Blockchain for Ecologically Embedded Coffee Supply Chains

Hana Trollman, Guillermo Garcia-Garcia, Sandeep Jagtap and Frank Trollman
Additional contact information
Hana Trollman: Department of Work, Employment, Management and Organisations, School of Business, University of Leicester, Brookfield, 266 London Road, Leicester LE2 1RQ, UK
Guillermo Garcia-Garcia: Department of Agrifood System Economics, Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research & Training (IFAPA), P.O. Box 2027, 18080 Granada, Spain
Sandeep Jagtap: Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Centre, School of Aerospace, Transport and Manufacturing, Cranfield University, Cranfield MK43 0AL, UK
Frank Trollman: Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester, NHS Trust, Leicester LE3 9QP, UK

Logistics, 2022, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Background : This research aims to identify how blockchain technology could support the ecological embeddedness of the coffee supply chain. Ecological embeddedness is a subset of the circular economy (CE) that demands legitimacy through design changes to product, production and/or packaging for benefits to economic actors and the environment. This is in contrast with legitimacy as a public relations exercise. Blockchain is a digital transformation technology that is not fully conceptualized with respect to supply chain implementation and the related strategy formulation, particularly in the context of sustainability. Furthermore, the integration of consumers into the CE remains not well understood or researched, with the main focus of CE being the cycling of resources. Methods : This research employs a qualitative case study methodology of the first coffee business in the USA to use blockchain technology as an exemplar. Gap analysis is then applied to identify how blockchain could be used to advance from the current state to a more sustainable one. Results : Findings indicate that the implementation of blockchain is not ecologically embedded in the example studied. Conclusions : The extension of blockchain technology to consider the by-products of production and valorizable waste throughout the supply chain as assets would support ecologically embedded CE for coffee.

Keywords: blockchain; circular economy; coffee; ecological embeddedness; supply chain; sustainability (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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