Expert oriented approach for analyzing the blockchain adoption barriers in humanitarian supply chain

In digital era, blockchain technology has been known as the operational innovation that is rapidly joining the context of humanitarian supply chain and relief logistic. Hence, it has the potential to change the humanitarian context fundamentally, but there is still relatively little-published research aimed at improving the understanding of the different barriers of the blockchain adoption in humanitarian supply chain. The goal of this research is to present a comprehensive review of blockchain adoption barriers in the context of humanitarian supply chain management. An integrated approach using Fuzzy Delphi and Best-Worst method (BWM) has been used for analyzing the barriers. Based on the literature, 14 barriers of the blockchain adoption in humanitarian supply chain were identified. According to the Fuzzy Delphi result, 9 barriers were accepted. After that, the BWM calculated the importance of each barrier. The findings showed that regulatory uncertainty, lack of knowledge/employee training and high sustainability costs are the important barriers. This research provides useful guidelines for policy makers so that they can benefit from the results to optimize their solutions.     

The blockchain-enabled technology and carbon performance: Insights from early adopters

This paper examined the drivers of blockchain technology adoption and carbon performance using the theory of technology-organization-environment (TOE) as the basis for the development of a technology adoption framework. Blockchain technology has passed the proof testing phase and is attracting early adopters who can gain benefits from it. Manufacturing firms that had adopted the blockchain technology and voluntary reported the carbon emission were targeted as the sample and survey data were collected from manufacturing firms that were registered with the Association of Malaysian Manufacturers. Unfavourable support of top management and the lack of technology competence were the main barriers to the adoption of blockchain technology among manufacturing firms. The results indicate that firms did not achieve low carbon performance and that a lack of pressure from competitors and technical competency to undertake blockchain technology were factors. No evidence existed demonstrating a linkage of early adopters of blockchain technology with and low carbon performance. Recommendations of this study include that firms should take the initiative to record the energy consumption, engage in the transfer of carbon credits, and monitor carbon performance using reliable technology to improve business transparency and sustainability.     

Collaborative adoption of blockchain technology: A supply chain contract perspective

The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly affected the development of enterprises. In the post-pandemic era, blockchain technology has become one of the important technologies to help enterprises quickly gain market competitiveness. The heavy investment required of supply chain stakeholders to employ blockchain technology has hindered its adoption and application. To tackle this issue, this study aims to facilitate the adoption of blockchain technology in a supply chain consisting of a core enterprise and a small/medium-sized enterprise through an effective supply chain contract. We analyze the performance of a cost-sharing (CS) contract and a revenue-sharing (RS) contract and propose a new hybrid CS-RS contract for better performance. We conduct comparative analyses of the three contracts and find that the hybrid CS-RS contract can more effectively incentivize both parties to reach the highest level of blockchain technology adoption and achieve supply chain coordination.     

Internet of Things (IoT)–blockchain-enabled pharmaceutical supply chain resilience in the post-pandemic era

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the current operating environment of pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) has rapidly changed and faced increasing risks of disruption. The Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain not only help enhance the efficiency of PSC operations in the information technology domain but also address complex related issues and improve the visibility, flexibility, and transparency of these operations. Although IoT and blockchain have been widely examined in the areas of supply chain and logistics management, further work on PSC is expected by the public to enhance its resilience. To respond to this call, this paper combines a literature review with semi-structured interviews to investigate the characteristics of PSC, the key aspects affecting PSC, and the challenges faced by PSC in the post-pandemic era. An IoT–blockchain-integrated hospital-side oriented PSC management model is also developed. This paper highlights how IoT and blockchain technology can enhance supply chain resilience and provides a reference on how PSC members can cope with the associated risks.     

