Blockchain in operations for food service distribution: steps before implementation

The Intrinsic and Instrumental Values of Blockchain to Provide Beef Traceability in Hong Kong, South Korea, and the United States

Although previous research has identified that consumers are willing to pay for traceability, it remains unknown which types of traceability information might have the highest value, and whether consumers have an intrinsic value for blockchain technology above and beyond the instrumental value of providing traceability. A choice experiment was conducted with over 1500 consumers in Hong Kong, South Korea, and the U.S. In all three countries, consumers were willing to pay premiums for beef with traceability related to all parts of the supply chain, country of origin, and temperature history; however, the preference ordering of beef from different countries varied across Hong Kong, South Korea, and the U.S. The intrinsic value of using blockchain to deliver traceability information differed by country and by attribute, and consumers in the U.S. were most sensitive to the information describing blockchain technology. Even when traceability conveys negative information, such as temperature rising above safe levels for a short period, we find that consumers prefer knowing to not knowing, suggesting uncertainty and ambiguity aversion.

Blockchain technology in supply chain management: an organizational theoretic overview and research agenda

Blockchain technology is touted as a game-changer. Many experts consider blockchain technology as one of the disruptive innovations. Following significant success in the banking and finance sector, blockchain technology has found significant success in all fields, including health, manufacturing, transportation, disaster relief operations, and many others. Recently, the academician has contributed significantly towards understanding blockchain technology and its application in the management field. To understand how the literature on blockchain technology in the supply chain has progressed, we undertook an extensive review of the literature published in peer-reviewed journals using databases such as SCOPUS. We have further classified our literature into four stages (pre-adoption, adoption, implementation, and application). Finally, we synthesized the findings of the study and proposed a research framework to explain how an organization can build supply chain resilience and enhance supply chain performance with the help of blockchain technology. Finally, we have noted the limitations of the study and future research directions.

Circular economy performance measurements and blockchain technology: an examination of relationships

Purpose

This study proposes a systematic and comprehensive circular economy (CE) performance measure as an instrument to operationalize and quantify circularity. It seeks to evaluate the relative contribution of blockchain technology to evaluate various measures in this study. A general research agenda for investigating blockchain capabilities to performance assessment in CE is presented.

Design/methodology/approach

Empirical survey data from 32 CE and blockchain experts are collected to inform this study. Inductive reasoning, heatmaps, and a middle-range theory building approach are utilized to generalize theoretical patterns for blockchain support of CE performance assessment and measurement. A series of propositions are then developed as a middle-range theory for the true, false, perceptible, and hidden affordances of blockchain technology capabilities for CE performance measurement.

Findings

Overall, sixteen performance measures and metrics are identified and examined. The authors find most of these measures and metrics – based on literature and expert opinion – can be supported using blockchain technology capabilities. Four major blockchain capabilities, transparency and traceability, reliability and security, smart contracts, and incentivization and tokenization are shown to have varying potential support for CE performance assessment. There needs to be an evaluation of true, false, perceptible, and hidden affordances of blockchain technology capabilities for CE performance measurement in future studies.

Originality/value

Blockchain application for CE, and specifically performance measurements, is a new area. Research and practice evaluation on this issue is important but needs substantially additional investigation to help CE progress. This study provides a framework for evaluation and a foundation for future research at the nexus of CE, blockchain technology, and performance measurement.

Blockchain-Based Traceability System to Support the Indonesian Halal Supply Chain Ecosystem

The halal industry is constantly developing into a broader concept of the Islamic economy, an economic activity that follows the Islamic-based principle. As a populous Muslim country, Indonesia follows the growth trend by aiming to dominate the global halal market. The strategy is to improve the current halal assurance process. Presently, the technology and procedure do not provide enough process transparency, traceability, and granularity of information. To achieve the strategic goal, a technological change is needed. A new emerging technology, blockchain, may potentially answer the challenge. This study’s first objective is to discuss improving the current assurance practice in the Indonesian halal supply chain ecosystem, particularly in the meat industry. The second objective is to construct a traceability system model for the supply chain. Our goal is to propose a blockchain-based halal traceability system model. The model can be enhanced to be a national standard tool to develop the economy towards a sustainable supply chain.

Blockchain Technology in Operations & Supply Chain Management: A Content Analysis

Scholars are increasingly examining how the distributed blockchain technology can counter specific supply chain and operations management challenges. Various research approaches emerge from different scholarly backgrounds, but the interrelation of research areas and current trends has not been adequately considered in a systematic review. We employ a data-driven content analysis approach to examine previous research on blockchain technology in operations management and supply chain management. We investigate the extent to which blockchain technology was considered in scholarly works, structure the research efforts, and identify trends, interrelated themes, and promising research opportunities. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis is conducted on an extensive literature sample of 410 articles. Results indicate an optimistic attitude due to potentials such as tracking and tracing abilities, efficiency increases, and trust-building. Conceptual studies dominate the literature set, with increasing qualitative research efforts. Grand theories are seldomly addressed in the studies. Blockchain technology is outlined as particularly useful when combined with other technologies like IoT. We also identified sustainability implications of the technology, such as enabling transparency for SC stakeholders. Cryptocurrencies can facilitate further efficiency gains if legal uncertainties are reduced. The study is concluded with managerial and theoretical implications and future research opportunities.

The effect of logistical immediacy on logistics service providers' (LSPs') business

Purpose

This study discusses the influence of logistical immediacy on logistics service providers' (LSPs’) business. Specifically, its role in the face of the emerging business scenario (e-commerce, disruptive technologies, and new models of logistical services) is examined.

