Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect
Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520

30th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing

(FAIM2021) 15-18 June 2021, Athens, Greece.

Building Blocks for Blockchain Adoption in Digital Transformation of

Sustainable Supply Chains

a
Funlade T Sunmola a, Patrick Burgessb, Albert Tanc
School of Physics, Engineering, and Computer Science, University of Hertfordshire, AL10 9AB UK.
b
Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Stadhuisstraat 18, 1315 HC Almere, Netherlands
c
Malaysia Institute for Supply Chain Innovation, No. 2A, Persiaran Tebar Layar, Seksyen U8, Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, 40150 Selangor, Malaysia

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +31650557854 Email: p.burgess@aeres.nl

Abstract: Global supply chains shift to meet exceeding expectations in supply chains lead to the need for digital technologies in supply chain
management. Industry 4.0 has emerged in sustainable supply chain systems, blockchain is prominent, with the potential of immutable transparent
data. Blockchains present potential to disrupt supply chains through digital transformation by enabling provenance, visibility, relationships,
collaboration, lower costs, and enabling real-time trusted data. Scholars are increasingly investigating blockchain adoption, with an emphasis on
technology acceptance modelling. Current research is valuable to understand potentials of blockchain technology in supply chains however, there
is limited work on the building blocks for blockchain adoption in digital transformation of supply chains. This study aims to investigate through
a systematic literature review and case studies, the building blocks for blockchain adoption in digital transformation of sustainable supply chains.
Blockchain adoption in supply chain management is receiving increasing attention, along with highlights of critical factors. This paper offers a
building block model that is in three main phases; pre-adoption, adoption, and the post adoption. The model indicates that adoption context,
blockchain technology platform offerings, strategic responses, and adoption readiness are some key building blocks, particularly at the pre-
adoption phase. Trust and supply chain network, firm resources, and blockchain costs are all considered critical in the considerations of the
building blocks. In addition, aligning supply chain objectives with blockchain systems is critical and so is blockchain compatibility. Law and
governance are amongst the two prominent challenges in blockchain adoption and should be considered as part of the building blocks for
blockchain adoption.

© 2021
© 2020 The Authors.
The Authors.Published byElsevier
Published by ElsevierLtd.
Ltd.
This is an
This open
is an openaccess
accessarticle underthe
article under theCC
CCBY-NC-ND
BY-NC-ND license
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Peer-review
Peer-review under responsibility
under responsibilityofofthe
thescientific
scientific committee ofthe
committee of theFAIM
FAIM2020.
2021.