Blockchain in global supply chains and cross border trade: a critical synthesis of the state-of-the-art,challenges and opportunities

Blockchain possesses the potential of transforming global supply chain management. Gartner predicts that blockchain could be able to track $2?T of goods and services in their movement across the globe by 2023, and blockchain will be a more than $3 trillion business by 2030. Nowadays, a growing number of blockchain initiatives are disrupting traditional business models in each sector. In this paper, we provide a timely and holistic overview of the state-of-the-art, challenges, gaps and opportunities in global supply chain and trade operations for both the private sector and governmental agencies, by synthesising a wide range of resources from business leaders, global international organisations, leading supply chain consulting firms, research articles, trade magazines and conferences. We then identify collaborative schema and future research directions for industry, government, and academia to jointly work together in ensuring that the full potential of blockchain is unleashed amidst the socioeconomic, geopolitical and technological disruptions that global supply chains and trade are facing.     

What advantages of blockchain affect its adoption in the elderly care industry? A study based on the technology–organisation–environment framework

Blockchain technology is considered a logical solution to the problems of security, privacy and trust in the collection, storage and sharing of data related to the elderly in the elderly care industry (ECI); however, its adoption in the ECI remains in its initial stage. To improve the efficiency of adopting this technology in the ECI and to facilitate decision-making by managers, this study combines the diffusion of innovation theory and the technology–organisation–environment framework models to study the factors affecting blockchain adoption intention in the ECI. In addition, the direct predictors of the relative advantages of blockchain technology in the ECI are explored. Through a questionnaire survey of 124 elderly care institutions in China, we collected 181 valid questionnaires and analysed them using a partial least squares regression structural equation model. The results show that relative advantage, corporate social responsibility, top management support and organisational readiness have a positive effect on blockchain adoption intention in the ECI, while the effects of complexity, government support and competitive pressure are insignificant. However, competitive pressure and government support can indirectly promote blockchain adoption intention by influencing top management support. Furthermore, technology trust and information security positively affect the relative advantages of blockchain technology and indirectly affect blockchain adoption intention, while privacy protection is insignificant.     

A supply chain transparency and sustainability technology appraisal model for blockchain technology

Blockchain technology is a technology that can effectively support supply chain transparency. An important initial managerial activity is for organisations in supply chains to evaluate and select the most suitable blockchain technology. However, uncertainty and emphasis on sustainable transparency has made this appraisal more complex. This paper: (1) introduces blockchain technology performance measures incorporating various sustainable supply chain transparency and technical attributes; and (2) introduces a new hybrid group decision method, integrated hesitant fuzzy set and regret theory, for blockchain technology evaluation and selection. This method emphasises decision maker psychological characteristics and variation in decision maker opinions. An illustrative application and sensitivity analysis is introduced to aid supply chain managers and researchers understand the blockchain technology selection decision. Methodological and managerial implications associated with the decision tool and application are introduced. This research sets the foundation for significant future research in blockchain technologies evaluation in a supply chain environment.     

Blockchain adoption or contingent sourcing? Advancing food supply chain resilience in the post-pandemic era

In the post-pandemic era, food supply chains and firms therein are facing unprecedented severe challenges, because once infection is detected, numerous products must be recalled or abandoned, and both suppliers and retailers in the supply chain suffer enormous loss. To survive under the pandemic, retailers have adopted different sourcing strategies, such as contingent sourcing, which, in turn, affect the upstream suppliers and hence the resilience of the whole supply chain. With the rapid development of digital technologies, retailers nowadays can utilize blockchain as a reliable and efficient way to reduce product risk and hence advance the resilience of food supply chains by improving product traceability and inspection accuracy, and making sourcing transparent. In this paper, we develop a game-theoretic model to investigate the interrelation between the retailer’s decisions on blockchain adoption and sourcing strategies. We consider that a retailer originally orders from a risky supplier while conducting an imperfect inspection to detect infected products before selling. The retailer may speculatively keep on ordering from the risky supplier or adopt contingent sourcing by ordering from an alternative safe supplier. The retailer also has an option to implement blockchain to improve the inspection accuracy and product traceability. We derive the optimal retail prices under different sourcing strategies with and without blockchain adoption and then analyze the incentives for sourcing strategy and blockchain adoption. Then, we identify the conditions of an all-win situation for food retailer, supplier, supply chain resilience, and consumers with/without government subsidy. Finally, we extend to consider the situation that some consumers have health-safety concerns and preferences for blockchain adoption.     

