Learning from Early Adopters of Blockchain Technology: A Systematic Review of Supply Chain Case Studies

Abstract

Blockchain technology is expected to contribute to the global economy in many ways. A recent study by PwC (2020) estimates that blockchain technology has the potential to boost the global GDP by $1.76 (USD) trillion by 2030 through five main areas. The following table summarizes the report’s findings from the report (PwC, 2020), showing the top five uses that are driveing blockchain adoption and their estimated economic contributions to the global GDP by 2030. As the emphasis on provenance (that is, verifying the sources of goods, tracking their movement, and increasing transparency) demonstrates, a key area of blockchain applications is global supply chains. Some reasons that make supply chains a potentially high-gain area for blockchain implementation include their complex network structure with several stakeholders, need for information sharing between the parties, difficulty and risk in transfer of documents, timeconsuming processes, and lack of trust between parties. Research shows that the number of blockchain Blockchain technology is widely seen as a promising technology for global supply chains, though early adoption of the technology is both costly and risky. Along with many other discouraging factors, large investments required to enter or develop a blockchain raise barriers to entry. Concerns about potential benefits, on the other hand, have led to companies questioning whether it is worth it. Consequently, many players in the global arena are still preferring to wait by observing current practices before making investments, while trying to figure out what the technology might bring them. Hence, the main purpose of this paper is to research various implementations of blockchain technology in supply chains, in order to learn from its early adopters. For this purpose, we chose case studies as the research method, which we used in a systematic way. We focused on multiple relevant case studies from previous research concerning the use of blockchain technology in supply chain practices. Through a systematic analysis of case studies, the paper aims at bringing forward different views, approaches, and results about blockchain adoption, as a way to show the pros and cons of adopting the technology under certain circumstances. The research was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. This paper contributes to the literature by showcasing the use of blockchain in supply chains via multiple cases to learn from early blockchain adopters in supply chain practices. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.