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Blockchain technology: A panacea or pariah for resources conservation and recycling?
... Since the issuance of Bitcoin, BCT has received widespread attention. It can be defined as 'a distributed database of records or shared public/private ledgers of all digital events that have been executed and shared among blockchain participating agents' (Saberi et al. 2018(Saberi et al. , 2019. The components include 'distributed shared ledger', 'smart contract', 'cryptography technology', and 'consensus mechanism' (Saberi et al. 2019;Wang, Han, and Beynon-Davies 2019;Dolgui et al. 2020;Pournader et al. 2020). ...
... BCT is still in the development stage with limited application, low scalability, and technology hype suspicion (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, and Sarkis 2018). In practice, most BCT practices are pilot projects with slow adoption. ...
... In terms of 'broader external context', it is mainly affected by laggard regulatory policies and market competition. The legal framework related to BCT is still in the infancy stage (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, and Sarkis 2018), and market competition may favour other mature solutions such as the Internet-based recycling mode waste trading (Tong, Tao, and Lifset 2018). Therefore: ...
More practitioners are embracing blockchain technology to improve recycling performance. However , current research on the use of blockchain is mostly confined to general discussions on sustainable supply chains and circular economy, with limited studies specifically focusing on the recycling chain. This paper conducts a thorough content-based review of the literature related to the application of blockchain technology in the recycling chain with the objective to identify a conceptual framework. Although descriptive and thematic analyses show limited developments, blockchain technology can offer four distinct functions in the recycling chain: transparency, integration , behaviour channelisation, and service transformation. The adoption of blockchain in this area has technical, organisational, and environmental limitations that have not been overcome yet. In terms of benefits, blockchain technology improves recycling performance in terms of cost, dependability , flexibility, sustainability, and risk reduction. To summarise the findings, the paper proposes a novel conceptual framework for blockchain implementations in the recycling chain to support practitioners and guide scholars in further blockchain technology exploration. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Clohessy and Acton (2019) reviewed the critical TOE factors for blockchain adoption. Technological factors that enhance the relative advantage (RA) of blockchain include improving the contract management process and improving transparency and traceability (Niu et al., 2021) that benefits tracking of origins in supply chains and tracking material in reverse logistics (Chen et al., 2017;Shanley, 2017;Saberi et al., 2018;T€ onnissen and Teuteberg, 2020;Nguyen et al., 2021;Xu et al., 2021). ...
... Adopting blockchain can be arduous for organizations (Wang et al., 2019). Key technological factors influencing BCA are RA, complexity (CMP) and COM (Saberi et al., 2018;Wang et al., 2019;Maroufkhani et al., 2020;T€ onnissen and Teuteberg, 2020). ...
... The RA of blockchain includes improvement in the quality of work, enhanced visibility and traceability, creation of smart contracts and lowering costs. This finding corroborates past results (Chen et al., 2017;Shanley, 2017;Saberi et al., 2018;T€ onnissen and Teuteberg, 2020) but uniquely provides empirical evidence from a developing country like SA. The South African government has initiatives to drive a fourth industrial revolution to support companies with resources and help them develop capabilities. ...
Purpose – The success of SMEs’ financial and market performance (MAP) depends on the firms’ level of blockchain technology adoption (BCA) and identifying the crucial antecedents that influence SMEs’ adoption. Therefore, this research attempts to develop an integrated model to understand and predict the determinants of BCA and its effect on SMEs’ performance. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical foundations are the technology–organization –environment (TOE) framework and the resource-based view (RBV) perspective. The authors distributed a survey to SMEs in South Africa and received 311 responses. The covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) followed by the artificial neural network (ANN) technique was used for the data analysis. Findings – The SEM results showed that SMEs’ relative advantage, compatibility, top management support (TMS), organizational readiness (ORD), competitive pressures (COP), external support, regulations and legislation significantly influence SMEs’ BCA. However, complexity negatively impacts SMEs’ BCA. The analysis results also revealed that SMEs’ BCA significantly influences the financial performance of the firms, followed by MAP. Furthermore, model determinants were input to an ANN modeling. The ANN results showed that TMS is the most critical predictor of SMEs’ BCA, followed by ORD, COP, external support, and regulations and legislation.
... Despite the recent boom in blockchain researchers referring to its transformative or disruptive potential (Radziwill 2018;Saberi et al. 2018;Casino et al. 2019 We begin with Brett Scotts' concept of the 'technoleviathan' (Scott 2015). As highlighted earlier, most technopolitical projects embody some form of political process: "a normative vision of an imagined future reality rather than a description of an actual reality" (Scott 2015). ...
... Blockchain is often cited as a panacea for many sectors of the digitally-enabled economy (Kshetri 2017), and as infrastructure for a variety of public services (Killmeyer et al. 2017), including land registry (Oprunenco and Akmeemana 2018), healthcare, recycling (Saberi et al. 2018) and many more (Vigna and Casey 2016). However, the political motivations behind these projects are seldom questioned. ...
... This neglection, in turn, shows up in the widely prevalent polarized perspectives in the blockchain space4 in general: techno-utopianism (Tapscott and Tapscott 2016; Kshetri 2017; Radziwill 2018; Brody 2019) and techno-cynicism (De Filippi and Loveluck 2016; Golumbia 2016; Ian Bogost 2017; Volmar 2017; Roubini 2018). It also shows up in the lack of frames understand the potential socio-politically transformative effects technology (in this case, blockchain projects) has on society.Though most books and studies on blockchain often refer to its transformative or disruptive potential(Tapscott and Tapscott 2016;Radziwill 2018;Saberi et al. 2018), there is little understanding of what that actually implies from a political point of view(Atzori 2018). Without identifying and conceptualizing this potential with regards to our agency, it is impossible to open up technopolitical evolution to achieving any transformation that leads to a more equitable political system.This involves asking questions such as: are the imaginaries informing blockchain open or flexible enough to be changed?; ...
This study rests at the intersection of technopolitics, translocal networks and political change. The overall aim of the thesis is to understand, and in turn, influence, the way technology interacts with political transformation. It responds to the fact that social science has thus far neglected to adequately account for and analyze how emerging technologies like blockchain and civic tech influence the way politics is practiced. The main research question guiding the study is how does the design, implementation and use of technopolitical innovations influence the practice of politics. The thesis foregrounds the idea that technopolitical experiments personify a ‘prefigurative politics by design’ i.e. they embody the politics and power structures they want to enable in society.
Conducted as part of the EU-funded SUSPLACE project that explores the transformative capacity of sustainable place-shaping practices, the research was predominantly inspired by a hybrid digital ethnography methodology. The thesis confines its focus to three empirical clusters: technopolitical blockchain projects, government-led blockchain projects and place-based civic engagement technologies. The study delineates how differing politico-social imaginaries play a role in the design and implementation of technopolitical projects; addresses contemporary post-political phenomena such as the depoliticization of agency; and identifies the activation of a place-based geography of political action through digitally-mediated municipal networks. It articulates the language and frameworks necessary to analyze these present-day challenges, while simultaneously developing approaches that can be exported to different domains of political activism.
Technology is not neutral; but neither are its designers and users. The thesis finds that it is through considerable, deliberate efforts, in conjunction with individual and collective choices, that technopolitical innovations can reframe our socio-economic and political realities. The study demonstrates the emphatic and urgent need for researchers, practitioners, politicians and citizens to collaboratively work on redrawing boundaries of access, empowering the citizenry, creating new forms of organization and re-politicizing the economy. It outlines a transdisciplinary research and practice agenda that aims at not only (de)coding the existing technopolitical innovations, but also (re)coding them to create a more equitable system of politics. The thesis concludes that since coding affordances and constraints in a technopolitical system is shown to regulate political agency and even influence the behavior of citizens, we must devise value-driven technology that incentivizes creating a more equitable political system.