Keywords: Blockchain, Adoption, Supply Chain Management

1. Introduction management, and improved sustainability practices. Digital

technologies are not limited to linear supply chain
Emerging digital technologies in response to the need for management, but also advantageous for closed loop systems.
improved business operations are evident. Today, supply chain Closed loop supply chains can improve performance through
stakeholders adopt blockchain technology to enhance supply upcycling waste, and improve local business networks to
chain performance and digitally enable them. Digitally enabled enhance performance [3]. In addition, other industries are
supply chain management is an information technology adopting digital technologies to gain competitive advantage
powered supply chain that utilizes novel digital technologies within their sectors. Sustainability is important to supply
and platforms [1]. [2] identified several managerial chains. Sustainable supply chain management encompass good
implications for digital transformation of sustainable supply control over sustainability objectives, particularly relating to
chain management including, sharing accurate information, economic, environmental and social aspects [4].
monitoring supply chain processes, improved relationship
2351-9789 © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
2351-9789
This is an©open
2020 The Authors.
access Published
article under bytheElsevier Ltd.
CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
This is an openunder
Peer-review access article under the CC
responsibility BY-NC-ND
of the license
scientific https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
committee of the FAIM 2021.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the FAIM 2020.
10.1016/j.promfg.2021.10.070
514 Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520
2 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
The fourth industrial revolution, commonly known as
industry 4.0 has the potential to change and improve supply
chain management and company operations. Technologies in
industry 4.0 include advanced manufacturing, such as
advanced robotics, additive manufacturing such as 3D printing,
augmented reality such as virtual reality, simulation, cloud-
computing and digital platforms, industrial IoT, cyber security,
big-data analytics, and blockchain [5].
Research and industry evidence of blockchain technology in
sustainable supply chains is emerging, for example [6], [7]. [6]
research blockchain technology in sustainable supply chain
visibility management with an emphasis on context-awareness.
[7] empirically investigate the use of blockchain technology in
the food industry. Results show that once implemented,
blockchain technologies offer some benefits such as
improvement to traceability. However, integration with the full
physical supply chain is a key challenge. In addition to the
traceability benefits of blockchain technology, other recently
identified benefits include improving trust, information
sharing, quality assurances, reduced food fraud, transparency
and improved efficiency [7]–[14]. Blockchain enabled supply
chains require motivational factors for successful integration in
the enablement of digital transformation of the chains.
It is essential that sustainable supply chains intending to
adopt and implement blockchain technology understand the
factors that influences the adoption process and decision.
Several of the factors have been identified in the literature.
They include, for example, availability of blockchain tools,
complexity, top management support, organization culture,
firm size, and cost of investment. [15]. Indicative in [16] on
process innovation is deployment readiness with preparedness
seen as an important factor in the adoption, deployment, and
implementation of innovative technologies, which extends to
blockchain. According to [17], adoption factors of blockchain
technology in supply chains include the ease-of-use, the norms
and standards within the supply chain organizations, and the
usefulness perceived of the technology. Models have been used
to assess the adoption of blockchain technology in sustainable
supply chain [18], [19].
To substantiate current blockchain adoption models for
sustainable supply chains, and support the stakeholders of the
chain, important is an understanding of the underlying building
block model of blockchain adoption in digital transformation
of sustainable supply chains. Understanding the critical
components of the adoption process and how the components
integrate to a coherent view of the process is important.
Example building blocks for digital transformation exist, see
[20]. An extension of such building block model to the case of
blockchain adoption in digital transformation of sustainable
supply chain is the focus of this paper.
The aim of the research reported in this paper is to
investigate through literature review and case study, the
building blocks for blockchain adoption in digital
transformation of sustainable supply chains. The remainder of
the paper is structured into four sections. Section 2 presents an
overview of the concept of digital transformation of supply
chains and this is followed in Section 3 by the research
methodology used in this study. Section 4 presents the results
of the study and its discussion. Section 5 concludes the paper
and highlights areas for future work.
2. Digital Transformation of Supply Chains
Digital transformation is the socio-technical changes in
organizational operations, management and structures that has
an effect on company offerings (products and services), leading
to the notion of digital supply chains enabled by digital
technologies. Digital supply chains refer to those ‘smart’
supply chains enabled through novel technologies. The
technologies positively impact value addition throughout the
chains [21].
[22] identifies technologies in digital transformation of
supply chains and indicated the current status of adoption.
Cloud based platforms and digital roadmaps are influencing
digital transformations of supply chains. Blockchain, is seen as
a disruptive technology, and is being actively researched in
parallel with applications across industry.
Critical barriers and drivers for digital transformations of
supply chains include financial factors, which reflect on the
high costs of innovation. A second driver is knowledge and
skills in respect to digital technologies to leverage value
creation. The regulatory environment could act as a challenge
in respect to standard requirements, but also a driver through
support programs. However digital technologies can enable
supply chains to overcome these challenges. Organizational
and cultural factors are also important to consider in digital
transformation processes [23]. [24] identify 12 key barriers to
digital transformation of supply chains. Other identified
barriers are absent sense of urgency, inappropriate
organizational structure, lack of strategic orientation, inflexible
business processes, misaligned business objectives, not able to
keep up with digital technology pace, lacking guidelines in
industry, top level managerial support lacking, lack of skills,
and fear of losing sensitive data.
Potential of digital transformation through blockchain
technologies is evident. A blockchain technology is a
distributed digital ledger system that is stored on various nodes
(computers). Blocks are connected and irreversible to reduce
the risk of data manipulation and meet strict governance
protocols [25]. A standard blockchain string is described in
[25]. Data safety and decentralization, laws and policies,
documentation, data management, quality, and accessibility are
critical success factors of blockchain adoption in supply chain
management [26]. Blockchain enabled digital transformation
of supply chains include several advantages. These include,
simplified business processes, transaction security, improved
mutual trust, transaction costs economics, improved analysis
and forecasting, and improved transparency for supply chain
actors [27]. Technological, organization, and environmental
factors are important for blockchain adoption.
A building blocks model for digital transformations is
presented in Figure 1 below [20]. Eight building blocks of
digital transformation suggested in [20] are, use of digital
technologies, disruptions, strategic response, changes in value
creation, structural changes, organizational barriers, positive
impacts, and negative impacts. The building blocks model of
[20] is used in this research as a basis for studying the building
blocks for blockchain adoption in digital transformation of
supply chain.
 Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520 515
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000 3

3. Research Methodology
A two-stage research methodology has been applied to this
research. Firstly, a systematic literature review. An integrative
approach is adopted in this research aimed on summarizing
existing literature to identify patterns and topics in respect to
past publications.
The literature review steps include material collection,
descriptive analysis, dimension and category selection, and
evaluation. In this study, the databases used to identify relevant
journal papers are Emerald insight and ScienceDirect. A
focused search phrase is used: Blockchain in all fields AND
(Adoption AND ‘Supply Chain’) in title, Abstract or author
specified Keywords.
The initial search identified 92 publications. Initial filtering
was to select accessible journal papers. Following the initial
filtering of articles 71 papers were identified. Only papers
written in English language were included. The second stage of
evaluation was to read abstracts and those whose main focus is
not on blockchain adoption in supply chain were excluded
blockchain adoption in digital transformation of sustainable
supply chains. The interviews were conducted separately for
each case study company and each took approximately 45
minutes.
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Descriptive Statistics of Selected Papers
Blockchain adoption in supply chain management has been
published over a range of disciplines in respect to computer
science, engineering, supply chain management, and economic
related journals. Blockchain adoption in supply chain
management has emerged recently with an upward trend in the
last three years. Figure 2 shows blockchain adoption in supply
chain management per year in the sample of papers reviewed
in this research.
30
Number of Papers

