Blockchain technology for supply chain provenance: increasing supply chain efficiency and consumer trust Free

The fourth industrial revolution is characterized by rapidly evolving technology and a heightened demand for supply chain transparency and efficiency in organizations. Global supply chains have become increasingly complex as supply networks have grown to meet the needs of the global population. For instance, large corporations such as Total Energies and Walmart rely on approximately 100,000 suppliers each (TotalEnergies, 2022; Walmart, 2022), making supply chain visibility and management a crucial concern. The COVID-19 crisis exacerbated the fragility of these supply chains, underscoring the need for better solutions. A key issue is the lack of visibility within supply chains, which hinders proactive disruption management and presents opportunities to substitute genuine goods with substandard or counterfeit products.

Many existing supply chain data systems are ill-equipped to validate synchronized and authenticated shipment tracking throughout the logistics cycle. Common technologies, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and barcodes, although widely used for product identification, suffer from limitations in data storage and supply chain interoperability (Basole and Nowak, 2018; Bokolo, 2022). In addition, the maintenance of data systems and reliance on paper-based records to share information with third parties contribute to operational inefficiencies (Yiannas, 2018).

In response to these challenges, blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution, offering a platform for accurate and secure transactional records across multiple parties to facilitate supply chain traceability (Kamble et al., 2020). By leveraging blockchain’s secure chain of custody, all parties can access critical data for precise product identification, location tracking and proper handling (Hughes et al., 2019). By integrating a network of physical sensors with a transactional data layer, blockchain-powered supply chains can validate product provenance and enhance track and trace capabilities (Laskowski and Kim, 2018). Blockchain technology secures a supply chain network using encryption to record transaction data in the ledger. Moreover, it combines automated sensor data with smart contracts to verify product milestones such as location or temperature, allowing businesses to efficiently monitor biophysical conditions in the cold chain, such as the temperature and humidity of perishable goods (Pournader et al., 2020).

Blockchain technology can reduce costs by minimizing stockouts and tightening inventory controls (Liu and Li, 2019; Queiroz and Fosso Wamba, 2019). Blockchain can tighten inventory control by decreasing the average annual inventory carried, thereby reducing holding costs. Moreover, it can mitigate product shortfalls by enhancing the visibility of all participants (Falcone et al., 2021), enabling improved response times and/or shorter lead times. Through trusted and reliable data sharing across multiple supply network tiers (Jain et al., 2020; Yavaprabhas et al., 2022), it can reshape business-to-business and business-to-consumer relationships (Queiroz et al., 2019) by enabling all parties to trace product provenance, certify authenticity and monitor custody and integrity (Montecchi et al., 2019). Blockchain technology empowers companies to meet customer demand efficiently by lowering costs and improving supply chain flexibility. Consequently, all stakeholders become interdependent on blockchain technology once adopted, driving holistic changes in value creation (Witt and Schoop, 2023). This systematic literature review (SLR) provides a comprehensive overview of blockchain technology applications for supply chain product provenance.

This study examines peer-reviewed academic and editorial-reviewed business literature to analyze the commercial justifications of early adopters who integrate blockchain technology into their supply chains. We scrutinize academic and industry literature domains to provide a qualitative overview of the trends identified in the literature. This analysis seeks to enhance the understanding of blockchain’s role in supply chain management and its potential to deliver tangible benefits. Through algorithmic-driven content and thematic analysis, we identify the differences and similarities between the academic and industry research domains. We examine early pioneering companies that implemented blockchain technology and leverage insights from both domains to unravel the driving forces that propel its adoption. The main objectives of the analysis are to categorize the types of products and elucidate the tangible business drivers, business values and advantages experienced by early adopters that justify the blockchain innovation efforts of actual companies. We explore fingerprinting techniques to establish a connection between physical products and immutable blockchain ledgers in supply chains. Thus, we address the pivotal concern over the assurance of bridging the digital and physical worlds of product provenance within the supply chain, offering a robust defense against counterfeiting and fraud.

Our research methodology provides an exhaustive understanding of the topic. Based on the theoretical background of blockchain and supply chain provenance research, we adopt qualitative thematic analysis supported by NVivo software to enhance the depth and efficiency of our research by organizing and coding the literature to identify the potential of blockchain technology for supply chain product provenance. We performed an algorithmic text-mining analysis (Leximancer software) for concept-mapping visualization, facilitating the identification of pivotal themes, emerging trends and intricate relationships embedded within the corpus of academic and industrial literature. Finally, we synthesize the current state of investigation in our findings and indicate gaps in the literature, paving the way for future research directions. To guide our research, we formulate the following research questions:

Blockchain technology, initially introduced in the well-known Bitcoin white paper by Nakamoto (2008), revolutionized electronic transactions, eliminating the need for trust using a peer-to-peer network and proof-of-work to record the public history of transactions. Blockchain evolved from database technologies, encompassing a distributed ledger technology (DLT) that appends records with timestamped transactions bolstered by cryptographic techniques and consensus mechanisms to preserve data integrity (Chang and Chen, 2020; Falcone et al., 2021). Blockchain applications, originally conceived as a new form of digital currency, have expanded beyond monetary transactions. As a DLT, a blockchain can update and validate end-to-end product traceability data in a supply chain. Cryptographic hash functions ensure the integrity and completeness of records, with each network node verifying the accuracy of information (Pournader et al., 2020; Queiroz and Fosso Wamba, 2019). Blockchain immutability allows for real-time, tamper-proof records, facilitating efficient communication in complex and fragmented supply chains (Garrard and Fielke, 2020; Kouhizadeh and Sarkis, 2018). The decentralized nature of blockchain enables instant data updates across all network participants, providing a shared data history and ownership of transactions (Catalini and Michelman, 2017; Hastig and Sodhi, 2020), making it efficient and scalable (Mahyuni et al., 2020). Blockchains were initially designed as open distributed ledgers; however, differences in functionality exist between platforms such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Blockchain ledgers can be private (closed, permissioned) or public (open, permissionless); for consistency, we only use private and public blockchains instead of similar terms. In private ledgers, participation is restricted and is typically managed by a consortium of stakeholders (Sternberg et al., 2020). Most blockchain trials in supply chain management use private ledgers, often using the “proof of authority” algorithm consensus mechanism (O’Leary, 2017). For instance, IBM’s Food Trust implemented a private blockchain consortium for supply chain traceability with participants including Walmart, Nestlé, Carrefour and Maersk (Carrefour, 2019; Nestlé, 2019; O’Leary, 2017), with database access controlled to ensure within-group privacy and control protocols. Conversely, public ledgers require substantial data processing capacity with all transactions publicly accessible and user anonymity maintained (Li et al., 2021; Sternberg et al., 2020). Another key benefit of blockchain in supply chains is its ability to prevent the infiltration of counterfeit products or ingredients (Rogerson and Parry, 2020), improving public safety and facilitating faster detection of problems.

