Integration of blockchain into agri-Food supply chains: an analysis through the Lens of the “inscription techniques” used by blockchain service providers

Health, nutritional, and environmental crises, reflecting, since the late 20th century, the tensions at work in so-called "concerned" markets (Geiger, Harrison, Kjellberg et al., 2014), have highlighted the growing exposure of agri-food supply chains (SC) to disruptions and uncertainties (Simangunsong, Hendry and Stevenson, 2012). In response, actors within food chains are called upon to improve the traceability of their products (Bosona and Gebresenbet, 2013). Blockchain technology (Nakamoto, 2008), defined "as a digital, decentralized and distributed ledger in which transactions are logged and added in chronological order with the goal of creating permanent and tamper-proof records" (Treiblmaier, 2018, p. 547), has been presented as an asset for improving the performance and sustainability of agri-food SCs (Difrancesco, Meena and Kumar, 2023; Giganti, Borrello, Falcone et al., 2024). Empirical studies have established both the applications of blockchain technology (Cozzio, Viglia, Lemarie et al., 2023; Li, Lee and Gharehgozli, 2023; Vern, Panghal, Mor et al., 2025) and adoption barriers, whether related to psychological factors (Komulainen and Nätti, 2023), trust (Zheng et al., 2017), competitive contexts (Jovanovic et al., 2022), and so on. Above all, the inventory of barriers and the limits of existing analyses (Vu et al., 2023) point to a lack of understanding regarding the specific obstacles encountered during the implementation of blockchain technology within food supply chains. In order to contribute to this needed enrichment of the literature, we will adopt a pragmatic sociology follow-up of the inalienable rights of materiality, considering the articulation between blockchain and supply chain as a networked configuration of both human and non-human actors, whose stability will determine the adoption of an innovation (Callon, 1986). Our approach is structured around two components: (1) semi-structured interviews conducted with 4 blockchain service providers and 6 companies using these services (cooperatives, distributors, etc.), and (2) semantic analyses using Tropes software of videos and LinkedIn posts published by the interviewed service providers. We will more specifically examine inscription techniques as objects that are "mobile, immutable, presentable, readable and combinable" (Latour, 1987, p. 94), which, as "faithful and disciplined allies" (Latour, 1987, p. 84), become resources mobilized with the aim of persuading.