Following this step, 45 papers remained. The final selection 20

occurred through reading the full text of the papers for further
10
filtering. This resulted in final selection of 42 papers.
The second stage in the study was semi-structured interview 0
of stakeholders in selected case companies. [28] discuss that an 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
empirical approach through inductive analysis is a strong
Figure 2 Distribution of Publication By Year
method to illustrate experiences from use-cases. In this paper,
the two case companies explored involve blockchain adoption
in a global sustainable coffee supply chain in emerging Hospitality supply chain…
economy. According to [29], there are approximately eleven
Healthcare supply chain…
food and agricultural blockchain projects in Africa, and the list
Automotive supply chain…
is growing. The technical provider in the selected case
companies are involved in multiple projects in developing Aerospace supply chain…
countries and are able to provide insights in building blocks for SME focused supply chains…
blockchain adoption. Humanitarian supply chain…
An inductive analysis is applied to this research as it allows Logistics and shipping
content to emerge from significant themes through coding. The
Food and agriculture…
inductive analysis approach is often used to propose new
Sustainable supply chain…
models or frameworks based on key themes that emerge from
raw data. The representatives from the use cases were primarily Not specified/research focus…
asked to reflect on the building blocks of digital transformation 0 10 20
and reflect on how that translates to building blocks for Number of Papers
Figure 3 Distribution of Publication By Supply Chain
516 Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520
4 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
An increasing trend since 2018 to 2020 is shown in Figure 2,
with prospects for the trend to increase in 2021. Figure 3 shows
areas of blockchain adoption in supply chains across industries
in the sample reviewed. Sustainable supply chain subject area
accounts for the largest proportion of papers reviewed. Notable
are also areas of food supply chains, and logistics and shipping.
The current study uses cases of blockchain adoption from
sustainable food supply chains in emerging nations. The
selected papers on blockchain adoption spreads across several
journal categories, Figure 4.
Computer
science and Sustainability
engineering 3 Supply chain
13 and operations
management
9
Economics and
business Multidisciplinary
management 4 10
Food
2
Figure 4 Distribution of Publications By Journal Category
4.2. Adoption Factors from Literature
The adoption factors are grouped into key components and are
shown in Table 1. The key components identified in Table 1
are based on the building blocks indicated in Figure 1 [20]. The
eight key components are a) use of digital technologies, b)
disruptions and environmental factors, c) strategic response,
dynamic capability and absorptive capacity, d) structural
changes, e) organizational barriers, f) value creation g)
negative impacts, and h) positive impacts. Based on an analysis
of the citations, the top three are i) disruptions and
environmental factors, ii) strategic response, dynamic
capability and absorptive capacity, and iii) use of digital
technologies.
4.3. Case study results and discussion
The two case studies used in this research are as follows.
Case Company A, works on multiple projects in emerging
countries. Two solutions are provided by the technical assistant
NGO. Both solutions provided are based on supporting
companies in corporate social responsibility and focus on
improving livelihoods in developing countries. The blockchain
based traceability application is applied in various commodity-
based supply chains such as nutmeg and coffee. As a technical
assistant, Case Company A provides a digital infrastructure,
which requires supply chain partners.
Case Company B, is ‘a high quality, green coffee trader
located in Amsterdam. Case Study B operates internationally,
Ethiopia being the major source of coffee inputs at 70% of the
company’s supply. Case Company B has a well-established
supply chain from the producer down to the end of the supply
chain, and also has evidence of vertical integration in the
supply chain network. The blockchain project in the coffee
supply chain currently has 278 producers in the Guji region,
Ethiopia.
Following an initial introduction, the building blocks of digital
transformation shown in Figure 1 adopted from [20] is
presented to the case study participants. The participants were
the organizations technical director in Case Company A, and
the commercial director in Case Company B. The initial
comments of the participants include ‘As blockchain is only
one ingredient in the puzzle, the building blocks in Figure 1
above adapt well to blockchain technology’, and that many
blocks were ‘relevant’.
Further developments then focused on the adaptation of
Figure 1 to the scenario of blockchain adoption in sustainable
supply chains. The participants agreed with the key factors
involved in blockchain adoption derived from the literature,
and highlighted in Table 1, with particular emphasis on value
creation paths through social sustainability and transparency.
A traceability based blockchain platform is the main digital
application used in the case studies. The digital technology was
built to register transactions from farm to fork and to increase
value addition with focus on improved annex for farmers. The
blockchain technology included the physical supply chain, an
application layer to enable data collection and verification of
actors for data input, and a blockchain layer as a permanent,
open ledger to enable transparency. The blockchain platform
supports digitalization throughout the supply chain, creating a
‘digital twin’ of physical supply chain aspects. The need of
integration with current systems and compatibility with various
devices is deemed important. The supporting technologies for
blockchain within this use case were ‘mobile phones’ and
‘mobile internet’. In addition, verification technology is
adopted through the use of mobile phones to provide evidence
of supply chain actors. The participants recognized the need for
system integration between blockchain technologies and ERP
technologies and discussed this as a later step in the project.
Disruption was discussed as a building block in respect to
blockchain adoption for digital transformation in Ethiopian
coffee supply chains, and the associated factors listed in table
1 are deemed to be comprehensive for the case study. Customer
behaviour and expectations, competitive landscape and the
availability of data were all classified as important. Steps were
discussed in the project to reach supply chain disruptions.
These included, (a) verify farm-gate prices, (b) establish living
income and benchmark, (c) calculate living income gap, and
(d) reduce/close living income gap. Multinational buyers were
discussed as important supply chain actors for disrupting the
supply chain, “International buyers demand proof of
sustainable product”. Blockchain disrupts traditional supply by
enabling transparency and proving social sustainability criteria
in respect to wages for upstream supply chain actors. Both the
digital transformation and digital business strategy were not
perceived to lead towards strategic change as the digital
business strategy was integrated into the current strategy. In
respect to digital transformation and business strategy,
blockchain is discussed as one of the technologies to meet
supply chain objectives of traceability and transparency to
 AuthorFunlade
name / Procedia
T SunmolaManufacturing 00 (2019)
et al. / Procedia 000–000
Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520 5
517