Although collaboration and information sharing among supply chain partners are crucial, companies must protect their proprietary data from competitors. Hence, most favor private ledgers because of concerns regarding data exposure and the potential leakage of business intelligence to rival companies (Hald and Kinra, 2019; O’Leary, 2017; Wang et al., 2019a, 2019b). The decision to implement a private or public blockchain depends on the business environment and specific advantages companies seek over their competitors (Chang and Chen, 2020). Organizations can evaluate the potential value of blockchain technology in minimizing paper-based processes, improving traceability methods and securing provenance data (Chang et al., 2019). Blockchain technology is poised for further advances in proofs of concept, standardization, collaboration and integration with other technologies over the next few years. These developments are expected to drive the broader adoption of blockchain in supply chain management and unleash its transformative impacts. Gartner (2019) predicts an increase in blockchain trials for food traceability and safety among top global grocers by 2025.

The concept of provenance draws from its traditional use in the art world, referring to the record of ownership of an art piece that serves as evidence of its authenticity and origin. Supply chain product provenance goes beyond ownership, including a comprehensive record of ownership and all transactions and activities, such as raw materials and finished goods, traverse the supply chain (MacCarthy et al., 2016). This record includes detailed information on the location, handling entities and timing of each asset manipulation. In this study, we define “provenance” as the collection of all recorded activities (possibly stored in a blockchain) that verify the origin of all material inputs and processes occurring in the supply chain (Al-Mudimigh et al., 2004). The recorded activities span various supply chain stages, including procurement and sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and assembly, warehousing, inventory management, inbound and outbound transportation and customer relationship management (Al-Mudimigh et al., 2004). Whether in biological or digital form, the provenance information of the entities involved in the supply chain (Swan, 2015) assumes great significance in emerging digital societies. The ability to capture and validate this product’s provenance information using blockchain technology contributes to enhanced supply chain transparency and trust in the next generation of digital ecosystems.

We qualitatively review and assess the literature on adopting blockchain technology to improve supply chain product provenance, including blockchain applications to advance traceability and visibility, support sustainability and recycling, enhance process efficiency and use smart contracts to disintermediate supply chain actors.

Ensuring traceability and visibility in supply chains is of paramount importance, particularly in sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals, where contamination or counterfeiting can have severe consequences for public health and safety. According to the World Health Organization (2022), approximately 1 in 10 people contracts a disease and 420,000 die from exposure to contaminated food. Such foodborne diseases affect public health, hinder socioeconomic progress, strain health-care systems and damage economies.

Traditional computer systems often lack the necessary data security, leading to supply chain failures (Hastig and Sodhi, 2020; Li et al., 2021) and difficulties in identifying the sources of contamination during outbreaks (Niu et al., 2021b). Blockchain offers robust traceability capacities that can enhance food safety, combat food fraud and facilitate product recalls by auditing the entire chain of custody, which empowers brands to minimize supply chain risks and promptly trace and remove contaminated products from circulation (Duan et al., 2020; Friedman and Ormiston, 2022).

Similarly, counterfeit medical goods pose significant consumer risk and have a substantial economic impact on the pharmaceutical industry. The World Health Organization (2018) estimates that 1 in 10 medical goods is counterfeit in low- and middle-income countries. By leveraging blockchain as an anti-counterfeiting solution (Casino et al., 2019), the ownership and chain of custody of medical goods can be reliably tracked to mitigate the risks associated with fraudulent products (Hastig and Sodhi, 2020; Musamih et al., 2021; Niu et al., 2021a), ensuring consumer safety and maintaining the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The benefits of blockchain extend beyond routine operations, particularly during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Blockchain technology has proven invaluable for expediting the movement of essential products, identifying alternative suppliers and redistributing resources. For instance, Hashgraph (2021) collaborates with a National Health Service group in the UK to monitor the cold chain storage of COVID-19 vaccines using DLT. By providing real-time monitoring and transparency, blockchain facilitates the urgent allocation and distribution of vaccines to pressing populations, ensuring their effective utilization. In high-risk environments prone to counterfeiting and supply chain vulnerabilities, companies are increasingly adopting blockchain technology to ensure end-to-end security and transparency at all supply chain stages.

By leveraging blockchain, supply chain participants can accurately measure the effects of products’ full lifecycle, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of their environmental impact and the promotion of a circular economy (make-use-recycle pattern). An innovative model in this context is the Triple Retry model (Centobelli et al., 2022). This model combines blockchain technology with end-of-life goods data, integrating three key reverse supply chain processes – recycle, redistribute and remanufacture – with blockchain’s three core architectural features: trust, traceability and transparency. It enables the implementation of circular supply chain models, in which manufacturers can improve the efficiency of product components and repurpose them to create novel products (Centobelli et al., 2022), contributing to resource conservation and waste reduction.

Moreover, this model enables businesses to validate sustainability claims and enhance their credibility and acceptance in industries that seek to enhance their prestige and reputation through sustainable practices (Kouhizadeh and Sarkis, 2018). Blockchain also has the potential to influence consumer behavior and foster awareness, encouraging consumers to adopt better consumption and disposal behaviors by tracing products from their origin to the point of sale. Additionally, it can incentivize recycling behaviors by implementing rating and reward systems that use the same technology to motivate consumers to actively participate in recycling, reward them for contributing to the circular economy and promote compliance (Centobelli et al., 2022) with recycling management strategies.

