Industry 4.0 and the supply chain digitalisation: a blockchain diffusion perspective

The emergence of Industry 4.0 has brought in its wake an important number of challenges and opportunities for organisations across the globe. To cope with such a fast-changing environment, organisations have been steadily implementing different types of technologies, and at different stages. One of the most disruptive and promising technology is blockchain, and its potential to transform various aspects of organisations' business and operations, including the supply chain relationships, is tremendous. In line with the global research trend in this domain, this paper proposes a multi-stage model of adoption (intention, adoption, and routinisation stages), for a better understanding of blockchain diffusion across supply chains. We drew on the diffusion of innovations theory, the resource-based view, dynamic capability, the technology adoption model, and the institutional theory to propose a multi-stage model. We validated the model using PLS-SEM, which was applied on data collected in India and the U.S. Our results showed that, from one country to another, there are essential differences in the variables that determine blockchain innovation and in the stage of diffusion. Additionally, our proposed model provided a good explanation at all stages of blockchain diffusion. This study offers significant and valuable contributions in terms of theory and management.

Automated summary

The emergence of Industry 4.0 has presented numerous challenges and opportunities for organizations worldwide. Blockchain technology, as one of the most disruptive and promising technologies, has the potential to transform various aspects of businesses and operations, particularly in supply chain relationships. This study proposes a multi-stage model to better understand the diffusion of blockchain across supply chains. The findings reveal significant differences in the variables and stages of blockchain adoption across different countries. This research makes substantial contributions to theory and management.