上下冲击式速冻机流场和换热特性研究现状

目的 为了提高食品冻结的品质,需要对冲击式速冻机的结构尺寸和内部流场进行优化,改善冲击式速冻机的冻结效率.方法 综述影响该类速冻机换热特性的4个因素,即喷嘴的形状和尺寸,射流阵列的排布,喷嘴到输送带距离和喷嘴间距的改变,速冻机进出口压差等.结果 通过回顾计算流体力学技术和实验研究在这4个方面优化速冻机换热特性的案例,总结了上下冲击式速冻机流场变化的规律.结论 该研究为新型速冻机的优化设计提供了理论支撑.     

Dynamic supply chain design: a Delphi study of drivers and barriers

Supply chain management has both in academia and practice proven its important role to sustain and further develop companies’ competitive advantages. This is with initiatives that focus on cost-efficiencies and turnover improvement. During the last two decades, companies have faced complexity in their supply chains currently with increased global operations. The dynamic business environment forces companies to secure a competitive (re-) design of their supply chains. This paper seeks to advance the understanding on the drivers and barriers for such designs. In total, 39 experts (30 from industrial enterprises, 4 senior supply chain consultants and 5 supply chain management professors) have participated in a four-step Delphi study and have identified main drivers for dynamic supply chain design as being cost reduction, delivery reliability and change in demand for agility. The main barriers are identified as forecasting being too weak, supply chain complexity and product portfolio complexity. In addition, an explorative factor analysis has been carried out to identify how drivers and barriers can be grouped together. Finally, the paper compares the drivers and barriers underlining different competitive strategies.     

Developing environmental and social performance: the role of suppliers’ sustainability and buyer–supplier trust

We explore how environmental and social performance of manufacturing firms can be improved as sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) develops and evolves within a firm from internal to external practices. Importantly, this study considers how key suppliers’ sustainability performance and buyer–supplier trust mediate and moderate such a development. A conceptual framework is developed which relies on resource-based theories and emerging empirical evidence. Then, partial least square methodology is applied on survey data from a sample of Italian manufacturing firms. Results show that manufacturing firms’ sustainability performance improves as SSCM develops; however, while internal practices have a direct impact on performance, the effect of external practices on a manufacturing firm’s sustainability performance is fully mediated by key suppliers’ sustainability performance. Yet, buyer–supplier trust significantly influences the scope of such gains. Since evidence suggests that manufacturing firms are still struggling with how to leverage supply chain innovation potential for sustainable development, this study provides a timely and valuable contribution.     

Drivers,barriers and social considerations for AI adoption in business and management: A tertiary study

The number of academic papers in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications across business and management domains has risen significantly in the last decade, and that rise has been followed by an increase in the number of systematic literature reviews.The aim of this study is to provide an overview of existing systematic reviews in this growing area of research and to synthesise the findings related to drivers, barriers and social implications of the AI adoption in business and management.The methodology used for this tertiary study is based on Kitchenham and Charter's guidelines [14], resulting in a selection of 30 reviews published between 2005 and 2019 which are reporting results of 2021 primary studies.These reviews cover the AI adoption across various business sectors (healthcare, information technology, energy, agriculture, apparel industry, engineering, smart cities, tourism and transport), management and business functions (HR, customer services, supply chain, health and safety, project management, decision-support, systems management and technology adoption).While the drivers for the AI adoption in these areas are mainly economic, the barriers are related to the technical aspects (e.g. availability of data, reusability of models) as well as the social considerations such as, increased dependence on non-humans, job security, lack of knowledge, safety, trust and lack of multiple stakeholders’perspectives.Very few reviews outside of the healthcare management domain consider human, organisational and wider societal factors of the AI adoption.In addition to increased focus on social implications of AI, the reviews are recommending more rigorous evaluation, increased use of hybrid solutions (AI and non-AI) and multidisciplinary approach to AI design and evaluation.Furthermore, this study found that there is a lack of systematic reviews in some of the early AI adoption sectors such as financial industry and retail.     