Blockchain technology can significantly enhance the process efficiency within supply chains. Accountable businesses are increasingly interested in implementing traceability methods that guarantee sustainability, product lifecycle transparency, waste reduction, carbon footprint tracking and promote fair trade practices. Wang et al. (2021) demonstrate that companies piloting blockchain technology experience significant improvements in sales growth and reduced product returns. These positive outcomes are attributed to improved coordination between upstream and downstream supply chain activities and enhanced channel management. A blockchain simulation study revealed a remarkable 65% reduction in processing time for placing new orders and 60% reduction in overall operational time, reducing warehousing space utilization and improving visibility across the supply chain (Martinez et al., 2019).

Blockchain technology can use smart contracts with self-executing computer codes embedded within a blockchain system and is governed by predefined parameters. Smart contracts are impartial mechanisms for negotiations, automatically unlocking resources, triggering notifications and fulfilling arrangements after meeting specified conditions (Chang et al., 2019; Queiroz et al., 2019). They generate significant advantages, including simplifying processes and payment automation, reducing the need for intermediaries, simplifying contracts, digitizing repetitive procedures involving extensive paperwork and streamlining supply chain operations (Chang et al., 2019; Li et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2019a, 2019b). Using smart contracts in blockchain-based systems shifts the trust from the participants to the code, where stakeholders cannot deviate from the predetermined business logic, thereby reducing the error rate (Markus and Buijs, 2022). Traditionally, payment settlements in supply chains involve multiple intermediaries and lengthy reconciliation procedures. Actors must gain approval through smart contract agreements and consensus before entering data into product profiles or initiating trade with other parties (Omar et al., 2022; Saberi et al., 2019). Moreover, smart contracts can integrate external data sources, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, to monitor and enforce the physical characteristics of products within a supply chain. For example, in a cold chain for sensitive products, such as vaccines, smart contracts in a blockchain can monitor temperature readings from IoT sensors and automatically execute corrective actions or alert stakeholders without human intervention (Pournader et al., 2020; Risius and Spohrer, 2017). Regarding compliance and governance, smart contracts can incentivize and penalize stakeholders in the supply chain, promote responsible industry practices, facilitate on-time operations and encourage cooperation (Saberi et al., 2019; Yoon and Pishdad-Bozorgi, 2022). However, the adoption of smart contracts in supply chains depends on the maturity of blockchain technology, adaptation of several layers of governance dimensions in virtual enterprises and alignment with economic processes (Bokolo, 2023; Chang et al., 2019).

Consumer behavior has shifted significantly toward sustainability and eco-friendliness, with many consumers prioritizing ethical and environment-conscious products. Many consumers require information regarding the origin of the products; however, most brands cannot reveal their full history. Xu and Duan (2022) indicate that consumers have developed a high sensitivity to environmental issues, with approximately 20% of customers prepared to pay a premium for eco-friendly products. This finding suggests that a significant segment of consumers is willing to prioritize sustainability and ethical considerations in their purchasing decisions. Consumer preferences are also shifting toward more ethical practices, particularly in the luxury fashion sector (Cheah et al., 2016; Kshetri, 2018). However, consumers often face information asymmetry regarding product origins and production processes, leading to potential risks and health consequences (Montecchi et al., 2019). For example, a food contamination incident in China, where milk baby formula was deliberately diluted with melamine, a chemical known to cause kidney stones and damage (Ellis et al., 2012), led to widespread health consequences, including hospitalization and infant deaths.

Moreover, when firms market green products to consumers, incomplete product provenance can affect consumers’ buying intentions (Kim et al., 2008) because consumers may associate a brand misconduct event with the entire industry (Laufer and Yijing, 2018). To counteract these negative associations, brands must proactively communicate their ethical practices, transparency initiatives and quality control measures. Despite perceived brand misconduct, consumers may assimilate perceived risk if they are confident that the brand is accountable for its product or service (Featherman and Pavlou, 2003). Similarly, privacy and security are the crucial factors that influence consumer purchase decisions as consumers prioritize protecting their personal information and ensuring secure transactions (Cheah et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2008). Continuous brand evaluations by consumers manifest in behavioral loyalty, involving emotional attachment and trust in the authenticity of the brand’s products.

The emergence of technologies, such as smartphone barcode scanning, empowers consumers to verify product information and trace their origins (Jain et al., 2020). A prime example is the Chinese company JD, which uses a blockchain platform to allow consumers to access detailed information such as sources, manufacturing process, packaging date and shipment identifier tied to a single stock keeping unit by scanning a quick response code (Wang et al., 2021).

One of the main incentives for companies to participate in blockchain traceability systems is to increase consumers’ perceived trust in their brands and minimize the perceived risks associated with purchasing and consumption (Montecchi et al., 2019; Westerkamp et al., 2020). Blockchain challenges current business models and introduces new value exchange options for customers (Morkunas et al., 2019), allowing companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors through transparent supply chain processes (Li et al., 2021; Musamih et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021). Wang et al. (2021) report that blockchain technology can endorse companies’ marketing endeavors by refining service levels and bringing brands closer to consumers, making them more responsive and customer-centric. The managers surveyed in the study reiterate that product quality, safety and authenticity are the pressing factors in building consumer trust and preference.

We selected an SLR as the research methodology for this study to examine the existing body of knowledge, offering a rigorous methodology to comprehensively and impartially ensure a straightforward research approach (Durach et al., 2021) on blockchain for supply chain provenance. We followed the six-step process of Durach et al. (2017), which has been designed for supply chain management research. The six-step methodology guarantees that the research questions are well-defined, data collection process is systematic and analysis is thorough and transparent (Durach et al., 2017). This contributes to the overall quality and validity of the research, making it a robust and valuable contribution to the fields of blockchain and supply chain management. Our SLR serves as a foundational approach for uncovering key drivers and gains, categorizing products, highlighting business motivations and values, and providing insights into the transformative potential of blockchain adoption in supply chain operations. It offers diversity and enriches the study by providing multiple layers of analysis and interpretation.

The SLR review protocol of Durach et al. (2017) involved delineating research questions; defining the characteristics of primary studies, developing a search strategy with appropriate search terms and keywords and establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria; retrieving a sample of potentially relevant literature; selecting pertinent literature; synthesizing the literature; and reporting the findings.