... On the other hand, proponents of blockchain technology argue that its efficient and proper use can help mitigate carbon emissions, especially at the firm level (Adams et al., 2018;Hasan et al., 2020;Pan et al., 2020;Saberi et al., 2018). Studies argue that blockchain helps firms cut down waste in paper trail; the cost of intermediaries and its related documentation and transports, office spaces, and numerous computer systems; and to some extent, energy consumption. ...
... Studies argue that blockchain helps firms cut down waste in paper trail; the cost of intermediaries and its related documentation and transports, office spaces, and numerous computer systems; and to some extent, energy consumption. Saberi et al. (2018) posit that blockchain technology induces new ways of green production. They further argue that blockchain can monitor and store environment-related data in real time for timely decisions on carbon emissions. ...
... Our study is distinctively different from existing literature on blockchain technology because we focus on environmental sustainability a global issue that requires attention (Hasan et al., 2020;Lohmer et al., 2020;Pan et al., 2020;Saberi et al., 2018;Wamba et al., 2020;Ying et al., 2018). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first of its kind on the relationship between blockchain adoption and environmental efficiency. ...
This study examines the relationship between the adoption of blockchain technology and environmental efficiency by using a sample of US firms over the 2015-2019 period. Our results indicate that the adoption of blockchain technology is positively and significantly associated with environmental efficiency, suggesting that blockchain improves environmental sustainability. In further analyses, we determine that the relationship between blockchain and environmental efficiency is more pronounced for firms in financial and technological industries than for those in other industries. Our findings are also robust to other methods that control for endogeneity, including difference in difference regressions and propensity score matching. Overall, we provide empirical evidence to incentivize business leaders and policymakers to adopt innovative technologies, such as blockchain.
... Blockchain advocates consider that its appropriate application may help reduce carbon emissions, particularly at the corporate level . Saberi et al. (2018) believe that BCT will lead to new methods of producing environmentally friendly goods. Also, real-time environmental data may be monitored and stored via blockchain to allow for rapid choices on carbon footprints (Saberi et al., 2018). ...
... Saberi et al. (2018) believe that BCT will lead to new methods of producing environmentally friendly goods. Also, real-time environmental data may be monitored and stored via blockchain to allow for rapid choices on carbon footprints (Saberi et al., 2018). Therefore, BCT could be recognised as a new organisational resource to address the strategic capabilities of NRBV theory. ...
Purpose - Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) could act as a practical approach to offer sustainability deliverables in manufacturing firms aligning with the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory’s strategic capabilities: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and sustainable development. Also, the emergence of Blockchain Technology (BCT) and Circular Economy (CE) are proven to deliver sustainable outcomes in the past literature. Therefore, the present research examines the relationship between BCT and CE and TPM’s direct and mediation effect through the lens of NRBV theory.
Design/ methodology - The current study proposes a conceptual framework to examine the relationship between BCT, CE, and TPM and validates the framework through the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Responses from 316 Indian manufacturing firms were collected to conduct the analysis.
Findings - The investigation outcomes indicate that BCT positively influences CE and TPM and that TPM has a significant positive impact on CE under the premises of NRBV theory. The results also suggest that TPM partially mediates the relationship between BCT and CE.
Originality - This research fills a gap in the literature by investigating the effect of BCT and TPM on CE within the framework of the NRBV theory. It explores the link between BCT, TPM, and CE under the NRBV theory's strategic capabilities and TPM mediation.
Implications - The positive influence of TPM and BCT on CE could initiate the amalgamation of BCT-TPM, improving the longevity of production equipment and products and speeding up the implementation of CE practices.
... 7. Blockchain system provides transparency among all stakeholders [22,32]. An identical copy of a blockchain is held by each node in the network, allowing real-time auditing and review of datasets, helping to track the status of an item during a transaction [42,44,48,49,50]. ...
... 13. With the traceability of blockchain technology, it can be easily applied in the logistics industry and the control of products, materials, data and processes with blockchain will make great contributions to the logistics industry [32,49]. ...
Due to the complexity and lack of transparency of traditional supply chains, the introduction and development of blockchain technology is of great interest to the stakeholders involved in the logistics process to improve logistics processes in the supply chain and make them more sustainable. A detailed analysis has been made for the logistics industry in this study, which is discussed to investigate the undeniable benefits of blockchain technology. Today, when we try to determine our application methods in line with sustainable development purposes, it is seen that the logistics industry gains many advantages when it is integrated with blockchain technology. For this purpose, SWOT analysis has been applied as a result of literature review for logistics management, which is one of the sub-activities of supply chain management that applies blockchain technology, and contributes to the application potential in the logistics industry. At this point, some of the strengths that will require the use of blockchain technology in the logistics sector are decentralized structure, effective information sharing, fast response, robust risk management, interprocess integrity, etc. While its weaknesses are low performance, having a complex structure and high energy consumption can be the problem. In addition, some of the opportunities that the sector will gain are the ability to optimize time, solve problems, gain competition, increase sustainability; on the other hand, external threats, cross-integration adoption, new technology, limited data privacy etc. is happening. Accordingly, its potential contribution to the logistics industry is explained in detail in this article.
... Hence, companies are pushing toward digitization of supply chains by adopting emerging technologies like blockchain to improve data quality, integrity, and visibility that will allow firms to adapt blockchain motivated non-financial sectors to move toward this "game-changer" (Johnson, 2018). The applications of blockchain have begun to revolutionize different aspects of supply chain and operations management for the development of real-time supply chain capabilities (Saberi et al., 2018;and Oliveira and Handfield, 2019). Blockchain deployment in the supply chain can help reduce cost and risk and improve quality, flexibility, speed, and sustainability. ...
... Researchers analyzed adoption behavior and the usefulness of blockchain technology in the supply chain (Kamble et al., 2018;and Karamchandani et al., 2020). The potential applications of blockchain to SCM are seen in improved demand forecasting and inventory management at the planning stage and product traceability, managing risks and disruptions, and building trust at the coordination stage (Hofmann et al., 2018;and Saberi et al., 2018). Researchers also investigated the role of blockchain technology in leveraging a variety of supply chain operations such as demand forecasting and inventory management, order management, resilience, risk management, and supply chain distribution Martinez et al., 2019;and Min, 2019). ...
Blockchain is considered the most trending technology that may significantly impact businesses across the globe as it streamlines deficiencies of inter-and intra-organizational business processes by making them immutable, decentralized, secure, transparent, and operational-efficient. The applications of blockchain have begun to revolutionize different aspects of supply chain and operations management and help in reducing costs and risks and improving quality, flexibility, speed, and sustainability. Blockchain adds the most value to supply chains through its extended visibility and product traceability and makes supply chains more responsive and resilient against market disruptions. The study explores the deployment of blockchain technology to supply chain operations and differentiates traditional supply chains versus blockchain-enabled supply chains. It develops various frameworks to highlight the likely improved performance as blockchain deployment enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of the supply chain and ultimately leads to competitive advantages.
... Sarkis and Zhu (2018) showed that sustainability in production and operations management will ultimately yield healthy returns to society, while BCT can be an excellent driver. Saberi et al. (2018) proposed a conceptual framework to show that BCT can contribute to sustainable SCs. Kouhizadeh et al. (2019) extended empirical studies of BCT on CE by different industries and confirmed the long-term impact of BCT on economic, social and environmental aspects. ...
... Although BCT stimulates a decentralised approach to avoid the malicious intervention of third parties, the new governance structures among the BCT-based ecosystems also need to be explored (Lumineau et al., 2021). Saberi et al. (2018) also claimed that it may go through 'hype cycles' and 'peak of inflated expectations' without practical possibilities. ...