Table 1: Blockchain Adoption Factors Derived from the Literature

support Ethiopian producers of coffee. ‘Supply chain partner
selection is critical and the willingness to participate’
contributes to dynamic capabilities of a supply chain. This
shows the need to stretch beyond the walls of an organization’s
capability of responding quickly to external changes. Thus,
creating the need for dynamic capability of entire supply
chains.
Different situations require tailored solutions. Blockchain
solution providers and specialist such as Case Company A and
Case Company B, need to have dynamic capability to respond
to needs between countries, supply chains, and commodities.
Supporting technologies for blockchain in African supply chain
use cases differ. One country may require fingerprint
verification, while another will require mobile phone
verification. In addition, ‘small scale projects’ support dynamic
capability as it enables proof of concept, flexibility in supply
chain selection, and the ability to scale up over time. An
important structural change perceived by the case companies
were new partnerships. This reflects on outsourcing, which
allows companies to remain focused on competitive advantage
factors. The scale (size) of supply chain actors plays a role as
bargaining power is required to have influence on supply chain
decisions in respect to blockchain adoption. ‘Trust’ is an
518 6 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520
important factor in respect to the application of blockchain
technology. To reduce barriers, open information sharing is
required. This contributed to the value of traceability. Instead
of individual barriers, the focus of the participants was on
willingness to participate in projects.
The main approach of mitigating the barrier were to provide
incentives for actors though illustrating the value addition
throughout the supply chain. For example, improved returns
and traceability to enhance social responsibility. In addition,
‘next generation actors’ are discussed as critical in the adoption
of new technologies as there is less resistance to change.
‘Supply chain cooperation’ is discussed as an important
consideration in the adoption of blockchain adoption. In
addition, external factors were seen to play a role at both a
micro and macro environmental level. Infrastructure provides
barriers, but often stretches outside the control of the supply
chain itself. By adopting blockchain several value creation
points were found. The beginning of the supply chain was
enabled through understanding producer’s income. Within
Case Company B, value creation through proving fair
payments was enabled. In addition, sustainability related value
was shown. The technology, also allows Case Company B to
stand out amongst competition as a “front runner in social
sustainability” further developing competitive advantage. The
participants identified value creation as an important building
block in the post adoption of blockchain technologies in
sustainable supply chains. And suggested the following steps
for value creation through blockchain technologies (a) Define
the supply chain/company ‘story’ and define what blockchain
needs to prove, (b) supply chain mapping, (c) Create
participation between supply chain members, (d) Registering
supply chain actors, (e) Claim verification based on the value
proposition of the blockchain, (f) Value creation. Blockchain
adoption was discussed as a three-phase project in the supply
chain from system development until full implementation.
According to the case study participants, they are yet to notice
significant improvement in efficiency, as the integration of
systems and recording data was not synchronised in the Case
Company B. Automating the process between the company’s
current ERP system and blockchain would improve data
entrance. Positive impacts through blockchain technology for
this case were focused on industrial and society improvements.
Additional benefits were strongly correlated with economic
and social sustainability. These were influenced by the
reliability of data and information and providing traceability to
distribute value more fairly throughout the supply chain.
The participants referred to blockchain as a ‘young’
technology in the field of supply chain management and
logistics. This suggests that the notion of young technology
may not be considered a negative effect but has increasing
opportunities for future development. High costs, governance,
understanding ‘what to track’, and if permeance for all data is
important are discussed by the participants as limitations of
blockchain technology in their current applications.
4.4. Emerging Building Block Model
Both literature and case studies show that the building blocks
for digital transformation are applicable to blockchain adoption
in digital transformation of supply chains. This research
contributes to the knowledge area, by providing further
analysis of the building blocks for digital transformation
through blockchain technology in supply chain management.
Although, the framework in [20] for building blocks of digital
transformation are relevant to several technologies, blockchain
technologies require specific factors. Figure 5 shows the
emerging model, including several important points. Based on