We formulated three research questions (Section 1) to initiate the review and devised a comprehensive search strategy using various word strings and Boolean operators.

The search was conducted across multiple online databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, Harvard Business Review, Google Scholar and specialized industrial sites from January 2008 to March 2023. The search terms included the following word strings: “Blockchain AND Supply Chain,” “Blockchain AND Supply Chain Provenance,” “Blockchain AND Supply Chain Origin,” “Blockchain AND Supply Chain Traceability,” “Blockchain AND Supply Chain Source,” “Customers AND Supply Chain Trust,” “Fingerprinting Analysis,” “Chemical Profiling Analysis,” “Forensic Traceability” and “Genetic Markers OR Geochemistry of the Environment AND Supply Chain.”

Cross-referencing citations in the collected literature resulted in 382 relevant articles from peer-reviewed and industry literature. The industry literature was used to identify “use cases” and map key drivers and business values obtained by early adopters of blockchain for supply chain management. After the screening phase, 146 articles were selected (60% academic and 40% industry literature). The screening process involved evaluating the relevance of the literature based on titles, abstracts and keywords, focusing on the central topic of blockchain and supply chain provenance and their related concepts. The selected studies were required to address the connection between blockchain and supply chain provenance by covering traceability, origin and source concepts. Data extraction and analysis were performed by identifying the key patterns and trends, synthesizing the collected information and reporting the findings.

A significant contribution of our SLR is the presentation of a new framework for categorizing literature reviews (inductive, contextualized explanations, theory testing and interpretive sensemaking) by Durach et al. (2021). Specifically, it belongs to the interpretive sense-making category (exploring and comparing the perspectives of individual actors), with some overlapping elements of contextualized explanations (integrating previous literature). It synthesizes existing knowledge into one objective truth, illuminating how individual actors in supply chains (use cases in our study) “make sense” of their realities (Durach et al., 2021). Sensemaking theory fits well in situations with limited understanding and agreement on relevant phenomena and their connections (Durach et al., 2021), such as the evolving nature of blockchain technology in the supply chain domain.

Content and thematic analyses were conducted using the Leximancer software to categorize and synthesize the articles. This software has advanced natural language processing and data visualization techniques, enabling the automatic identification of key concepts, themes and relationships within a large corpus of textual data. We used NVivo software to classify, query and gain insight into the topics of interest. The validity of this study was established using SLR methodology with well-defined research questions and a structured sampling approach (consistent inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure our predefined specifications). Researchers independently followed the SLR methodology, screened and assessed the suitability of studies based on predefined criteria to ensure consistency and addressed discrepancies through a consensus. Integrating Leximancer and NVivo into the analytical process increases the rigor, reliability and flexibility of research when dealing with large amounts of data without bias; identifies a broader span of syntactic properties; and ensures reproducibility (Penn-Edwards, 2010; Poniman et al., 2015; Sotiriadou et al., 2014). In this study, the literature review protocol is presented using the SLR framework of Durach et al. (2017) and adapted from the PRISMA template in Figure 1.

We analyzed 146 sources (60% academic and 40% nonpeer-reviewed industry articles). Nonpeer-reviewed articles were included to bridge the gap between academic research and industry practices and identify relevant “use cases” to enhance the robustness of the SLR findings (Durach et al., 2021). Other studies have combined peer-reviewed and industry literature (Tranfield et al., 2003); industry papers and third-party reports (Duan et al., 2020); and media pieces, industry papers and blog posts (Pournader et al., 2020) to gain insights into real-world experiences. Rogerson and Parry (2020) apply the industry literature to provide empirical examples of blockchain experiments in the food supply chain. Similarly, Chang and Chen (2020) determine that academic and industry literature is valuable for examining blockchain applications, and Friedman and Ormiston (2022) combine industry expert interviews and academic literature to assess difficulties with blockchain applications in the supply chain. Li et al. (2021) analyze the industry-leading blockchain platforms used in the food industry. As an emerging technology for supply chain management, blockchain trials must strike a qualitative balance between theoretical perspectives (academic inquiry) and evidence-based practices (success of industry innovators), resulting in a well-informed and practical review of the topic. This approach can identify the common key drivers of the early adoption of blockchain technology in supply chain management. In this SLR, of the 87 academic sources, 84 were peer-reviewed manuscripts published in top-tier journals (mostly in Quartile 1), of which 58 exclusively focused on blockchain applications in supply chain management.

Integrating algorithmically driven content analysis enhances the reliability and reproducibility of SLR, providing valuable insights and complementing the qualitative assessment conducted by researcher(s). We divided our literature corpus into two exhaustive and disjoint subsets to understand the key drivers of blockchain adoption for supply chain provenance in academic and industry research. This segregation revealed the differences and similarities between commercial and academic research activities. For content analysis, we used Leximancer, a machine-learning text-data-mining software developed at the University of Queensland (Leximancer, 2018). This software has been widely used in significant academic publications (Goudarzi et al., 2021; Kim and Kim, 2017; Kunz et al., 2019) and applies statistical algorithms to perform text-to-data analysis, identifying related concepts and grouping them into high-level themes. Figure 2 shows the results of the content analysis. The identified themes are represented as the heat-mapped circles, each enclosing the concepts associated with each theme. These concepts are depicted as small circles connected by lines, forming a graph or spanning tree. The correlation between themes is measured through frequency counts and depicted as a Venn diagram representing the “probability intersection” of co-occurrences. The lines connecting the nodes display the relationships between the related concepts (Randhawa et al., 2016). Figure 2(a) shows a concept map of the themes and key concepts extracted from academic sources, with each theme depicted as a folder. The circle size reflects the relevance of each theme, and the color of each circle represents a unique theme. Key concepts are represented as the nodes in a network, and the proximity between nodes indicates the strength of the semantic similarity. Concepts that are not directly connected indicate the absence of semantic relationships (Sotiriadou et al., 2014).