The purpose of this study is to explore the application of blockchain technology (BCT) in recycling. This research applies a multiple case study approach with six pioneer organisations, based on secondary data. We found that BCT is an effective approach to promote recycling performance: it can provide tokenisation, waste flow tracking and recycling chain integration. The benefits include ‘Eco‐friendly’, ‘Stimulate participation’, ‘Social inclusion’, ‘Transparent recycling chains’ and ‘Extended producer responsibility accountability’. However, the majority of existing BCT‐based initiatives are in the pilot stage and face cognitive, technology, internal and external barriers. Our research is one of the first studies on blockchain‐based recycling. We applied the network theory of ‘Reachability’, ‘Richness’ and ‘Receptivity’ and ‘network formation’ barriers to propose a conceptual framework of BCT‐based recycling, which serves as a practical reference for the recycling industry.
... Further studies highlight that value creation for the second-life of EVBs is mainly centered on collaboration with resource and information sharing, which can be facilitated by blockchain technology (Reinhardt et al., 2019;Upadhyay et al., 2021). Through blockchain implementation, shared information on products and materials is supported in a digital product passport, facilitating the development of more sustainable products (European Commission, 2020b) and further indicates that adopting blockchain for sustainable SCs may improve collaborations and decrease SC barriers (Esmaeilian et al., 2020;Kouhizadeh et al., 2021;Saberi et al., 2018;Yadav and Singh, 2020). How blockchain technology facilitates sharing information in an EV SC and what value the technology creates are key questions for uncovering the specific information needs within the EV SC. ...
Electric vehicles are perceived as a key technology to make mobility more sustainable, leading to a sharp rise in electric battery production and use. However, electric vehicle batteries are only a sustainable solution if they support decreasing the total impact of the supply chain, which makes circularity initiatives a key element in this transition. Currently, this is limited by the data sharing among actors in the supply chain on critical information needed to support a circular economy approach. In this study we explore how data sharing and information technology support the development of circularity in electric vehicle supply chains and examine the role of blockchain technology to address the circularity needs of battery tracking and capability sharing. To allow a comprehensive analysis, we conduct a case study in the electric vehicle battery supply chain, including companies from multiple tiers to capture all relevant perspectives. The results show that data sharing supports extended value chain activities, evolving from a linear to a circular supply chain perspective. It also indicates that blockchain technology supports removing existing barriers for a circular economy by facilitating transparency and traceability, especially for second-life applications beyond the dominant players in this industry.
... Green Cryptocurrencies, energy infrastructure systems, decarbonization Cheng et al., 2017;Imbault et al., 2017;Pop et al., 2018;Saberi et al., 2018 Others Social media and networks, entertainment, crowdsourcing, gambling e.g., Swan, 2015 This preprint research paper has not been peer reviewed. Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4022262 ...
Information and Communication Technologies such as blockchain can significantly contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Global South (GS). Grounded in the innovation forecasting literature, this paper explores blockchain-based innovations and research in the context of economic and sustainable development to answer the following research questions: what is the status quo of blockchain innovations and research in the Global South?; and further, how can blockchain innovations contribute to economic and sustainable development? We follow a mixed-method approach based on web mining and topic modeling with unstructured empirical data on blockchain innovators from Crunchbase, their websites, and academic publications to address these research questions. Our results indicate that blockchain innovators already engage in various application areas beyond the financial sector, addressing critical development issues. However, the empirical data on blockchain research and innovations suggests a largely untapped potential in various promising application areas relevant for the SDGs, such as sustainable energy or integrity verification. The major contributions of this paper are an overview and status quo of entrepreneurial innovation activities and research on blockchain technology in the GS, an analysis of these areas in the context of the SDGs, and a lean methodological approach for innovation forecasting.
... The European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive consists of closed-loop supply chains, and reverse logistics implications along with product stewardship and return policies for electronics and providing history of products along with its source and components used within it. Blockchain would be a solution which could provide traceability, audit and quality assured components which would be traceable for Regulatory authorities e.g., European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and stockholders (Saberi et al., 2018). ...
Blockchain applications within supply chain has been growing since blockchain was first introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. This research paper discusses several benefits of blockchain implementation from multiple perspectives, how it could provide provenance, reliability and enhance interaction across systems within supply chains as well as data sharing across entities involved in supply chains. Through the integration of smart logistics, smart contracts, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a supply chain becomes a "smart supply chain" that can handle issues such as reordering, cancelling, rerouting packages, audit, and compliance for regulatory agencies etc., by taking feedback and allowing informed decisions by members of a supply chain. This paper reviews extensively different Blockchain networks and asset tracking IoT devices according to different factors to determine which type is best suited for different applications within supply chain traceability. Based on this review, this article provides demonstration of how blockchain, cloud, IoT could be used to trace a package through all stages, from origin/manufacturing location to end-retailer. In our demonstration we use a sensor by Sigfox for sending minimal data from IoT devices using LoRaWAN. The end customer interfaces are connected to Sigfox cloud using a secure transmission of data from IoT cloud to end user-interface.
... The European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive consists of closed-loop supply chains, and reverse logistics implications along with product stewardship and return policies for electronics and providing history of products along with its source and components used within it. Blockchain would be a solution which could provide traceability, audit and quality assured components which would be traceable for Regulatory authorities e.g., European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and stockholders (Saberi et al., 2018). ...
Blockchain applications within supply chain has been growing since blockchain was first introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. This research paper discusses several benefits of blockchain implementation from multiple perspectives, how it could provide provenance, reliability and enhance interaction across systems within supply chains as well as data sharing across entities involved in supply chains. Through the integration of smart logistics, smart contracts, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, a supply chain becomes a "smart supply chain" that can handle issues such as reordering, cancelling, rerouting packages, audit, and compliance for regulatory agencies etc., by taking feedback and allowing informed decisions by members of a supply chain. This paper reviews extensively different Blockchain networks and asset tracking IoT devices according to different factors to determine which type is best suited for different applications within supply chain traceability. Based on this review, this article provides demonstration of how blockchain, cloud, IoT could be used to trace a package through all stages, from origin/manufacturing location to end-retailer. In our demonstration we use a sensor by Sigfox for sending minimal data from IoT devices using LoRaWAN. The end customer interfaces are connected to Sigfox cloud using a secure transmission of data from IoT cloud to end user-interface.
... The European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive consists of closed-loop supply chains, and reverse logistics implications along with product stewardship and return policies for electronics and providing history of products along with its source and components used within it. Blockchain would be a solution which could provide traceability, audit and quality assured components which would be traceable for Regulatory authorities e.g., European Community Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and stockholders (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, and Sarkis 2018). ...
The main objective of this article is to present a prototype that integrates blockchain and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to digitize information across a generic Supply Chain (SC). Blockchain bring many benefits to the operation of improving provenance and reliability, such as, digitizing the interaction among SC actors to allow implementation of smart contracts to support a secure and authenticated chain. In technical terms, blockchain is a decentralized database where information recording is secure and blockchain-based traceability in the SC can address shortcomings that exist in centralized solutions. Provenance could be achieved by implementing SC business logic within smart contracts using blockchains. This article presents an architecture of software that combines blockchain with IoT devices that allows traceability of a generic product from source to destination, through multi-echelon suppliers, logistics, manufacturers to the end-customer. The presented software architecture uses the Solana blockchain for the implementation of SC processes and business logic. This blockchain was selected from a review, reported in this article, of several widely used blockchain networks. It was selected mainly due to its speed and cost of transactions. Within the blockchain we store SC related data and events communicated over the internet and mobile application channels, in a Solana blockchain using Solana's native blockchain libraries. the IoT devices used are Sigfox cloud gateway, and Sensit that uses LPWAN (Low power wide area network) wireless telecommunication for data transfer. In our IoT device, the blockchain stores temperature, humidity, light, location, tilting, door opening, vibration, and magnetic field. The goal is to use existing technologies to develop a software architecture for a medium term objective of an implementable generic blockchain for SCs.