literature and empirical evidence, three phases are suggested in
blockchain adoption process a) pre-adoption, b) adoption, and
c) post-adoption. Adoption readiness in pre-adoption is key
[18], [19]. As in deployment readiness studies [16], it can be
deduced that the level of preparedness in the early stages of
blockchain adoption is crucial as it will have large influence on
later stages of the adoption process and overall outcome.
Adoption context is required in the pre-adoption phase. Theory
reflects on technology adoption modelling to understand
context, which drives strategic response, motivation and
disruptions. The technology-organization-environment (TOE)
models are applied to understand technological, organizational,
 Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520
Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
and environmental contextual factors [18], [19], [41].
Motivators including trust and transparency are important
factors for blockchain and are influenced by supply chain
network design. Identified as important in literature are
behavioural intentions and expectation factors as critical
disturbers for pre-adoption of blockchain technology [25], [45],
[63].
Scalability is a key consideration when adopting blockchain
systems [31], [38], [53]. Projects often start as a concept and
are phased into supply chains and scaled-up. Also important,
blockchain characteristics should align to supply chain
objectives, and are considered crucial in the design and
implementation of sustainable supply chains. Compatibility
with current systems has been identified in literature and
through experiences of participants [30], [37]. This is needed
to improve efficiency of digital processes. In respect to
dynamic capability and structure, size and location of
organizations play a role in supply chain adoption. Firm
resources are deemed required for blockchain implementation
as project costs are high. Leadership and management vision
are also critical factors to enable responsiveness in dynamic
capability. Quick response is needed when adopting blockchain
for digital transformation of supply chains [65]. Situations
require different solutions, and the alignment of supply chain
objectives with new technologies is needed. Partner selection
along with network design adoption should support dynamic
capability, otherwise can be a significant barrier to adoption
[61]. Building blocks on organizational barriers and structural
changes, occur in the post-adoption phases. However, as
discussed by [23] and [24], these factors should be considered
and analysed in pre-adoption studies. Legal aspects and
regulation, as well as governance and compliance are highly
important blockchain adoption considerations. These factors
remain a key challenge for blockchain adoption of supply
chains [33], [51]. Training and reskilling is also important
particularly when acquiring dynamic capabilities [30].
Important positive impacts for sustainable supply chains are
a result of transparency and traceability creation enabling value
paths to enhance efficiency, improved agility, and sustainable
impact, with emphasis on social sustainability [54], [64] [40],
[41], [45]. Additional benefits are end-to-end visibility, trust,
collaboration, and improved integrity [66], [67]. Negative
impacts or difficulties are present. Energy usage, is identified
throughout literature as key challenge in blockchain
technologies. Governance and law, is a another key challenge,
due to the complex nature of supply chains [33], [51], [57]. A
key application of blockchain enabled supply chains are smart
contracts. Although automation provides efficiency benefits,
barriers appear. These include immutability, contractual
secrecy, and legal adjudications [68]. Blockchain in supply
chains is a novel technology [67]. While the technology
matures, solutions for scalability and related issues will be
mitigated. An important facet of the building blocks model of
Figure 5 is the people, process, and technology (PPT)
dimension, with a key focus on the importance of people [69],
supporting the need for dynamic capability, adoption readiness
and motivation [70].
519
7
5. Conclusion
Through a systematic literature review and case studies, this
study has identified a set of factors influencing blockchain
adoption in digital transformation of sustainable supply chain,
and an associated building block model is developed. It is
concluded that a generalised building block model of digital
transformation can be adapted for blockchain adoption in
digital transformation of sustainable supply chains. The
adaptations include a recognition of three phases of adoption
i.e. pre-adoption, adoption, and post adoption. Also, additional
building blocks are required such as adoption context,
motivators, dynamic capability, and adoption readiness.
Limitations are present in the study. The proposed building
blocks for blockchain adoption are generic. Future research
through extensive empirical study is suggested to further
investigate, develop, test, and validate the proposed building
block model. The subjectivity of respondents is a further
limitation. Future research can be used to include more
respondents, through a quantitative questionnaire study.