Analysis of the academic literature revealed six prominent themes ranked in descending order of importance based on their size: blockchain, data, products, systems, tracking and innovation. Blockchain emerged as the primary theme, directly intersecting the tracking theme, indicating a semantic relationship between blockchain and supply chain traceability. This correlation implies that the blockchain technology is crucial for enhancing the tracking process within the supply chain. Within the blockchain theme, concepts related to blockchain technology adoption, applications and benefits lead to an innovation theme, with the tracking theme intersecting the blockchain and innovation themes, suggesting that blockchain technology is valuable for tracking processes. The data and systems themes also intersect, highlighting the semantic association between concepts related to the data (smart contracts, transactions, networks and costs) and systems (traceability, trust, transparency and costs) themes. Data transparency and smart contracts can reduce costs and improve traceability, fostering greater trust among supply chain actors. The products theme strongly intersects with the systems theme and slightly intersects with the tracking theme, emphasizing the importance of transparent data networks for traceability and origin identification.

The analysis of the industry literature yielded six prominent themes, ranked in descending order of importance based on their size: blockchain, data, transparency, systems, processes and provenance [Figure 2(b)]. The central theme in the industry literature is blockchain, which directly intersects the transparency, provenance and data themes. This finding is consistent with the literature review, which asserts that the industry is actively exploring and implementing blockchain technology solutions to strengthen supply chain traceability. The systems theme emphasizes the prevalence of blockchain pilots focusing on data traceability, transparency and trust, particularly within the food industry. This process theme suggests that the blockchain technology can be applied to streamline network operations and reduce potential bottlenecks. The provenance theme highlights the significance of blockchain technology in tracking and authenticating the origin and history of products or materials within the supply chain and creating tamperproof and auditable records to ensure the security and reliability of provenance transactions.

In addition to analyzing the academic and industry literature as two distinct sets, we combined them into a single thematic analysis to develop insights into commonalities and differences (Figure 3). Table 1 shows the themes and concepts from Figures 2 to 3 to support the discussion.

Table 1 reveals that “Blockchain” and “Data” are the two common themes across the algorithmic presentation of the literature when analyzed separately and when merged. “Products” is a common theme across academic literature and the combined corpus but does not emerge as a theme or a concept in the industry literature. “Authenticity” emerged as a major theme across the combined corpus as a single high-order construct for the remaining themes developed from the independent analysis: tracking, systems, innovation, transparency, systems and processes. The organization of the underlying network of concepts supporting each theme differs significantly between the independently developed and combined concept maps. A detailed inspection of these differences reveals valuable insights (6).

Insight #1. Academic literature shows that the “value” theme is most closely associated with the “tracking” theme, which sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(a)]. In contrast, the industry literature shows that the “value” theme is most closely associated with the “blockchain” theme, which also sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(b)]. However, combining these two bodies of knowledge reveals that the “value” theme intersects the “blockchain,” “data” and “product themes (Figure 3). This insight visually demonstrates the bias and focus in each body of the literature. The academic map [Figure 2(a)] indicates that the literature focuses on “value” created by tracking improvements, whereas the industry map [Figure 2(b)] shows that the literature focuses on “value” created more generally with “blockchain.” The combined literature map reveals an appealing, intuitive logic: “value” cannot and should not be uniquely associated with a single theme but has profound interdependencies across themes. Importantly, these interdependencies are exposed only when algorithms are presented in a robust academic/industry corpus.

Insight #2. The academic literature shows that the “quality” theme is most closely associated with the “products” theme, which sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(a)]. In contrast, the industry literature reveals that the “quality” theme is most closely associated with the “data” theme, which also sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(b)]. The combined literature map shows that the “quality” theme intersects the “authenticity” and “products” themes (Figure 3), revealing that the academic literature focuses on product quality issues, while the industry literature focuses on data quality issues. Presenting the full body of knowledge to the algorithms revealed that the “quality” theme was associated with themes of “authenticity” and “products.” Both academic and industry literature emphasize the advantages of blockchain adoption in improving data traceability, particularly for supply chains in the food industry. Academia has primarily provided theoretical frameworks and a conceptual understanding of blockchain adoption, whereas industry has focused on practical applications and real-world solutions.

Insight #3. The academic literature shows that the “trust” theme is most closely associated with the “systems” theme, which sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(a)]. In contrast, the industry literature shows that the “trust” theme is most closely associated with the “transparency” theme, which also sits uniquely within the larger theme [Figure 2(b)]. The combined literature map shows that the “trust” theme intersects the “data” and “products” themes (Figure 3), revealing that the academic literature focuses on “trust” issues in information “systems,” while the industry literature sees “transparency” as a larger theme that supports or leads to “trust.” Applying the complete knowledge to the algorithms reveals that the “trust” theme is associated with the “data” and “products” themes, with “transparency” playing a key role in consumer perception of “authenticity.” This insight suggests that data traceability and transparency are essential for establishing trust within a supply chain, which can enhance brand reputation and increase consumers’ perceived value.

Blockchain applications for supply chain provenance are in their early stages and predominantly experimental (Gurtu and Johny, 2019; Li et al., 2021). Nevertheless, many companies recognize the potential to add value to supply chain management. Our analysis, inspired by Del Castillo (2021) reported in Forbes Business magazine, focused on firms exploring blockchain adoption. We set a threshold of at least US$1m turnover for eligibility owing to the presence of startups among the investigated companies and account for the extent of business practices related to blockchain adoption in the supply chain. Data were collected from the official Webpages of 50 firms worldwide, including annual reports, official announcements and other relevant sources. Table 2 presents the most prominent blockchain pilots in the supply chain implemented by early adopters. By examining the drivers of blockchain adoption across different industries and products and service characteristics involved, we endeavored to understand the factors that motivate firms to implement this technology and its geographical distribution. The analysis revealed that the chain of custody of products presents a significant challenge in supply chain traceability, highlighting the need for more accurate systems. For instance, the fine art market traditionally places high value on the provenance of the artworks, where the chain of custody reflects the entire ownership history, impacting its value over time.

Everledger (2021) develops a blockchain-based platform for art registries, providing collectors with provenance information, including details such as piece conditions, digital rights and digital fingerprints. The platform also traces gems and minerals to eradicate blood diamonds and promotes ethical and sustainable practices by rewarding brands for investing in such activities. The IBM Food Trust (2022) consortium applies blockchain technology to enhance supply chain efficiency, food safety, freshness and brand trust, aiming to reduce food fraud and waste and promote sustainability practices. Honeywell leveraged blockchain technology to digitize aircraft records and create digital records (virtual copies of physical aircraft parts) to authenticate the supply chain and guarantee government compliance (Kress, 2018).