... As a result, it is attracting increasing applications in business management such as supply chain management and smart contract. The application of blockchains within the waste management sector is of increasing attention Saberi et al., 2018). Current applications of blockchains may contribute to plastic waste management in two ways: (1) facilitating the incentive payment or rewards that promote plastic recycling (Agora Tech Lab, 2018; Plastic Bank, 2020); and (2) monitoring and track the plastic waste stream for better management (Taylor et al., 2020). ...
Marine Plastics Abatement Volume 2 focusses on abatement strategies and up-to-date technological innovations against marine plastic pollution such as resource recovery, plastics-to-values, co-processing, dumpsite recovery, etc. With an understanding of technological solutions and proper management practices, this volume suggests ways to develop businesses from plastic wastes with several cases from developed and developing countries. Furthermore, business case studies are presented along with recent scientific information, and practical exercises together with discussions on future trends such as introduction of biodegradable, or decomposable plastics; product designs for recycling/upcycling; etc.
ISBN: 9781789063431 (print)
ISBN: 9781789063448 (eBook)
ISBN: 9781789063448 (ePUB)
... Bai and Sarkis (2017) argued that although blockchain has numerous positive advantages, the adoption of this technology poses a number of diverse ethical, managerial, and technical challenges, as well as implementation costs and high development (Bai & Sarkis, 2017). A few challenges were particularly associated with the sustainability and environmental dimensions such as how much energy is needed for the specific algorithms, computations, and processing in the blockchain (Truby, 2018;Saberi et al., 2018), as well as implementation concerns, particularly in wide-ranging implementations. journal.ump.edu.my/ijim ...
FinTech ecosystem and business model development are extensively discussed in the literature. The adoption of innovative technologies and digital transformation has impacted the approach to carrying on the businesses and channels that offer financial highly reliable and instinctive services and products. This study primarily deals with the identification of data sets. Also, a systematic review protocol was created using the PRISMA method to describe the hypothesis and rational and planned techniques of the study. Blockchain technology has been employed in an assortment of sectors and used by several nations for improving ecological supportability. In fact, blockchain technology has been effective to increase green production, tracking and preserving environmental degradation and pollution-related data, and collecting and analyzing the low carbon or green data in real time for more timely decisions. There is a scarcity of literature on studying the impact of blockchain and cryptocurrency on adopting FinTech and its sustainability. Therefore, the aim of this study is to add to this body of literature an investigation on the impact of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency adoption on FinTech for the environment-friendly nature.
... Proponents argue that blockchain technology supports sustainable agriculture by reducing food recalls, due to more efficient traceability features, as well as determining the accuracy of carbon emissions in the supply chain due to its immutable and transparent nature (Nayal et al., 2021;Saberi et al., 2018). Demestichas and Daskalakis (2020) conducted a literature review to examine the relevance of the information and communication technology solutions (such as the Internet of Things, blockchain, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence algorithms) for the Circular Economy (CE). ...
A transition towards a circular economy within the agri-food sector requires the improvement of efficiency in resource utilization, the prevention of food loss or waste, whilst adopting regenerative agricultural practices. In addition to the technical challenges, the agri-food industry needs to address the food safety concerns resulting from biomass recycling processes. Increasingly, blockchain technology is gaining traction, moving towards more sustainable and precision agriculture. The blockchain is a decentralized, immutable, and shared database that records the provenance of digital assets, making it a suitable platform for traceability and food supply chain management. Despite its growing importance, the existing literature regarding these themes and the empirical evidence of blockchain-based solutions for a circular economy is rather fragmented. This paper offers a scoping review regarding the role of blockchain technology in the transition towards a circular food system. A total of 44 papers published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed to identify new scientific insights into the application of blockchains within the agricultural sector. The results indicate that blockchain technology has a great potential in reducing food loss through optimized eco-efficiency (e.g., digitalization and integration with the Internet of Things) and by alleviating asymmetric information (by increasing transparency and reducing dependence on intermediaries). However, in the case of recycling efficiency, despite its potential, there remains a paucity of evidence regarding the use of blockchain technology in improving the residual valorization processes. Furthermore, there is a stream of literature focusing on the ability of blockchain-enabled traceability (e.g., for organic production or supply chain management). Yet, the role of blockchain traceability in the monitoring of risks from recycled biomass and the reporting of the sustainability performance in the supply chain has received scant attention within research literature. These results provide insights for supply chain management operations with the view of shifting towards a circular economy whilst also suggesting an agenda for future research areas.
... Each block is comprised of a hash and a tie to a previous block. Therefore, blockchain can guarantee that the information is reliable and valid (Saberi et al., 2018). ...
Healthcare networks are sophisticated systems, which are commonly comprised of medical and drug suppliers, insurance companies, third-party logistics (3PL) providers, and regulators. Effective healthcare systems should be capable of sustainably delivering high quality and accessible patient care services using data shared through the best available technologies. However, healthcare data are generally hard to comprehend, use, and share since they are also inaccessible, non-standardized, and disseminated throughout the network. Blockchain may be employed to alleviate the impact of these challenges. However, only a few blockchain platforms (BP) have reached the stable design and established user base needed to give a healthcare organization (HO) confidence in their implementation. Each digital transformation project employing blockchain faces the challenge of picking a BP suitable to the requirements of a HO. While some research has been conducted to choose an appropriate BP, quantitative studies on specific industries, including healthcare, are currently insufficient. This investigation provides a case addressing the selection of the most feasible BP for a healthcare group. To this end, we propose a new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework that integrates the extent analysis-based rough Analytic Hierarchy Process (RAHP-E) and rough Compromise Programming (RCP). The findings of this study are validated through several analyses.
... Kouhizadeh et al. (2019) argued that blockchain can help manufacturers benefit from voluntary expansion of producer responsibility and product recycling. Saberi et al. (2018) proposed that blockchain can improve the environment and resource efficiency in natural resource and recycling management. Dutta et al. (2020) showed that blockchain can accurately track the location of used products and authenticate actions involved in the recycling process. ...
This paper examines the optimal combination of blockchain adoption in recycling used products and sales format selection of the online platform to achieve triple sustainability of economy, environment, and society. We focus on a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) consisting of a manufacturer and an online platform. In the forward chain, the manufacturer sells products through the online platform who adopts reselling or agency selling sales format. In the backward chain, under extended producer responsibility, the manufacturer collects used products and can take advantage of the transparency, trust, and traceability features of blockchain technology, to increase the real recycling rate of used products and gain consumer trust. By constructing stylized differential game model, we clarify the condition of blockchain adoption and discuss the impact of blockchain on platform sales format selection and triple performance of the CLSC. The results show that the improvement in transparency and trust induced by blockchain will increase the brand goodwill and have positive effect on demand. Under blockchain-enabled recycling, the online platform and the manufacturer will reach a stable cooperation on platform reselling when the commission rate is extremely low, and agency selling when the commission rate is relatively high. However, the relationship of cooperation will break down when the commission rate is extremely high or relatively low. Furthermore, it is illustrated that the lower the real recycling rate, the better the effect of blockchain in enabling the triple sustainability of economy, environment, and society.
... In case of climate change actions, blockchain can assist in criteria correlated to environment management, circular economy, environmental supply chain, transparency of the data from different resources to find the truth behind the schemers, protecting contents and ownership of data, transparency of IoT in data and information flow, and providing a trustful context for policy makers (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2018). To be more precise, blockchain applications in climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban environments can be categorized in different areas (Fig. 12.11). ...
... In case of climate change actions, blockchain can assist in criteria correlated to environment management, circular economy, environmental supply chain, transparency of the data from different resources to find the truth behind the schemers, protecting contents and ownership of data, transparency of IoT in data and information flow, and providing a trustful context for policy makers (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2018). To be more precise, blockchain applications in climate change adaptation and mitigation in urban environments can be categorized in different areas (Fig. 12.11). ...