CRediT author statement:
Funlade Sunmola: Conceptualization, methodology/research protocol,
building block framework, final draft and paper revision. Patrick Burgess:
Methodology and protocol, data collection and analysis, writing-up draft and
final paper. Albert Tan: Review and validation of work and proposed
framework, revision and improvement areas
References
[1] Chiappetta Jabbour CJ, Fiorini PDC, Ndubisi NO, Queiroz MM, Piato ÉL.
Digitally-enabled sustainable supply chains in the 21st century: A review and
a research agenda. Sci Total Environ 2020;725:138177.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138177.
[2] Ebinger F, Omondi B. Leveraging Digital Approaches for Transparency in
Sustainable Supply Chains: A Conceptual Paper. Sustain 2020;12.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12156129.
[3] Mattos NDL, Viviam A, Gonçalves QOL, Gusmão CRG, Arturo G-RJ, Luis
R-L, et al. Exploring Industry 4.0 technologies to enable circular economy
practices in a manufacturing context: A business model proposal. J Manuf
Technol Manag 2019;30:607–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-03-2018-
0071.
[4] Crum M, Poist R, Carter CR, Easton PL. Sustainable supply chain
management: evolution and future directions. Int J Phys Distrib Logist Manag
2011.
[5] Ardito L, Petruzzelli AM, Panniello U, Garavelli AC. Towards Industry 4.0:
Mapping digital technologies for supply chain management-marketing
integration. Bus Process Manag J 2019.
[6] Sunmola FT. Context-Aware Blockchain-Based Sustainable Supply Chain
Visibility Management. Bus. Process Manag., 2019.
[7] Rogerson M, Parry GC. Blockchain: case studies in food supply chain
visibility. Supply Chain Manag An Int J 2020;25:601–14.
https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-08-2019-0300.
[8] Arun J, PrasannaVenkatesan S. Supply chain issues in SME food sector: a
systematic review. J Adv Manag Res 2019;17:19–65.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-02-2019-0010.
[9] Prashar D, Jha N, Jha S, Lee Y, Joshi GP. Blockchain-Based Traceability and
Visibility for Agricultural Products: A Decentralized Way of Ensuring Food
Safety in India. Sustain 2020;12. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083497.
[10] Baralla G, Pinna A, Corrias G. Ensure Traceability in European Food Supply
Chain by Using a Blockchain System. Proc. 2nd Int. Work. Emerg. Trends
Softw. Eng. Blockchain, IEEE Press; 2019, p. 40–47.
https://doi.org/10.1109/WETSEB.2019.00012.
[11] Antonucci F, Figorilli S, Costa C, Pallottino F, Raso L, Menesatti P. A review
on blockchain applications in the agri-food sector. J Sci Food Agric
2019;99:6129–38. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.9912.
[12] Kamath R. Food Traceability on Blockchain: Walmart’s Pork and Mango
Pilots with IBM. J Br Blockchain Assoc 2018;1. https://doi.org/10.31585/jbba-
1-1-(10)2018.
[13] Köhler S, Pizzol M. Technology assessment of blockchain-based technologies
in the food supply chain. J Clean Prod 2020;269:122193.
[14] Semeijn J, Mahr D, Sander F. The acceptance of blockchain technology in
meat traceability and transparency. Br Food J 2018;120:2066–79.
https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2017-0365.
[15] Orji IJ, Kusi-Sarpong S, Huang S, Vazquez-Brust D. Evaluating the factors
that influence blockchain adoption in the freight logistics industry. Transp Res
Part E Logist Transp Rev 2020;141:102025.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2020.102025.
[16] Javahernia A, Sunmola F. A simulation approach to innovation deployment
readiness assessment in manufacturing. Prod Manuf Res 2017;5:81–9.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21693277.2017.1322542.
[17] Sundarakani B, Tan WKA. Assessing Blockchain Technology application for
520 Funlade T Sunmola et al. / Procedia Manufacturing 55 (2021) 513–520
8 Author name / Procedia Manufacturing 00 (2019) 000–000
freight booking business: a case study from Technology Acceptance Model
perspective. J Glob Oper Strateg Sourc 2020;ahead-of-p.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-04-2020-0018.
[18] Park KO. A Study on Sustainable Usage Intention of Blockchain in the Big
Data Era: Logistics and Supply Chain Management Companies. Sustainability
2020;12:10670.
[19] Kamble S, Gunasekaran A, Arha H. Understanding the Blockchain technology
adoption in supply chains-Indian context. Int J Prod Res 2019;57:2009–33.
[20] Vial G. Understanding digital transformation: A review and a research agenda.
J Strateg Inf Syst 2019;28:118–44.
[21] Salvini G, Hofstede GJ, Verdouw CN, Rijswijk K, Klerkx L. Enhancing digital
transformation towards virtual supply chains: a simulation game for Dutch
floriculture. Prod Plan Control 2020:1–18.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09537287.2020.1858361.
[22] Hartley JL, Sawaya WJ. Tortoise, not the hare: Digital transformation of
supply chain business processes. Bus Horiz 2019;62:707–15.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.07.006.
[23] Lammers T, Tomidei L, Trianni A. Towards a Novel Framework of Barriers
and Drivers for Digital Transformation in Industrial Supply Chains. 2019 Portl.
Int. Conf. Manag. Eng. Technol., 2019, p. 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.23919/PICMET.2019.8893875.