A systematic review of China’s belt and road initiative: implications for global supply chain management

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects, with its potential political and economic impact being widely discussed since its inception in 2013. Yet the phenomenon has received only limited attention in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) literature. In response, we first conduct a broad systematic review of the literature to assess how China’s BRI is portrayed. Using this as a backdrop, we then distil the likely impact of the BRI on location decisions and supply chain flows. Finally, in a broader discussion of the SCM literature, we explore the implications of the BRI for future research in four key areas: supply chain configuration, supply chain resilience, sustainable SCM, and cross border SCM. While these areas are not new, the BRI presents a unique context that can be used to enhance theory and understanding in each area. The BRI reduces time distance independent of geographical distance by diverting supply chain flows from established routes to new routes via far less accessible regions. This introduces new risks and sustainability issues that call for multi-criteria decision support systems. Another important issue is the adoption and diffusion of the BRI since this will ultimately determine project success.     

A Review of Smart Contract Blockchain Based on Multi-Criteria Analysis: Challenges and Motivations

A smart contract is a digital program of transaction protocol (rules of contract) based on the consensus architecture of blockchain. Smart contracts with Blockchain are modern technologies that have gained enormous attention in scientific and practical applications. A smart contract is the central aspect of a blockchain that facilitates blockchain as a platform outside the cryptocurrency spectrum. The development of blockchain technology, with a focus on smart contracts, has advanced significantly in recent years. However, research on the smart contract idea has weaknesses in the implementation sectors based on a decentralized network that shares an identical state. This paper extensively reviews smart contracts based on multi-criteria analysis, challenges and motivations. Therefore, implementing blockchain in multi-criteria research is required to increase the efficiency of interaction between users via supporting information exchange with high trust. Implementing blockchain in the multi-criteria analysis is necessary to increase the efficiency of interaction between users via supporting information exchange and with high confidence, detecting malfunctioning, helping users with performance issues, reaching a consensus, deploying distributed solutions and allocating plans, tasks and joint missions. The smart contract with decision-making performance, planning and execution improves the implementation based on efficiency, sustainability and management. Furthermore, the uncertainty and supply chain performance lead to improved users’ confidence in offering new solutions in exchange for problems in smart contacts. Evaluation includes code analysis and performance, while development performance can be under development.     

A green supply chain is a requirement for profitability

Many companies are not dramatically changing to more sustainable environmental practices despite pressure from the investment community, the government and consumers. This study explores a simple model that companies can use to understand and improve supply chain sustainability practices. It applies this model in two case studies, Coca-Cola, a leader in global sustainability, and Apple, a company that has only recently started to develop a sustainability strategy. The model was developed through a review of existing research and an application of supply chain principles. The results of this study demonstrate that following this model to eliminate waste throughout the supply chain will make the supply chain more profitable. The outcomes from this study highlight the importance for every company to do so in order to stay competitive. This study is unique in the relative simplicity of its model, combined with the supporting evidence that a sustainable supply chain is the same as a supply chain that is using best practices to reduce waste.     

Blockchain for trustworthy provenances: A case study in the Australian aquaculture industry

We explore the potential for a blockchain ledger to record supply chain provenances in an inherently trustworthy manner. The use of blockchain in this setting may allow for traceability of products through the supply chain without fear that an item’s provenance is fraudulent or has been tampered with. We compare the desirable properties of a blockchain ledger to those of a traditional database. We also consider challenges to the trustworthiness of a provenance idiosyncratic to the context of supply chains. We present a case study in which we conduct a series of semi-structured interviews with members of the prawn aquaculture industry in Australia. This industry was chosen as it stands to gain from robust provenances due to international competition. We find that blockchain based technology is unlikely to deliver substantial gains to the industry when compared to alternatives. Rather, most gains are likely to arise from the industry becoming digitalized, which would be a precondition for any blockchain technology to be operational.     

