Silva & José Carlos Sá & Vanda Lima & Gilberto Santos & Rui Silva, 2022. "B Corp versus ISO 9001 and 14001 certifications: Aligned, or alternative paths, towards sustainable development?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(3), pages 496-508, May.
    9. Naif Al Azmi & Ghaleb Sweis & Rateb Sweis & Farouq Sammour, 2022. "Exploring Implementation of Blockchain for the Supply Chain Resilience and Sustainability of the Construction Industry in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Xiwen Fu & Shuxin Wang, 2022. "How to Promote Low-Carbon Cities with Blockchain Technology? A Blockchain-Based Low-Carbon Development Model for Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2020. "Beyond COVID-19: Applying “SDG logics” for resilient transformations," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 451-464, December.
    12. Olivier E. Malay, 2021. "How to Articulate Beyond GDP and Businesses’ Social and Environmental Indicators?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 1-25, May.
    13. Marika Arena & Giovanni Azzone & Sara Ratti & Valeria Maria Urbano & Giovanni Vecchio, 2023. "Sustainable development goals and corporate reporting: An empirical investigation of the oil and gas industry," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 12-25, February.
    14. Dorfleitner, Gregor & Muck, Franziska & Scheckenbach, Isabel, 2021. "Blockchain applications for climate protection: A global empirical investigation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    15. Kyoko Sasaki & Wendy Stubbs & Megan Farrelly, 2023. "The relationship between corporate purpose and the sustainable development goals in large Japanese companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2475-2489, September.
    16. Matthew P. Johnson & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Review and Multilevel Causal Mechanism Framework," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(6), pages 1141-1173, November.
    17. Chand Bhatt, Priyanka & Kumar, Vimal & Lu, Tzu-Chuen & Daim, Tugrul, 2021. "Technology convergence assessment: Case of blockchain within the IR 4.0 platform," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    18. Simone Søgaard Jacobsen & Steffen Korsgaard & Franziska Günzel-Jensen, 2020. "Towards a Typology of Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Potentials and Challenges of Sustainable Practices at the Firm Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-22, June.
    19. 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).
    20. Yildizbasi, Abdullah, 2021. "Blockchain and renewable energy: Integration challenges in circular economy era," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 183-197.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:22:p:12898-:d:684692. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.