[24] Prakash A, Rakesh N, Inayat U. Analysis of barriers in implementation of
digital transformation of supply chain using interpretive structural modelling
approach. J Model Manag 2019;15:297–317. https://doi.org/10.1108/JM2-03-
2019-0066.
[25] Han JH, Wang Y, Beynon-Davies P. Understanding blockchain technology for
future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda.
Supply Chain Manag An Int J 2019;24:62–84. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-
03-2018-0148.
[26] Yadav S, Singh SP. Blockchain critical success factors for sustainable supply
chain. Resour Conserv Recycl 2020;152:104505.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.104505.
[27] Malyavkina LI, Savina AG, Parshutina IG. Blockchain technology as the basis
for digital transformation of the supply chain management system: benefits and
implementation challenges. Proc. 1st Int. Sci. Conf. “Modern Manag. Trends
Digit. Econ. from Reg. Dev. to Glob. Econ. Growth” (MTDE 2019), Atlantis
Press; n.d., p. 10–5. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2991/mtde-19.2019.3.
[28] Farquhar JD. Case study research for business. Sage; 2012.
[29] The Smart Africa Secretariat (SAS) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). BLOCKCHAIN IN AFRICA:
OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR THE NEXT DECADE.
Kigali, Rwanda: 2020.
[30] Batta A, Loganayagam N, Gandhi M, Ilavarasan V, Kar AK. Diffusion of
blockchain in logistics and transportation industry: an analysis through the
synthesis of academic and trade literature. J Sci Technol Policy Manag
2020;ahead-of-p. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-07-2020-0105.
[31] Wasim Ahmad R, Hasan H, Yaqoob I, Salah K, Jayaraman R, Omar M.
Blockchain for aerospace and defense: Opportunities and open research
challenges. Comput Ind Eng 2020:106982.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2020.106982.
[32] Yadav VS, Singh AR, Raut RD, Govindarajan UH. Blockchain technology
adoption barriers in the Indian agricultural supply chain: an integrated
approach. Resour Conserv Recycl 2020;161:104877.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104877.
[33] Ghode DJ, Jain R, Yadav V, Soni G. Blockchain adoption in the supply chain:
an appraisal on challenges. J Manuf Technol Manag 2020;32:42–62.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-11-2019-0395.
[34] Jain R, Yadav V, Ghode D, Soni G. Adoption of blockchain in supply chain:
an analysis of influencing factors. J Enterp Inf Manag 2020;33:437–56.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2019-0186.
[35] Joshi S, Sharma M. Barriers to blockchain adoption in health-care industry: an
Indian perspective. J Glob Oper Strateg Sourc 2021;ahead-of-p.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-06-2020-0026.
[36] Kamble SS, Gunasekaran A, Kumar V, Belhadi A, Foropon C. A machine
learning based approach for predicting blockchain adoption in supply Chain.
Technol Forecast Soc Change 2021;163:120465.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120465.
[37] Prasad S, Roy S, Gupta R, Shankar R. A TISM modeling of critical success
factors of blockchain based cloud services. J Adv Manag Res 2018;15:434–56.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-03-2018-0027.
[38] Sanka AI, Irfan M, Huang I, Cheung RCC. A survey of breakthrough in
blockchain technology: Adoptions, applications, challenges and future
research. Comput Commun 2021;169:179–201.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2020.12.028.
[39] van Hoek R. Unblocking the chain – findings from an executive workshop on
blockchain in the supply chain. Supply Chain Manag An Int J 2019;25:255–
61. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-11-2018-0383.
[40] Wang Y, Singgih M, Wang J, Rit M. Making sense of blockchain technology:
How will it transform supply chains? Int J Prod Econ 2019;211:221–36.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2019.02.002.
[41] Tran LTT, Nguyen PT. Co-creating blockchain adoption: theory, practice and
impact on usage behavior. Asia Pacific J Mark Logist 2021;ahead-of-p.
https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2020-0609.
[42] Singh H, Munjal A, Jain G, Rakesh S. Blockchain technology in corporate
governance: disrupting chain reaction or not? Corp Gov Int J Bus Soc
2019;20:67–86. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-07-2018-0261.
[43] Sarkis J, Helms M, Nandi S, Hervani A. Do blockchain and circular economy
practices improve post COVID-19 supply chains? A resource-based and
resource dependence perspective. Ind Manag Data Syst 2020;ahead-of-p.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2020-0560.
[44] Madaan J, Patil A, Dwivedi A, Shardeo V. An integrated approach to model
the blockchain implementation barriers in humanitarian supply chain. J Glob
Oper Strateg Sourc 2020;ahead-of-p. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-07-2020-
0042.
[45] Sheel A, Nath V. Effect of blockchain technology adoption on supply chain
adaptability, agility, alignment and performance. Manag Res Rev
2019;42:1353–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-12-2018-0490.
[46] van Hoek R. Developing a framework for considering blockchain pilots in the
supply chain – lessons from early industry adopters. Supply Chain Manag An