Blockchain-driven supply chain finance solution for small and medium enterprises

Blockchain has attracted much attention in recent years with the development of cryptocurrency and digital assets. As the underlying technology of cryptocurrency, blockchain has numerous benefits, such as de-centralization, collective maintenance, tamper-resistance, traceability, and anonymity. The potential of the blockchain technology (BT) is widely recognized in the financial field. Although some scholars have proposed the combination of blockchain and supply chain finance (SCF), the details of this combination is rarely mentioned. This study first analyzes the coupling between SCF and blockchain technology. Second, the conceptual framework of blockchain-driven SCF platform (BcSCFP) is presented. Third, the operation process of three SCF models on the BcSCFP is proposed. Finally, a case study combined with actual events is conducted. This paper has a positive practical significance in the operation and management of banks and loan enterprises.     

Accepting financial transactions using blockchain technology and cryptocurrency: A customer perspective approach

Blockchain, and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, are innovative FinTech technologies that speedily invade the finance market and changing the power of the global economy. However, there was a low acceptance of these technologies among consumers. There is a clear gap in-between that has not yet been taken into consideration and has been misunderstood on many platforms. This paper intends to estimate the usability of blockchain technology by investigating behavioral elements that affect customers' intention towards blockchain-based cryptocurrency transactions. Given the complexity of the technology, this study proposes a new integration model: The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) together with new external variables regarding blockchain adoption characteristics such as trust, regulatory support, social influence, design, and experience. Surveys were conducted among international users to identify the impacts of these variables on their intention.Our findings indicate two powerful constructs (regulatory support and experience) that encourage customer trust towards blockchain-based applications. People surveyed agreed on a great sense of security and can trust the Blockchain-based applications when they are regulated and insured by the local government. Also, at a certain level of experience, users feel confident to use blockchain-based applications, a high level of trust supports technology adoption. As such, governments and businesses can dedicate efforts to enhance customers' trust and ultimately promote better acceptance of blockchain technology and its applications.     

Revealing interfaces of supply chain resilience and sustainability: a simulation study

Dynamics of structures and processes is one of the underlying challenges in supply chain management, where multiple dimensions of economic efficiency, risk management and sustainability are interconnected. One of the substantiated issues in supply chain dynamics is resilience. Resilience has a number of intersections with supply chain sustainability. This paper aims at analysing disruption propagation in the supply chain with consideration of sustainability factors in order to design resilient supply chain structure in regard to ripple effect mitigation and sustainability increase. Ripple effect in the supply chain occurs if a disruption at a supplier cannot be localised and cascades downstream impacting supply chain performance. This simulation-based study helps to identify what sustainability factors mitigate the ripple effect in the supply chain and what sustainability factors enhance this effect. The results indicate that (i) sustainable single sourcing enhances the ripple effect; (ii) facility fortification at major employers in regions mitigates the ripple effect and enhances sustainability; and (iii) a reduction in storage facilities in the supply chain downstream of a disruption-risky facility increases sustainability but causes the ripple effect.     

Adoption of green supply chain management practices and their impact on performance: an exploratory study of Indian manufacturing firms

Research on green supply chain management (GSCM) or sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has attracted increased attention in recent years. Although GSCM/SSCM has been studied for developed and developing countries, there has been little information about the adoption of GSCM/SSCM practices in India. This article presents one of the earliest surveys on GSCM practices in Indian manufacturing firms. The items for the survey were developed based on the extant literature and feedback from corporates. Some of the major findings of the survey are as follows. We found that the state of adoption of GSCM practices by Indian firms was still in its infancy, the awareness of environmental sustainability was quite low among consumers, and the regulatory framework was also lacking in terms of promoting environmental sustainability. Results of data analysis showed that supplier collaboration for environmental sustainability had a positive impact on environmentally sustainable product design and logistics, which in turn was positively related to competitiveness and economic performance of the firm. We compared the results with the observations made by other researchers for developed and developing countries and provided managerial implications for the government and manufacturers as to what steps need to be taken to generate awareness towards environmental sustainability and facilitate the adoption of GSCM practices among Indian firms to a greater extent. We conclude the paper by indicating directions for future research on GSCM/SSCM.