Intra- and Interorganizational Barriers to Blockchain Adoption: A General Assessment and Coping Strategies in the Agrifood Industry

Horst Treiblmaier, Abderahman Rejeb, Remko van Hoek and Mary Lacity
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Horst Treiblmaier: Department of International Management, Modul University Vienna, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Abderahman Rejeb: Doctoral School of Regional Sciences and Business Administration‚ Széchenyi István University‚ 9026 Győr, Hungary
Remko van Hoek: Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Mary Lacity: Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

Logistics, 2021, vol. 5, issue 4, 1-20

Abstract: Background : Companies partaking in modern supply chains face numerous intra- and interorganizational barriers when it comes to the adoption of blockchain technology. Empirical research is missing that explores how exactly these barriers can be overcome. In this paper we first explore barriers that organizations need to overcome to successfully deploy blockchain technology. In a second step, we investigate the agrifood industry and highlight differences in coping strategies between incumbents and start-ups. Methods : We conducted a quantitative survey with 190 supply chain experts to identify barriers and an in-depth qualitative study that included 10 expert interviews to better understand the current situation in agrifood organizations. Results : The findings from the quantitative study show that the most relevant organizational barrier to blockchain adoption is the widespread lack of understanding of the technology and its potential benefits. In the qualitative study we illustrate how various intra- and interorganizational barriers can be overcome and how the resources and capabilities differ between incumbents and start-ups. Conclusions : Our results provide academics with a better understanding of the relevant barriers and bridges of blockchain adoption. Practitioners benefit from learning about the resources and capabilities they need to deploy in order to benefit from blockchain technology.

Keywords: blockchain; distributed ledger technology; agrifood supply chain; adoption barriers; survey; qualitative interviews (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L8 L80 L81 L86 L87 L9 L90 L91 L92 L93 L98 L99 M1 M10 M11 M16 M19 R4 R40 R41 R49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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