Urban Climate Adaptation and Mitigation offers evidence-based, scientific solutions for improving a city's ability to prepare, recover and adapt to global climate-related events. Bringing together a wide variety of research disciplines to addresses the linkages to climate change adaptation and mitigation topics with planning, transportation and waste management, the book informs different types of stakeholders on how they can enhance their preparation abilities to enable real-time response methods. Application-focused throughout, this book explores the complexities of urban systems and subsystems to support researchers, planners and decision-makers in their efforts toward developing more climate-resilient smart cities.
... Our second contribution refers to the long-standing issue of the environmental impact of these new technologies. On the one side, DLT and blockchain have offered considerable opportunities to deliver environmental and social benefits (Adams et al., 2018;Bai and Sarkis, 2019), facilitating new means of green production as well as monitoring and storing data on activities responsible for pollution and environmental degradation Saberi et al., 2018). However, on the opposite side, energy-intensive design of many algorithms, processes, and computations within the blockchain poses challenges for electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (Goodkind et al., 2020;Truby, 2018). ...
Security token offerings (STOs), based on blockchain technology, are attracting increasing attention as an innovative alternative means of venture financing. Information about specific STOs is generally provided in white papers. This study analyses the content of white papers using a unique sample of 188 STOs from 2017 to 2021 to identify which topic is related to campaign success. We leverage latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling to identify the topics and themes in white papers. Nine topics are identified through LDA: company description, distributed ledger technology components, energy and green issues, financial and legal issues, artificial intelligence, and tech applications in different industries—specifically, healthcare, manufacturing and construction, education, and financial services. We find that energy and green issues represent one of the most prominent topics among all types of projects and that their disclosure is positively related to the probability of campaign success and the amount of funding raised. Another prominent topic that affects campaign outcomes is technology in the healthcare industry, reflecting wider investment trends in this sector. Our results may help entrepreneurs to improve their campaign disclosures and present new issues for policymakers regarding investments in digital tokens.
... The use of these new technologies results enhances an entrepreneurial venture's capability to operate more efficiently, acquire and save resources, streamline their supply chains, and respond more flexibly to new market conditions. [18]. Crowdfunding is another key area of digitalization research. ...
Digitalization is a critical area for entrepreneurs. However, the context of poverty is still under researched. To address this gap, our study will present a multi-level perspective, including individual- and firm-level concepts such as digital literacy and absorptive capacity as well as ecosystem views on how digitalization intersects with poverty entrepreneurship. This is followed by a discussion of future research avenues.
... Supply chains deal with large amounts of flows, both in terms of information, products and materials, as well as financial flows, which requires robust and efficient management (Saberi et al., 2018). To achieve excellence in supply chain management, companies strive to build supply chains that respond to sudden and unexpected changes in the market. ...
The world is constantly evolving, becoming more digital and new technologies are being developed. One such technology is blockchain, which has gained popularity through the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. However, there is much more potential in this technology, for example within supply chains. With its immutable, secure and transparent nature, blockchain has the potential to revolutionize supply chain management. Nevertheless, blockchain-based supply chains have their raison d'être not only for efficiency reasons. Due to the above-mentioned attributes of this technology, it can also make a great contribution in terms of sustainability. The external pressure is growing and forces retailers to become more transparent and act more sustainably along supply chains. This pressure comes both from their own customers, who place an increasing value on sustainable and green products, but also from regulations and laws that oblige companies to operate more sustainably. Even though the advantages of blockchain-based supply chains are evident, the adoption of blockchain is still quite narrow and small-scaled. For this reason, this thesis examines to what extent and why a gap between claimed sustainability potentials and reality exists in supply chains.
A thorough literature review has been conducted which resulted in a capability framework, listing nine sustainability capabilities of blockchain and their associated benefits for sustainable supply chains. Further, six semi-structured interviews were held with experts and companies using or providing blockchain platforms. The findings demonstrate that the claimed sustainability potentials of blockchain platforms are not used to their fullest extent. Moreover, the analysis suggests that there are several barriers hindering the adoption of blockchain in supply chain management. The main bottleneck is found to be the resistance among lower-tier suppliers. This resistance is mainly due to the lack of external pressure, which is disproportionally weighted on retailers in the public eye. It is also due to technical difficulties, making it hard for less digitized companies to adopt blockchain. The analysis results in a number of possible solutions to mitigate inter-organizational issues, where the recommendation is to work collaboratively with suppliers and incentivize adoption by demonstrating efficiency gains and sharing benefits. Through providing the findings and analysis, this research contributes to the literature and practical field by shedding light on the difficulties of making full use of blockchain-based supply chains. Furthermore, this thesis guides future research towards the most essential barrier that needs to be overcome.
... Blockchain technology has good potential to transform the SCF practices in SMEs, but its adoption is still in its infancy [18]. Although the use cases of blockchain-based SCF platforms have increased over the past few years, blockchain technology faces various barriers in adoption by SMEs. ...
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India are suffering from the long-standing challenges related to asymmetric information, high transaction costs, SMEs’ opacity and limited access to credit. Blockchain technology, which is still in its infancy in terms of adoption in India, can facilitate SMEs to counter these challenges. Fuelled by this motivation, the study aims to investigate the significant barriers to blockchain adoption in supply chain finance practices by Indian SMEs. Using fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process, sensitivity analysis, and fuzzy-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory this paper identifies the blockchain barriers, prioritises them and examine their cause and effect relationships. The results of the study indicate that technology barriers are the most influential barriers that impede blockchain adoption. The findings will help the policymakers and practitioners to take suitable measures to overcome these barriers and fuel the adoption of blockchain in Indian SMEs.
... Management of financial assets also uses blockchain technology such as fiat money, securities, derivatives contracts (Fanning and Centers 2016), and capital markets (Cappa and Pinelli 2020). Blockchain is widely used in supply chain management (Saberi et al. 2019). ...
The investment required to achieve the commitments of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the available finance leaves a huge gap that needs to be filled. Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated this finance gap. The cost of financing green projects is another very important factor. To deal with these problems, green digital financing offers a cost-effective and transparent option. Technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of things, and big data can help boost green financing. This chapter highlights the investment requirement in India to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and also outlines the steps taken by India toward green digital financing. This chapter also underlines the challenges faced by India in the field of green digital financing and draws some initial recommendations for policymakers in harnessing green digital financing to achieve the SDGs.KeywordsGreen digital financingIndiaSDGsBlockchainArtificial intelligenceJEL CodeQ01D25G1G2
... Blockchain is helpful for digitized logistics operations and activities in terms of financial transactions and interorganizational cooperation. BCT maintains immutable information of products and producers from the supply chain to end-oflife management and governing supply chain activities and its financial flow with intelligent contracts (Saberi et al., 2018). Additionally, blockchain can validate, record, and distribute transactions in immutable and encrypted ledgers (wang et al., 2019) and subsequently positively impact economy, society, and business (Morkunas et al., 2019). ...
This chapter presents information about the halal BCT application and its antecedents and consequences in the halal logistics and supply chains. Later, it provides the hybrid and innovative model of the halal BCT application that makes firms gain more positive impact.KeywordsHalal blockchain technologyHalal food industryCompetitive advantage
... The use of these new technologies results enhances an entrepreneurial venture's capability to operate more efficiently, acquire and save resources, streamline their supply chains, and respond more flexibly to new market conditions. [18]. Crowdfunding is another key area of digitalization research. ...
... In definition, sustainability provides a balance among social, environmental, and economic dimensions, which are widely recognized as the triple-bottom-line (Seuring et al. 2008). For supporting sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), several reasons can be taken into account from competitive, social, and regulatory perspectives (Saberi et al. 2018b). Customers tend to verify the products they consume in terms of sustainability; they need an always-available portal containing information about the products (Nikolakis et al. 2018). ...