Int J 2019;25:115–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-05-2019-0206.
[47] Hughes A, Park A, Kietzmann J, Archer-Brown C. Beyond Bitcoin: What
blockchain and distributed ledger technologies mean for firms. Bus Horiz
2019;62:273–81. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2019.01.002.
[48] Schuetz S, Venkatesh V. Blockchain, adoption, and financial inclusion in
India: Research opportunities. Int J Inf Manage 2020;52:101936.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.04.009.
[49] Wamba SF, Queiroz MM. The Role of Social Influence in Blockchain
Adoption: The Brazilian Supply Chain Case. IFAC-PapersOnLine
2019;52:1715–20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2019.11.448.
[50] Ahmad RW, Hasan H, Jayaraman R, Salah K, Omar M. Blockchain
applications and architectures for port operations and logistics management.
Res Transp Bus Manag 2021:100620.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2021.100620.
[51] Saurabh S, Dey K. Blockchain technology adoption, architecture, and
sustainable agri-food supply chains. J Clean Prod 2021;284:124731.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124731.
[52] Wamba SF, Queiroz MM, Trinchera L. Dynamics between blockchain
adoption determinants and supply chain performance: An empirical
investigation. Int J Prod Econ 2020;229:107791.
[53] Sahebi IG, Masoomi B, Ghorbani S. Expert oriented approach for analyzing
the blockchain adoption barriers in humanitarian supply chain. Technol Soc
2020;63:101427.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101427.
[54] Kamble SS, Gunasekaran A, Sharma R. Modeling the blockchain enabled
traceability in agriculture supply chain. Int J Inf Manage 2020;52:101967.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.023.
[55] Karamchandani A, Srivastava SK, Srivastava RK. Perception-based model for
analyzing the impact of enterprise blockchain adoption on SCM in the Indian
service industry. Int J Inf Manage 2020;52:102019.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.10.004.
[56] Filimonau V, Naumova E. The blockchain technology and the scope of its
application in hospitality operations. Int J Hosp Manag 2020;87:102383.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102383.
[57] Wong L-W, Leong L-Y, Hew J-J, Tan GW-H, Ooi K-B. Time to seize the
digital evolution: Adoption of blockchain in operations and supply chain
management among Malaysian SMEs. Int J Inf Manage 2020;52:101997.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.08.005.
[58] Di Vaio A, Varriale L. Blockchain technology in supply chain management for
sustainable performance: Evidence from the airport industry. Int J Inf Manage
2020;52:102014.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.09.010.
[59] Balzarova MA. Blockchain technology – a new era of ecolabelling schemes?
Corp Gov Int J Bus Soc 2020;21:159–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-08-
2020-0328.
[60] Rao AR, Clarke D. Perspectives on emerging directions in using IoT devices
in blockchain applications. Internet of Things 2020;10:100079.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iot.2019.100079.
[61] Bag S, Sahu AK, Sahu AK, Viktorovich DA. Barriers to adoption of
blockchain technology in green supply chain management. J Glob Oper Strateg
Sourc 2020;ahead-of-p. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-06-2020-0027.
[62] Acton T, Clohessy T. Investigating the influence of organizational factors on
blockchain adoption. Ind Manag Data Syst 2019;119:1457–91.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2018-0365.
[63] Yadav G, Kumar A, Luthra S, Garza-Reyes JA, Kumar V, Batista L. A
framework to achieve sustainability in manufacturing organisations of
developing economies using industry 4.0 technologies’ enablers. Comput Ind
2020;122:103280.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2020.103280.
[64] Bonilla SH, Telles R, Queiroz MM. Blockchain and supply chain management
integration: a systematic review of the literature. Supply Chain Manag An Int
J 2019;25:241–54. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-03-2018-0143.
[65] Masteika I, Čepinskis J. Dynamic Capabilities in Supply Chain Management.
Procedia - Soc Behav Sci 2015;213:830–5.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.485.
[66] Francisco K, Swanson D. The Supply Chain Has No Clothes: Technology
Adoption of Blockchain for Supply Chain Transparency. Logist 2018;2.
https://doi.org/10.3390/logistics2010002.
[67] Stevenson M, Cole R, Aitken J. Blockchain technology: implications for
operations and supply chain management. Supply Chain Manag An Int J
2019;24:469–83. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCM-09-2018-0309.
[68] Nzuva S. Smart Contracts Implementation, Applications, Benefits, and
Limitations. J Inf Eng Appl 2019. https://doi.org/10.7176/JIEA/9-5-07.
[69] Verina N, Titko J. Digital transformation: conceptual framework. 2019.
https://doi.org/10.3846/cibmee.2019.073.
[70] Correani A, De Massis A, Frattini F, Petruzzelli AM, Natalicchio A.
Implementing a Digital Strategy: Learning from the Experience of Three
Digital Transformation Projects. Calif Manage Rev 2020;62:37–56.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125620934864.