Our analysis highlights the industries that are most actively engaged in blockchain trials. The top six industries are food, agriculture, logistics, luxury goods, manufacturing/automotive and retail. The food industry is at the forefront of blockchain trials within supply chains because of the need to combat food contamination, risk manipulation and the lack of standards, making them more susceptible to disruptions (Pournader et al., 2020). Traceability emerged as the most desired business value across blockchain trials, followed by transparency, trust, collaboration, visibility, sustainability, efficiency, anti-counterfeiting, authentication and quality.

Fingerprint traceability in a supply chain can enhance the integrity of data recorded on a blockchain. Although the blockchain technology makes it almost impossible to falsify data in transaction logs retroactively, it does not eliminate the possibility of erroneous or deliberate data entries by humans at transaction points.

As opportunely observed by Levine (2017), blockchain can offer the following:

Thus, historical records must be trustworthy and uncorrupted, balancing the transparency and confidentiality of the blockchain, to prove the data integrity of a firm’s products (Babaei et al., 2023; Cai and Zhu, 2016; Ghode et al., 2020). Integrating fingerprinting techniques with blockchain technology is crucial for addressing this limitation and strengthening supply chain traceability. For instance, food fingerprinting offers substantial value by combating food adulteration, enhancing food security, reducing bioterrorism risks and supporting climate change goals (Ellis et al., 2012). Various analytical fingerprinting techniques such as chemical profiling, forensic traceability, genetic markers and environmental geochemistry, can be used to combat counterfeiting in the food supply chain (Table 3). For example, applied deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) Sciences provides a unique molecular inscription centered on plant DNA to create a permanent identifier for raw fibers, ensuring the authenticity of apparel products (Meraviglia, 2018).

Biochemical tracing can trace agricultural products back to their origin (farm) as the products absorb chemicals from the environment where they are grown. This method can differentiate between caged and free-range chickens residing on the same property, even if they are of the same breed and receive the same feed (Bowman, 2018). The mining industry uses analytical fingerprint (AFP) to validate mineral provenance in the supply chain by testing samples randomly from shipments to those registered in a database (Kshetri, 2021). Oritain (2022) uses forensic traceability techniques to validate the provenance claims of food products using chemical compound “fingerprints” from plants and animals that carry distinct elements and isotopes from their geographical regions. Applying forensic traceability can heighten a brand’s reputation, trust and loyalty (Oritain, 2022). Product fingerprinting science in supply chains will become increasingly relevant in the coming years. Although integrating blockchain technology and fingerprinting techniques offers substantial advantages in terms of supply chain traceability, some limitations persist. Firms often rely on sensors such as RFID labels or barcodes to scan data from product packaging rather than from the product itself, and data loggers may not always be linked to a blockchain structure. While the data on the blockchain remain immutable, it is challenging to maintain the integrity of blockchain records (Galvez et al., 2018); therefore, data entries must be obtained from different IoT points (Tyagi, 2023).

Our findings offer a comprehensive roadmap for organizations seeking to harness the full potential of blockchain technology to optimize supply chain operations. First, we elucidate the interconnectedness between the academic and industry sectors concerning the advantages of blockchain technology. According to our results, data traceability and transparency play a pivotal role within the supply chain. We contribute to the literature on blockchain technology applications for supply chain product provenance by addressing three research questions.

RQ1. What is the current state of academic and industry literature concerning the use of blockchain technology to enhance supply chain provenance and meet customer demands for product authenticity? The current blockchain and supply chain provenance literature is relatively young but rapidly expanding. Literature based on a single node (Nakamoto, 2008) has blossomed into a research race for exciting new blockchain applications. The text-to-data analysis revealed divergence and convergence patterns in the themes and concepts discussed in the literature (Insights #1–#3 in Section 3.3). These insights established that underlying “concepts” revealed using text-to-data algorithms are often associated with a single “theme” if the literature base lacks diversity (i.e. the mix of industry and academic). The divergences are considerable in the connections between themes such as “value,” “quality” and “trust.” Academic literature tends to emphasize specific associations, such as “tracking” in “value,” “products” in “quality” and “systems” in “trust,” while industry literature shows different associations, such as “blockchain” in “value,” “data” in “quality” and “transparency” in “trust.” However, there are also convergences between the themes, such as “value” with “blockchain,” “quality” with “authenticity” and “products” and “trust” with “data” and “products.” This indicates a more intricate and interconnected relationship between these themes, emphasizing their interdependence. Both academic and industry literature stress the significance of data traceability and transparency (Bokolo, 2022; Duan et al., 2020; Fan et al., 2022; Korepin et al., 2021; Mahyuni et al., 2020; Musamih et al., 2021) in establishing trust (Centobelli et al., 2022; Garrard and Fielke, 2020; Jain et al., 2020; Kim et al., 2008; Montecchi et al., 2019; Yavaprabhas et al., 2022), enhancing brand reputation (Karakas et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021) and influencing consumers’ perceived value (Garrard and Fielke, 2020; Jain et al., 2020; Rogerson and Parry, 2020; Xu and Duan, 2022) of products or services that can be enhanced with blockchain technology.

Combining literature on academic and industry using the same algorithms provided a more robust representation of themes and concepts than solely segregating either literature. A qualitative review of the papers reveals that academic institutions and industry actors embrace blockchain adoption for supply chain provenance. In academia, the blockchain theme is mainly related to traceability, emphasizing the adoption benefits and importance of transparency, origin, quality and sustainability in the supply chain. For the industry, the blockchain theme is mainly related to transparency and data provenance, emphasizing the business values of trust, authenticity and quality in the supply chain. This insight highlights the importance of collaboration and knowledge exchange between the academic and industry sectors (Lepore et al., 2022). Theoretical advances from academia can inform and guide practical implementations in industry, and industry experience can refine and validate academic frameworks based on real-world experiences, bridging the gap between theory and practice. These insights collectively highlight the need for a comprehensive approach that incorporates academic and industry viewpoints. Such an approach is necessary to obtain a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the complex interdependencies between themes and their impact on creating value, ensuring quality, establishing trust within the blockchain domain and advancing the understanding and application of technology.

