Overcoming the Blockchain Oracle Problem in the Traceability of Non-Fungible Products

Giulio Caldarelli, Cecilia Rossignoli and Alessandro Zardini
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Giulio Caldarelli: Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
Cecilia Rossignoli: Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
Alessandro Zardini: Department of Business Administration, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Blockchain implications within the sustainability domain are rapidly arousing the interest of researchers and institutions. However, despite the avalanche of articles, papers, and recently published books, innovation in the blockchain domain is still heavily influenced by light literature, such as news, articles, opinion posts, and white papers. Lacking a homogeneous literature background, case studies often fall into storytelling, providing mere descriptions of the facts according to the writers’ impressions and opinions. We therefore investigate blockchain adoption for sustainable purposes through a case study while remaining firmly grounded in three main theoretical literature streams: knowledge management, knowledge infrastructure, and trust. Since blockchain interaction with the real world is managed by oracles, addressing the oracle problem is essential in order to evaluate the effectiveness of blockchain for sustainability issues. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other paper has efficiently addressed this subject or even mentioned it. Recognizing its scarce consideration in the literature, the oracle problem will be analyzed in both theoretical and practical terms, thereby providing a way to solve the issues related to non-fungible products in the supply chain. Choice over the selected case study was made in light of the divergence in motives for the adoption of blockchain (economic over social), which makes the results more inferable at a broader scale and offers an insight into how sustainable innovations can also be economically viable.

Keywords: blockchain; oracles; smart contracts; sustainable supply chains; organizational effectiveness; digital transformation; new business models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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