The use of blockchain in the luxury industry: supply chains and the traceability of goods

Abstract

PurposeMost businesses strive to control the efficiency of their supply chains; however, luxury firms face additional challenges from counterfeit, gray market and copycat products. Blockchain technology can address these issues and enhance firms' supply chain management, guaranteeing the traceability and origin of luxury products. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the utility and contexts influencing the implementation of blockchain technology to optimize supply chain management and prevent fraud in the luxury industry.Design/methodology/approachThe research uses a qualitative approach based on the grounded theory method. Data are collected by semi-structured interviews with 12 stakeholders working on blockchain applications in the luxury business sector.FindingsHighlighting the problems faced by luxury brands' supply chains, this study presents blockchain technology as a solution for disintermediation, traceability and transparency in the luxury goods sector. The constraints faced by luxury brands incorporating this technology into their ecosystem include the knowledge gap, the multiplicity of third parties involved in the production process and bias toward short-term returns on investment.Originality/valueBlockchains promote greater transparency and efficiency within supply chains, which builds consumer trust and improves brand revenue. Considering luxury brands' reluctance to adopt blockchains, this study suggests that luxury firms adopt a staggered implementation of private blockchain networks starting with a small number of third-party suppliers.

Blockchain Technology for Renewable Energy: Principles, Applications and Prospects

“…Furthermore, the role of blockchain in fostering renewable energy technologies, circular economy, as well as electric mobility, and charging will remain an important area of future research in the blockchain and energy fields [84]. Lastly, as blockchain is expected to revolutionize supply chains, future research should examine its impact on global and local energy supply chains and the concept of sustainable supply chain management [18,19,39,43,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64].…”

Blockchain as the “trust-building machine” for supply chain management

“…As information and knowledge are more transparent due to blockchain capabilities, the buyer–seller information asymmetry is therefore mitigated. The buyers’ trust placed in second-hand products is then projected to increase (de Boissieu et al, 2021 ; Subramanian & Thampy, 2021 ).…”

“…The enhancement of consumer trust is critically important in supply chains that require high quality and safety standards, such as food and pharmaceutical (e.g., X. Yang et al, 2021b ; Yong et al, 2020 ), and supply chains that are subjected to asymmetric information such as second-hand markets (e.g., de Boissieu et al, 2021 ; Subramanian & Thampy, 2021 ). For instance, Yong et al ( 2020 ) discussed how blockchain can help improve consumer and public trust in the vaccine distribution supply chain by tracking the flow of medicine along the supply chain using authentic drug identity and showing such information to consumers and the public.…”

“…The two supply chain partners pairs There are two schools of thought, TTS and ITR, possessing different views on the implications of blockchains on the trust element between two supply chain partners. Actors who assume the roles of a trustor and trustee in this pair of relationships are also different The dichotomy of views regarding blockchain implications for trust in supply chains could be an important issue for future investigation, especially the supply chain contexts which each view can be fitted into 2.1 TTS In TTS, there is no need for interorganizational trust development between the two supply chain parties as they can both act as a trustor and bestow trust to the blockchain when performing exchanges (Kumar et al, 2020 ; Tezel et al, 2021 ) Put differently, blockchain solution plays a role as the trusted third party that facilitates transactions between supply chain members, thus trust from each member is redistributed and more centralized toward the operating system (Cha et al, 2020 ; Pournader et al, 2020b ) 2.2 ITR In ITR, blockchain employment is expected to contribute to the reinforcement of interorganizational trust between supply chain partners (e.g., Dubey et al, 2020b ; Surjandari et al, 2021 ) There are three primary arguments to support such trust enhancement: (1) Transference of the capabilities and strengthened trustworthiness in the blockchain to the organization that uses the system (e.g., Hunt et al, 2021 ) (2) Increase in the continuous exchange of information between two supply chain partners encouraged by the blockchain mechanism (e.g., Di Vaio & Varriale, 2020 ) (3) The facilitation of automated governance and monitoring of transactions performed using the application of smart contracts and consensus mechanisms (e.g., Palas & Bunduchi, 2020 ) Trustor: consumer and public Trustee: supply chain Blockchain implementation helps strengthen the trust of consumers and the public through the enhancement of information authenticity and the transparency of various supply chain activities, the flow of materials and products along the supply chain, and the risks of supply chain breach or failure to perform (e.g., de Boissieu et al, 2021 ; Garrard & Fielke, 2020 ; Kayikci et al, 2020 ) II. Form of Trust 1.…”

Invoking blockchain technology in e-government services: a cybernetic perspective

“…It also results in combating corruption (Davis, Lennerfors and Tolstoy, 2021) and is cost effective (Mishra and Maheshwari, 2021). Furthermore, blockchain also results in building consumer trust and improving brand revenue (de Boissieu et al , 2021) as well as facilitates the organizations to achieve competitive advantage (Kant, 2021). In the light of the above, blockchain is becoming increasingly attractive for use in a wide variety of areas, including e-government services.…”