RQ2. What are the driving factors, product characteristics or service attributes that prompted the early adoption of blockchain in the supply chain, and what are the business values achieved through this adoption? Our analysis reveals that blockchain adoption in the supply chain is driven mainly by the need to digitally certify traceability in real-time (Hastig and Sodhi, 2020), ensure product quality (Li et al., 2021), enhance efficiency (Martinez et al., 2019), verify brand claims, support ethical sourcing and combat counterfeiting (Xu and Duan, 2022).

The product and service characteristics driving early blockchain adoption can be categorized into three groups: A, B and C. Group A features are predominantly related to the food, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.

• Perishable goods (published expiration dates).

• Primarily for human consumption/ingestion.

• Consumers desire a high degree of health risk mitigation (i.e. traceability, transparency, visibility, efficiency, security and quality).

Group B features are primarily associated with luxury and collectible industries, including rare gems, fine wines, luxury watches and vehicles.

• Nonperishable goods with a long chain of ownership custody.

• Predominantly high-value products for collection/investment purposes.

• Consumers desire a high degree of financial risk mitigation (i.e. traceability, anti-counterfeiting, authenticity, ethical sourcing and trust).

Group C products combine the attributes of both Groups A and B. This category pertains to industries that manufacture high-value physical assets such as aircraft parts, minerals, additive ingredients and textiles using digital systems that ensure sustainability and compliance. The product features of Group C include the following:

• Manufacturing goods.

• Predominantly high-value products for creating digital twins and ensuring responsible sourcing.

• Consumers desire a high degree of confidence and sustainable certification (i.e. traceability, authentication, reliability, quality, compliance, sustainability validation and compliance/governance).

The characteristics of each group reflect specific drivers of blockchain adoption. Group A emphasizes traceability and safety; Group B focuses on authenticity and trust; and Group C combines elements of both Groups A and B and underlines the importance of sustainability, compliance and assurance across diverse sectors. Therefore, blockchain adoption is driven by industry-specific needs related to consumer safety, financial trust, or sustainable and compliant practices, highlighting the versatility of technology in addressing various industry requirements (Table 4).

RQ3. How can the link between the physical products flowing through the supply chain and their corresponding digital records in the blockchain be ensured to establish and maintain provenance? This research examines emerging technologies that establish a provenance link between physical products and blockchain ledgers. Using analytical fingerprinting techniques, such as vibrational spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and genetic markers (Ellis et al., 2012) supports tagging products in Group A, while electronic imaging, laser engraving and molecular tagging (Meraviglia, 2018) support Group B products. Forensic traceability, biochemical markers and environmental geochemistry (AFP) support Group C products (Kshetri, 2021; Oritain, 2022). Integrating blockchain technology and product fingerprinting techniques within a supply chain has several advantages. The primary benefit of the confluence of these technologies is the fortified security and trust established within the supply chain, which ensures reliable authentication of product provenance and increased transparency for stakeholders and consumers. Thus, it promotes an atmosphere favorable to trust and accountability while mitigating the risks associated with product counterfeiting (Kshetri, 2021; Meraviglia, 2018).

We provide insights into the primary areas of blockchain technology relevant to academic and industry investigations and highlight the most important aspects that enable academics and practitioners to accordingly prioritize their efforts and resources for technology adoption. By conducting an algorithmic analysis of combined academic and industry literature mapping using Leximancer, we found convergent and divergent associations of themes. Academic research focuses on theoretical constructs such as “tracking improvements,” “product quality issues” and “trust within information systems.” However, industry literature tends to concentrate more on practical applications and real-world solutions, emphasizing the implementation and implications, such as “blockchain adoption,” “data quality issues” and “transparency leading to trust.” Both academic and industry literature stress the significance of data traceability and transparency in establishing trust, enhancing brand reputation and influencing consumers’ perceived value of products or services. These insights collectively highlight the need for a comprehensive approach that incorporates academic and industry perspectives to advance the understanding and adoption of blockchain technology.

Regarding the categorization of the product and service characteristics driving early blockchain adoption, we uncovered three distinct groups (A, B and C) with their corresponding features. Our analysis reveals diverse drivers pushing for the early adoption of blockchain technology across various industries. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates the multifaceted role of blockchain in addressing diverse company needs and priorities with distinct use cases for blockchain adoption. For instance, Group A’s focus on perishable goods requires traceability and quality assurance to ensure consumer safety. Group B’s emphasis on high-value and nonperishable goods accentuates the importance of establishing authenticity and trust to safeguard against counterfeiting and ensure investment value. Group C’s intersection of manufacturing goods with the twin digital systems highlights the need for responsible sourcing and compliance overseeing sustainability measures. Our group classification indicates that blockchain adoption is not confined to a single industry but has diverse applications across various sectors. This implies the potential for market diversification as different industries harness blockchain technology to address their specific needs.

This study reviewed and analyzed the literature on blockchain and supply chain product provenance in the academic and industry domains. It highlighted the importance of collaboration between academia and industry in exploring blockchain adoption for supply chain provenance. The findings revealed the driving factors and business values achieved through early blockchain adoption, emphasizing the need to strengthen data traceability in the supply chain. Research insights from both domains revealed efficiency gains in blockchain adoption for enhancing consumers’ perceived value and trust in brand claims. We also identified the product characteristics and service attributes that drive early adoption of blockchain technology in the supply chain, including the industries and types of products involved, business adoption rationale and business values achieved through blockchain trials (emphasizing ethical sourcing and sustainability practices).

Our study provides significant evidence that the adoption of blockchain technology for supply chain provenance is rooted in multifaceted objectives. Our findings highlight its pivotal role in digitally certifying real-time traceability, ensuring product quality (Vu et al., 2021) and enhancing operational efficiency. Additionally, blockchain serves as a decisive artifact for validating brand claims, supporting sustainable and ethical practices (Xu and Duan, 2022) and robustly combating counterfeit activities (Meraviglia, 2018). Analyzing the characteristics of the products and services involved in adopting blockchain for supply chain provenance demonstrates the versatility of blockchain applications in addressing various industry demands. Group A prioritizes traceability and quality for consumer safety of perishable goods. Group B emphasizes authenticity and trust in high-value, nonperishable items to prevent counterfeiting and ensure investment value. Group C focuses on responsible sourcing and compliance, particularly sustainability, in manufacturing goods with digital twins. The implications of market diversification potential through blockchain adoption (Martinez et al., 2019) among various industries signify tailored solutions, innovation of new business models, potential economic impacts, challenges related to standardization and interoperability and opportunities for collaborative knowledge and exchange across sectors.