The application of blockchain technology (BT) to sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has enriched the operations management processes with higher degrees of safety, traceability, transparency, and efficiency. This technology effectively helps prevent fake products and fraud across the supply chains, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. However, the implementation of BT in supply chain management (SCM) is still in the initial stages since companies generally pay too much attention to the adoption phase while neglecting the managerial/organizational strategies required to succeed in this path; they also overlook the establishment of an effective link to the three main pillars of sustainability (i.e., the environmental, social, and economic aspects). Despite high potentials formerly confirmed for BT, a number of barriers have blocked the rapid adoption of this technology. Accordingly, the current study attempts to propose an innovative model hybridizing the combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) and criteria importance through inter-criteria correlation (CRITIC) methods to identify and evaluate the barriers to the BT adoption in SSCM in the manufacturing sector. In the proposed model, CRITIC is responsible for calculating the criteria weights, and CoCoSo for evaluating the preference order of the organization. To exhibit the practicality of the introduced model, a case study is taken to evaluate the barriers to the adoption of BT in SSCM within PFSs environment. Moreover, we exhibit a sensitivity analysis over parameter values in view of examining the stability of our proposed approach. Finally, we draw attention to a comparison between our developed PF-CRITIC-CoCoSo decision-making framework with an existing PF-WASPAS method to show its superiority and potency.
... Ittay mainly studied how blockchain technology can narrow the security and privacy gap in the neighborhood outside the Bitcoin field and proposed that blockchain technology has high potential application value for the financial industry [4]. Saberi et al. studied the application of blockchain technology in government public decision-making and concluded that blockchain technology can directly affect government investment decisions through some very important information [5]. Efanov and Roschin proposed that, in today's society, blockchain technology is considered to be the most important invention after the Internet. ...
In recent years, with the development of science and technology, as an emerging data security technology, blockchain has been widely used in all walks of life by virtue of its immutability, uniqueness, smart contract, and decentralized organization. Examples include industry, services, and education. With the progress of China's education, the application of blockchain technology in the field of education has also been further expanded. At present, the application of blockchain in China's education field is mainly concentrated in three areas: education resource management, teaching information management, and education basic platform construction. This article aims to study the security of the student information management system based on the blockchain. The security test experiment of the student information management system is carried out based on the encryption algorithm of the blockchain, and conclusions are drawn. The security of the student information management system based on the encryption algorithm of blockchain technology has increased by 87%, which also shows that the blockchain technology has a better effect on improving the security of the student information management system.
... The provenance of materials and products is traceable and verifiable using blockchain technology platforms. Blockchain technology can enhance a variety of sustainability initiatives including green supplier development, managing environmental certifications, and waste minimization programs (Saberi, Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2018), enabling, for example, material passports to facilitate secondary material markets (Tate, Bals, Bals, & Foerstl, 2019). Information related to sustainability performance of materials and products, life-cycle analysis, and environmental impacts of transportations can all be accessed on blockchain. ...
... BT can improve supply chain visibility, integration, and sustainability (Korpela et al., 2017). It can play an instrumental role in creating an integration among supply chain (SC) partners, making supply chains more visible and traceable (Casado-Vara et al., 2018;Saberi et al., 2018). One of the critical challenges faced by supply chains is visibility. ...
The advent of blockchain technologies is transmuting the way conventional supply chains are being managed. Due to the complexity of dealing with many actors involved in the supply chain networks, contemporary supply chains have limited visibility , transparency, and accountability. Likewise, supply chains are increasingly facing the challenge of integration and sustainability. In this vein, blockchain technologies can play a groundbreaking role in improving the traceability, accountability, and sustainability of complex supply chain networks. The present study examines the instru-mentality of blockchain technologies in enabling supply chain mapping and supply chain integration. The study also tests the direct impact of blockchain technologies on supply chain sustainability. Data are collected from 132 Malaysian Electrical and Electronics firms using a close-ended questionnaire. The study employs Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Partial Least Squares-Multi Group Analysis (PLS-MGA) for analyzing the hypothesized relationships. The results show that blockchain technologies do not have a direct impact on supply chain sustainability. Nevertheless, this finding reveals a robust indirect effect of BT, through SC integration and SC mapping, on the SC sustainability. The study's findings imply that the notion of the sustainable supply chain can be significantly attained by mapping upstream, midstream, and downstream supply chains. The well-mapped supply chain can further improve supply chain sustainability. The findings of the study also suggest the adoption of blockchain technologies as a broad-based strategy to attain multi-tier goals, for example, supply chain mapping, sustainability, and integration.
... BT could thereby be the "one-stop" solution to all these problems at multiple levels. Saberi et al. (2018) argued that BT might become a panacea for resource conservation and recycling. Anybody, for instance, can access the asset holdings in a distributed ledger system by an anonymous identifier (Chapron, 2017). ...
Purpose
This study aims to formulate a conceptual sustainable framework for developing a trusted, reliable, scalable, transparent, traceable and sustainable agri-food supply chain in a developing country so that it minimizes wastage and increases the efficiency levels of agri-produce and its usage.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a rigorous review of extant literature, case studies and the interview method for theory building, using blockchain technology (BT) as a subject. Further, the study builds a framework to relate blockchain solutions to the challenges faced by the agri-supply chain. Notably, the use of BT in the agri-food supply chain is a relatively new area of study.
Findings
Limitations of using BT 3.0 in a diverse supply chain like the food sector, especially in a developing country such as India, may be overcome by adopting BT 4.0 and could change the country’s face by controlling inefficiencies and ensuring transparency, helping in good governance, improving the humanitarian supply chain and integrating the bottom of the pyramid to the main economy. Based on the findings, this study proposes BT 4.0 for the agri-supply chain in India to deal with the current issues of demand-supply gap, wastages of agri-produce, unequal distribution of profit among agriproduct producers and logistics suppliers and ensuring sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Results in this study have been derived from a specific demographic condition in India. Future research with other demographic conditions may be replicated. BT is a new technology product, and its effectiveness is yet to be established.
Practical implications
The outcome of this study provides the application of BT 4.0 in the area of the agri-food supply chain. The BT 4.0 framework has been developed on studying a few cases that either implemented BT or were in the testing phase. The benefits of the agri-food supply chain vis-à-vis its overall social well-being may be achieved on the successful implementation of the framework, despite existing complexities in the food supply chain. Further research on this subject may help the other dimensions of the complexity of adopting BT 4.0. Both practitioners and policymakers from developing countries can, therefore, use the findings of this study to analyze BT 4.0 and address the concerns of the agri-food supply chain.
Originality/value
This research paper has proposed a conceptual framework of BT 4.0, which is a completely new technology. It is fairly transparent, and therefore sustainable supply chain practices may be achieved easily.
... Sustainable supply chains have piqued the interest of academics and practitioners in recent years, owing to people's growing awareness of environmental and social issues. As a result, blockchain technology's promising characteristics can be applied to farm productions that reduce environmental consequences, avoid corruption, and advance labor rights [24] . Heinrich et al. [25] viewed high-value botanical products as another interesting feature of blockchain technologies. ...
Despite substantial progress achieved with shrimp production during the last three and a half decades, growth of shrimp export remains minimal in Bangladesh. In the absence of effective traceability and transparency practices , a wide range of malpractice occurs both at the production and post-harvest stages. Traditional paper-based record-keeping methods for the shrimp supply chain are disparate and, therefore, cannot provide efficient traceability capacity and holistic view of the supply chain. These limit the identification of any issues in earlier juncture to proactively ensure food safety, best practice, and good governance. Addressing this multiplexed challenge , we present here ShrimpChain , a public-private hybrid blockchain-based conceptual framework. Focusing on the export market and utilizing existing technologies, the conceptual framework addresses the traceability, transparency, and certification challenges associated with shrimp export. In this framework, from the post-larva purchasing to the final packaging stage, relevant data for every stage will be entered by the associated actors via mobile/web app or Internet of Things devices to the blockchain network. Data authentication will be achieved by a novel approach of incorporating community consensus in conjunction with the machine-derived data entry timestamping method. Instead of the traditional central and endpoint certification approach, we propose a distributed and accumulative score-based certification approach that will grade packaged shrimps according to the completeness and accuracy of the authenticated data entered during different stages. Such distributed approach of certification will enhance not only food safety but also the quality and compliance to best practices. Most importantly, engaging shrimp farmers in the safety and quality assurance as well as to the certification process will empower them to have better control over the market and incentive to produce high-quality shrimp for high-value market.