Design/methodology/approach

As logistical immediacy is a nascent topic, this study utilizes a systematic literature review focusing on academic articles from the last five years related to logistical outsourcing to understand the changes imposed by logistical immediacy on LSPs.

Findings

The impact of transformations arising from an increasingly digital virtual world (DVW) on LSPs is contextualized. A theoretical view of the factors affecting LSPs' shift towards more immediate operations is presented, and how logistical immediacy impacts LSPs is discussed. Finally, a research agenda is presented as the study's main contribution.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the timeframe chosen, the restriction to a single database (Scopus), the specific search terms used related to LSPs, and limiting the search parameters to operations management, some relevant work may have been overlooked.

Practical implications

The article help LSPs' and contracting companies' managers to understand the influence of the immediacy expected in logistics operations. Possible logistics services trends and how they may impact companies are discussed.

Originality/value

This is one of the first articles in the area of operations and supply chains that addresses the issue of logistical immediacy and its impact on LSPs.

Blockchain, logistics and omnichannel for last mile and performance

Purpose

This research investigates the effects that blockchain exerts on omnichannel solutions and logistics strategies with the aim of solving the last mile issues and improving performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Research hypotheses are developed according to the literature review and the related gaps. Then, the hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling and adopting a partial least squares – path modelling technique on a dataset composed of 157 firms.

Findings

Blockchain technology alone is not an effective driver in solving last mile issues and improving performance. Rather, it exerts a positive contribution to both omnichannel and logistics. However, omnichannel is not effective in managing last mile problems and increasing performance without the support of other practices. Firms need to implement a strong logistics system to manage the last mile and get high performance, which can be then reinforced through blockchain and omnichannel solutions.

Originality/value

This research investigates the novel wave of research on blockchain and its impact on logistics management and omnichannel. It combines these ingredients to address the issues of last mile and improve the economic performance. The research provides an empirical verification of a new research stream that currently lacks empirical support.

Digitalization in Food Supply Chains: A Bibliometric Review and Key-Route Main Path Analysis

Technological advances such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, social media, and geographic information systems represent a building block of the digital transformation that supports the resilience of the food supply chain (FSC) and increases its efficiency. This paper reviews the literature surrounding digitalization in FSCs. A bibliometric and key-route main path analysis was carried out to objectively and analytically uncover the knowledge development in digitalization within the context of sustainable FSCs. The research began with the selection of 2140 articles published over nearly five decades. Then, the articles were examined according to several bibliometric metrics such as year of publication, countries, institutions, sources, authors, and keywords frequency. A keyword co-occurrence network was generated to cluster the relevant literature. Findings of the review and bibliometric analysis indicate that research at the intersection of technology and the FSC has gained substantial interest from scholars. On the basis of keyword co-occurrence network, the literature is focused on the role of information communication technology for agriculture and food security, food waste and circular economy, and the merge of the Internet of Things and blockchain in the FSC. The analysis of the key-route main path uncovers three critical periods marking the development of technology-enabled FSCs. The study offers scholars a better understanding of digitalization within the agri-food industry and the current knowledge gaps for future research. Practitioners may find the review useful to remain ahead of the latest discussions of technology-enabled FSCs. To the authors’ best knowledge, the current study is one of the few endeavors to explore technology-enabled FSCs using a comprehensive sample of journal articles published during the past five decades.

Using blockchain technology to drive operational excellence in perishable food supply chains during outbreaks

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the potential of blockchain technology (BT) to support the operational excellence in perishable food supply chain (PFSC) during outbreaks, by doing use-case analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review is performed to determine the dimensions of operational excellence in the food supply chain (FSC), then a single use-case analysis is conducted to explore the potential of blockchain in order to achieve operational excellence for PFSC during the pandemics by applying context, interventions, mechanism and outcomes (CIMO) logic.

Findings

The findings of this study reveal that blockchain capabilities such as immutability and transparency, visibility, traceability, integration and interoperability, disintermediation and decentralisation, smart contracts and consensus mechanism provide better sustainable operational excellence outcomes for PFSCs to be more responsive, flexible, efficient and collaborative to cope with the impacts of COVID-19.

Research limitations/implications

This research employs only one real case with multiple PFSC participants. Statistical generalisation is not possible at this stage of the research. However, the findings are not restricted to this single use-case.

Practical implications

This study provides a research direction to explore the potential of BT to achieve operational excellence in the PFSC during outbreaks and generates prescriptive knowledge for better managerial decision-making across the PFSC during outbreaks.

Originality/value

This research conducts semi-structured interviews with different participants in one blockchain ecosystem to understand multiple participants' perspectives of operational excellence within PFSC.

Lassoing the bullwhip effect by applying blockchain to supply chains

Purpose

A supply chain (SC) involves many stakeholders, directly or indirectly, for satisfying consumers’ requirements. SC management is restricted by a lack of information sharing among stakeholders as parties of SC do not have direct communication and/or are not willing to share private and competitively sensitive information. In the SC, the bullwhip effect (BWE) is an undesirable phenomenon that aggravates the SC performance and increases the overall cost of SC. The main culprit of BWE is the lack of SC coordination among the parties, which results from wrong and lack of information sharing. Blockchain technology (BT) has the main characteristic of distributed shared ledger that makes all parties in the SC network able to access data. This paper aims to develop a BT model and implement it into the SC.

Design/methodology/approach

A blockchain is developed consisting four SC stakeholders and an integrated development environment has been used for coding in Python.

Findings

The analysis of the impact of the adoption of BT in SC shows the reduction in BWE.

Originality/value

In SC, BT can be considered as an effective tool to share the demand data among all SC partners. Sharing of such data will improve SC planning and reduce the BWE.