Understanding Managers’ Reactions to Blockchain Technologies in the Supply Chain: The Reliable and Unbiased Software Agent

Abstract

Organizations investing in supply chain information systems struggle to ensure successful adoption and implementation. Projects fail because of technical caveats, inability to meet business needs, and poor management of implementation. Implementation of blockchain technologies across a network of supply chain partners is more complex than internally focused technologies. It is necessary for partner firms to implement, contribute, and share information, and employees to actively use the capabilities of the technology to realize potential. Blockchain technologies can substitute for traditional interfirm intermediaries acting as an unbiased software agent embedded in the supply chain network. Understanding managers’ perceptions of and willingness to use blockchain technologies is crucial for successful implementation. Integrating design theory with classic diffusion processes, we conducted a scenario‐based role‐playing experiment with industry professionals to examine managers’ perceptions of blockchain technologies and willingness to use. We find that trustworthiness with regard to competence and perceived distributive justice is the focal drivers of managers’ willingness to use the technology. Additionally, both risk and interactional justice are not drivers of willingness to use blockchain technology despite significant claims to that effect. We provide implications for how managers can leverage these drivers to influence supply chain partners’ willingness to use the technology.

Utilizing blockchain technology for supply chain transparency: A resource orchestration perspective

“…It can also provide the necessary visibility to meet stakeholder demands for SCT. Our intent is not to offer a detailed description of the technology, as this journal just recently published a special topic forum that provides a comprehensive examination of BCT (Durach et al 2021;Falcone et al 2021;Kurpjuweit et al 2021;Rao et al 2021;Sternberg et al 2021). Our interest in BCT is the promise it holds for companies that are part of agricultural supply chains, particularly for issues related to traceability and SCT.…”

“…SCT opens opportunities to communicate and to potentially develop trust among stakeholders (Bai & Sarkis, 2020;Falcone et al 2021;Sodhi & Tang, 2019), but companies must weigh the value of providing it with the associated costs and risks. Ascertaining provenance may be beneficial, but disclosing provenance may create additional risk.…”

Can We Connect? Benefits and Barriers to Adoption of Transformative Technology in Global Supply Chains

“…The final blockchain article in this issue is titled “Understanding Managers’ Reactions to Blockchain Technologies in the Supply Chain: The Reliable and Unbiased Software Agent” (Falcone et al 2021). Dr. Falcone and her colleagues examine the adoption of blockchain across LSCM information systems.…”

A research agenda to reflect reality: On being responsive

“…We are seeing this shift reflected in JBL submissions as well. The JBL articles published in 2021 reflect an evolving direction for L&SCM-one that focuses on strategic investments in technology (Dong & Franklin, 2021;Durach et al 2021;Kurpjuweit et al 2021;Sternberg et al 2021), the significance of managing a complex and changing global landscape (Choi et al 2021;Novak et al 2021;Wiedmer & Griffis, 2021;Wieland & Durach, 2021) and a shifting role of expectations and skill sets for L&SCM managers (Ellram & Tate, 2021;Falcone et al 2021). The current issue also reflects research that emphasizes the strategic nature of L&SCM and the value creation that comes as a result, as we highlight below.…”