The new energy vehicle (NEV) is emerging as an important alternative in the automobile industry in its potential to alleviate environmental pollution and contribute to carbon neutrality. The rapid growth of NEVs has been reflected in the scaling up of electric vehicle battery production. The dramatic increase of retired batteries, however, exposes the technological limitations in current recycling operations, which will ultimately impede the sustainable development of the NEV supply chain. Blockchain technology (BT) adoption provides a solution by contributing to the construction of an efficient recycling network. Our research investigates the influence of carbon reduction instruments on the uptake of BT. The key findings are as follows. Under a carbon tax system, (1) carbon emission reduction encourages the battery supplier to adopt BT; (2) BT adoption increases the profits of NEV supply chain stakeholders. Under carbon cap-and-trade regulations, (1) the unit outsourcing fee and the performance of the BT impact the investment decision of the manufacturer; (2) the profit of the third-party enterprise is increased by introducing the BT. Under both policies, improving the efficiency of BT helps to upgrade the traceability level and contribute to carbon neutrality in the NEV supply chain.
Purpose
In the era of digitization, blockchain technology (BCT) has gained huge attraction in a variety of business processes including operations and supply chains (SC) of different industrial sectors. This paper aims that the adoption of BCT in SC enables the industries to integrate the stakeholders and its distinct features enhance the performance of SC.
Design/methodology/approach
An attempt is made to develop a BCT platform a pilot case of bearing-SC and identify the challenges and their solutions in the integration of BCT with SC. Moreover, the impact of BCT on measures of SC performance is also studied.
Findings
The results show enhanced transparency in the transactions, better security of the data, diminished latency period for transfer of information, improved traceability of the bearing, reduced time for payment transfer process and decreased nonvalue-added activities. Ultimately, overall trust of the customer can be improved by the integration of BCT in bearing-SC.
Originality/value
In the same way, BCT can be applied to SC of other components to assure the product quality to the end-users.
The research aims to explore blockchain adoption for retail supply chain applications using two theoretical perspectives: supply chain capabilities and business value-added. Blockchain deployment in the retail supply chain helps in resolving some of the supply chain problems such as time delays, risks mitigation, information sharing, and product counterfeiting. In this study, various frameworks are conceptualized to understand, synthesize, and determine the value creation process. The research emphasizes that the benefits of blockchain deployment in the retail supply chain are broad-based and include enhanced trust and transparency, cost reduction, automation, increased processing speed, streamlined process, and disintermediation. The research also provides various illustrations to explain how retailers have successfully deployed blockchain technology in retail supply chains and improved their overall performance. Research also discusses the barriers to blockchain deployment in the retail supply chain and provides practical insights for smooth implementation.
Blockchain technology enables a single database source to maintain permanent information about products and manufacturers and share transparent data in the supply chain from suppliers, factories and distributors. In the automotive industry, blockchain technology has improved the transparency of the value chain and improved the operational efficiency of the supply chain. This research designed a blockchain-based supply chain system framework to meet the business needs of the automotive industry and improve operational performance. This research is based on the ongoing European Union Horizon 2020 project AVANGARD. The features of blockchain are investigated and aligned concerning SCM in the automotive industry.KeywordsBlockchainSupply chain managementAutomotive industrySmall- and medium-sized enterprise
This book aims to fill the literature gap on digital instruments and FinTech in enhancing green finance. Technological innovation can increase transparency, accountability, and speed, decentralize the financial system, improve risk management, increase competition, lower costs, improve efficiency, increase cross-sectoral collaboration and integration, and scale up green finance. Artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledger technologies (DLT) or blockchain, peer-to-peer lending platforms, big data, Internet-based and mobile-based payment platforms, Internet of Things (IoT), matchmaking platforms including crowdlending, tokenizing green assets are potential means to scale up the green finance for achieving the SDGs.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the economic downturns, and the uncertainties shrank the new investments in renewable energy projects globally. Low investment in renewable energy projects could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to provide energy security and meet SDG7 and SDG13. Investments in renewable energy projects are scarce because of several risks and a low rate of return. Although several new green financing solutions such as green bonds, green banks, green credit guarantee, carbon taxation, carbon trade, village funds, and community trust funds have been established in different countries, these are insufficient, and alternative ways to finance projects are required. The book provides several high-quality studies on utilizing digitalization, FinTech, financial innovations, and other new technologies to fill the finance gap of green projects to meet the SDG goals. The chapters are written by scholars in diverse countries and regions and include practical policy recommendations.
Purpose
Blockchain technology (BCT) can be used for a wide variety of applications across domains and can bring many benefits. BCT-based applications can be beneficial for the government as well as businesses. Despite the many promises, BCT implementation lags behind. The purpose of this research is to identify a roadmap of critical implementation challenges that influence BCT implementation by governments.
Design/methodology/approach
The study develops an ISM-based model spread across seven levels to analyze the inter-relationship among the selected BCT challenges. The MICMAC analysis further helps in evaluating the variables based on their driving power and dependencies.
Findings
The findings show that all challenges have a strong impact on implementing BCT. The foundation for implementation BCT is to define standards and develop appropriate regulations. Next, the findings show the need for a shared infrastructure meeting the basic technical and societal requirements and developing viable business models to advance BCT implementation. Many challenges hinder the development of blockchain applications meeting the technical and ethical requirements.
Originality/value
Existing research has analyzed the relationship among challenges. To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first paper to collate these implementation challenges and incorporate them to develop a hierarchical model using interpretive structural modeling technique. The results can be used to prioritize the tackling of the challenges.
Alongside many studies on greening efforts for supply chain activities, there is a research gap in understanding the emergence and adoption of green supply chain innovation (GSCI) in this digital-enabled Industry 4.0 era. This study defines GSCI as innovation practices by manufacturers that apply emergent digital technologies to integrate environmental concerns into supply chain management activities. GSCI is evolving as a new paradigm of green supply chain management (GSCM) to elevate its five underlying implementation dimensions. Manufacturing enterprises can benefit from digital technology applications to enhance efficiency of environmental outcomes of their GSCM activities, including internal environmental management, green purchasing, customer cooperation, inventory recovery, and eco-design. The GSCI concept gains growing attention in research and practice with popular digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data analytics increasingly adopted by manufacturers to improve their GSCM. So far, the literature lacks studies on GSCI to examine the concept, investigate the practices, explain the adoption motivations, consolidate and extend the knowledge on its adoption and diffusion. Based on a comprehensive review of GSCM literature, we explain the innovation for GSCM, and discuss the GSCI concept and practice focusing on digital technology applications with examples, and identify the challenges and opportunities for GSCI adoption and diffusion. We extend knowledge for this emerging GSCM field on digital technology applications.
We investigate how blockchain technology influences optimal pricing and quality decisions under two different supply chain structures. In both cases, the supplier is the leader and plays a Stackelberg game with downstream platform(s). Specifically, the supplier determines the wholesale prices and quality levels of the products, and the platform(s) decides the selling prices. Based on our analysis, we find that when consumer acceptance of blockchain is low, among the two products in the single platform, the products with blockchain technology have not only a high quality but also a low price. However, in the case of the two competitive platforms, although blockchain will also enable the platform that uses this technology to provide products with a high quality and low price, its advantages are not obvious. Nevertheless, in comparing the two cases, when consumer acceptance is high, the two competing platforms tend to provide products with a high quality and low price, regardless of whether or not the products use blockchain technology. Our conclusions reveal that although blockchain will benefit a supplier and consumers, in some cases, the supplier will have an incentive to decrease the quality level of the products with blockchain technology, which will eventually negatively affect consumers.
Blockchain is increasingly lauded as an enabler of the transition to a circular economy. While there is considerable conceptual research and some empirical studies on this phenomenon, scholars have yet to develop a theoretical model of blockchain's role in this transition. Grounded in the sustainability transition literature, this paper addresses this gap through the following research question: What role does blockchain play in the transition to a circular economy? Following an abductive approach, we conducted interviews with ground‐level experts implementing blockchain innovations for the circular economy across Europe and the United States. Through a thematic analysis, we derived a theoretical model of the relationships among (1) drivers and barriers of the transition to a circular economy, (2) blockchain innovation for the circular economy, (3) technical challenges of blockchain, and (4) the circular economy. While blockchain plays a moderating role, interviewees considered it only an infrastructural resource rather than a panacea.
- Offers comprehensive knowledge about the transformations through Blockchain technology in all major sections of society.
- Serves as a knowledge-sharing platform of ideas focusing on future directions of models, architectures, frameworks, policies related to Blockchain.
- Focuses on how Blockchain technology can work in an integrated manner with other existing technologies.
Blockchain technology is currently one of the fastest-growing and demanding technologies worldwide. As digitalization grows, it is transforming many digital platforms and considering various application areas for the future ahead in a similar fashion. It is also responsible for increasing counts of fraud, violation of confidential documents, certificates, and copyrighted policies, along with the big fraud of cryptocurrency issues. All such challenges motivate the deployment of blockchain technology in the digital world so that computing technology can gain the trust and faith of its users with a high level of security, privacy, and confidentiality in a more comfortable manner. At present, the computing world is struggling with various areas of application such as the health care system, finance, internet of things, cybersecurity, and the education system. The integration of blockchain technology into those areas can make broader changes in their services with more security and privacy. This article is mainly focused on the concept of “Transforming Education Through Block chain Technology,” education is the foundation of every country, so that when education is lacking the confidentiality, privacy, and safety of documents and certificates, it violates the principle of learning, which affects the education system as well as the present and future of the national economy. In order to reveal the truth behind education fraud and online learning platforms we try to explore the importance of blockchain technology for the impactful present and future of our education system. Blockchain technology can make our education system very impressive and meaningful; thus, this chapter will help its readers, students, authors, and teachers to protect our education system from violation and fraud, In this chapter we try to deploy the concept of blockchain technology in a systematic way to understand how we can transform our education system, along with the different issues and challenges.KeywordsBlockchain technologyEducation systemChallengesIssuesEducational applicationsSecurityPrivacyConfidentialityTrust
Rapid development in advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain has led to a growth of interest in a number of application areas, including smart environments such as a smart campus, which can be considered as an example of a smart city. Despite such growth, no comprehensive guiding framework has been developed for emerging IoT and Blockchain technologies deployment in the smart campus environment, particularly in relation to security and privacy aspects, as well as to the mitigation of known problems with IoT and Blockchain in existing applications. This chapter proposes a novel architecture framework for the IoT and Blockchain applications deployed within a smart campus environment, comparing the main technologies involved. As a specific example, this framework is tested for integration of Blockchain and other relevant technologies into the higher education certificating system for issuing authentic, verifiable and sharable student credentials. The existing certificating systems are marked by their lack of speed and low reliability and, in certain educational systems, they produce social and cultural conflicts. The proposed Blockchain-based student certification system is aimed to address these existing problems. Specific higher education institutes in Saudi Arabia were used as a case study to present a certificate validation and sharing framework that guarantees authenticity through leveraging the privacy and security features of a Blockchain network. The proposed solution was validated with the user acceptance study. Two groups of participants, employers and academic users, with a majority of female respondents, were included in this empirical study focusing on the evaluation of the proposed framework, assessing the potential for Blockchain adoption in higher education. The validity and reliability of the framework was tested using a sequential mixed methods design involving the collection of qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data. The results of this study are particularly useful in the context of developing countries. It is expected that the proposed framework will have useful applications in a variety of fields, where it is necessary to determine whether a satisfactory level of IoT and Blockchain technologies has been achieved and maintained in accordance with the relevant safety and security standards.KeywordsSmart campusInternet of ThingsBlockchainSecurityPrivacyTrustSmart HE certificate
Blockchain technology has disrupted the present business environment. With the ever increasing supply chain disruptions, real time information sharing plays a critical role in achieving the organization goals. As majority of the operations are data intensive, a lot of (big) data is generated which can yield fruitful results. Through integration of modern information and communication technology tools and disruptive technology platforms, this real-time data can be used for leveraging competitive advantage and enhancing the operational efficiency. However, blockchain being a nascent technology, its adoption in logistics and physical distribution, and service operations sector is relatively low. Some of the reasons which can be attributed to it are lack of awareness of blockchain enablers and lack of comprehensive benefits about blockchain technology. The present study aims at finding out the blockchain technology enablers through a pertinent literature review. These enablers were then validated by experts for highlighting their prioritization using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The findings from the study highlight that traceability and transparency were the factors given the utmost priority. The findings also highlight how the adoption of blockchain technology will enhance the operational efficiency in case of service operations management. Further, implications for research and practice are discussed which are followed by limitations and future research directions.KeywordsBlockchainLogistics and physical distributionSupply chain managementService operations management
Supply chain management experiences inefficiencies due to several reasons, such as the lack of information sharing and coordination among supply chain participants. Moreover, these participants may not share their information with other parties in the supply chain due to trust issues and considering such information as sensitive asset. This behavior may hinder the supply chain efficiency and motivate the occurrence of bullwhip effect (BWE). This phenomenon has been intensively investigated in manufacturing industries. In addition, information sharing has been considered the main remedy to eliminate BWE in literature. However, few attempts examined the effect of information sharing in reducing this phenomenon in service supply chain (SSC). Digitalization and computerization have the potential to convert and reshape the supply chains in all kind of businesses and improve the coordination among supply chain partners by exchanging real-time information. Blockchain as a disruptive technology has many distinct features like disintermediation and decentralization that provide integrity, visibility and security for the supply chain. To bridge this gap, this paper aims at proposing a blockchain architecture to mitigate BWE in SSC by improving end-to-end visibility among supply chain partners through sharing backlog information. The proposed supply chain-based blockchain enables SSC partners to share securely and transparent backlog information mitigating thus BWE.
In this chapter we provide an overview of the concept of blockchain technology and its potential to disrupt the world of banking through facilitating global money remittance, smart contracts, automated banking ledgers and digital assets. In this regard, we first provide a brief overview of the core aspects of this technology, as well as the second-generation contract-based developments. From there we discuss key issues that must be considered in developing such ledger based technologies in a banking context.
Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) has dual aims to reduce emission production and stimulate adoption of long-term abatement technology. Whilst it has generally achieved its first aim, its issues are hindering the accomplishment of the second. Several solutions have been proposed to improve ETS's efficacy, yet none of them have considered the advancement of Industry 4.0. This paper proposes a novel ETS model customised for Industry 4.0 integration. It incorporates blockchain technology to address ETS's management and fraud issues whilst it utilizes a reputation system in a new approach to improve ETS efficacy. Specific design of how the blockchain technology and reputation system are used to achieve these objectives is showed within this paper. The case study demonstrates the inner working of reputation-based trading system—in which reputation signifies participants performance and commitment toward emission reduction effort. Multi-criteria analysis is used to evaluate the proposed scheme against conventional ETS model. The result shows that the proposed model is a feasible scheme and that the benefits of its implementation will outweigh its drawback.
The blockchain technology that underpins cryptographic currencies can support sustainability by building trust and avoiding corruption, explains Guillaume Chapron.
Blockchain technology: beyond bitcoin
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Blockchain: Blueprint for a New Economy
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