Furthermore, this study explores the potential of combining blockchain with analytical fingerprinting techniques to enhance supply chain resilience by assigning unique identifiers and randomly testing the veracity of product materials. A powerful combination of blockchain technology, IoT sensors, automated smart contracts and fingerprinting techniques can rapidly identify disruptions and certify product integrity, authenticity and quality, allowing for prompt remediation actions. The integration of blockchain and product fingerprinting elevates product provenance by securing unique product identifiers on blockchain and curtailing the risk of counterfeit products infiltrating the supply chain. Blockchain traceability allows for efficient and targeted product recalls (Li et al., 2021). This precise tracing of product provenance minimizes recall costs and narrows down the affected batches swiftly and accurately.

This approach provides a reliable and verifiable source of information, increases transparency throughout the supply chain network and improves supply chain resilience. These findings can assist companies in obtaining insights into the motivations and gains of other firms to elucidate the viability of blockchain adoption in the initial exploration stage. Finally, our findings complement those of previous studies regarding the implications and limitations of blockchain adoption in supply chains.

In summary, blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize supply chain management; however, its implementation should be approached considering specific business needs and challenges. Advancing research in this area can unlock the full potential of blockchain to ensure transparency, authenticity and efficiency in supply chain processes, leading to improved consumer confidence and brand reputation.

This SLR has important theoretical implications for advancing the understanding of blockchain technology in the context of supply chain management. A comprehensive overview of the blockchain landscape in supply chain management, comparing academic and industrial articles, uses content and thematic analysis with a text-to-data algorithm and thematic analysis to interpret and classify the literature. We contribute to the understanding of the early adoption of blockchain by identifying patterns and trends in studies and unveiling the underlying drivers of blockchain technology in the supply chain domain. Our findings reveal synergy across academic and industry domains, considering blockchain benefits and recognizing the need to reinforce data traceability and trust in the supply chain. Academic sources highlight the blockchain theme primarily related to traceability, stressing the advantages and significance of transparency, origin, quality and sustainability in supply chains. Insights from both domains illustrate the efficiency gains of blockchain adoption for supply chain automation and for enhancing consumers’ perceived value and trust in brand claims. This study contributes to the theoretical development in the blockchain and supply chain management fields by identifying key themes that serve as a foundation for developing conceptual frameworks and models. These insights advance theoretical understanding and generate new perspectives for future research, guiding researchers to comprehensively explore the identified themes and conduct empirical studies to gain new insights into the potential of blockchain technology in supply chains. Moreover, our findings indicate the importance of conducting balanced literature reviews and bridging the gap between theory and practice, especially when studying emerging technologies such as blockchain. This review also provides valuable guidance for designing educational initiatives and training programs focused on blockchain technology and supply chain management, allowing future supply chain professionals to remain updated on the latest blockchain developments and potential applications in their fields. This study highlights the game-changing potential of blockchain technology in reshaping various aspects of supply chain management, including product provenance, security, authenticity, accountability, safety and consumer confidence.

The SLR on blockchain technology and supply chain management offers several managerial implications for practitioners. Practitioners recognize the potential of blockchain in addressing industry-specific challenges such as ensuring transparency and product data provenance. Understanding the benefits achieved by early adopters can serve as a basis for companies considering blockchain adoption. Blockchain technology can verify product provenance, enable truthful certification and ensure compliance with established standards, thereby reinforcing trust among stakeholders and customers. Thus, blockchain solutions can enhance brand reputation and consumer confidence by ensuring product authenticity and quality. Based on our results, companies can align their strategies and initiatives according to their needs and expectations.

Our findings suggest that companies should carefully evaluate blockchain adoption risks and start by integrating technology into existing or new processes before implementing large-scale operations (Angelis and Ribeiro da Silva, 2018; Vu et al., 2021). Blockchain brings innovation in the supply chain management field; however, companies should carefully evaluate their specific requirements and goals before adopting blockchain for supply chain product provenance to ensure that the blockchain aligns with managerial decisions and objectives (Niu et al., 2021a; Perboli et al., 2018). Firms exploring blockchain applications in supply chains may encounter various challenges that must be addressed, such as mapping supply chain processes. Although blockchain features are compelling reasons for adoption, it is vital to conduct a comprehensive analysis that combines technical, behavioral and organizational considerations (Oguntegbe et al., 2022). Integrating blockchain into a supply chain requires careful planning, and digitizing the supply chain (Schmidt and Wagner, 2019) is crucial for incorporating the capabilities of existing systems and ensuring data suitability and reliability (Azzi et al., 2019). Companies considering blockchain implementation should assess whether the consumer value proposition outweighs the setup costs ((Kumar et al., 2020). Understanding the traceability awareness of consumers is essential when considering the adoption of blockchain technology (Fan et al., 2022). Firms exploring blockchain solutions to foster supply chain product provenance must design user-friendly interfaces that enhance customers’ purchase decision-making without overwhelming them with irrelevant information (Montecchi et al., 2019).

Given the involvement of multiple stakeholders, collaboration is crucial for successful blockchain integration in the supply chain. Collaboration requires exchanging shared strategic goals (e.g. risk mitigation) and uniting resources (Min, 2019), as demonstrated by our analysis of the achieved business values in consortia blockchain trials. Top management support and influence are crucial for building an institutional vision for blockchain adoption. First-mover firms can benefit significantly from deploying technology (Lin, 2014). The recent relationship between blockchain and supply chain product provenance signals a shift in data security through enhanced efficiency drivers, prompt decision-making processes and improved supply chain collaboration (Karakas et al., 2021; Korepin et al., 2021). Essentially, the integration of blockchain technology within supply chain provenance initiatives not only influences economic aspects but also brings substantial social impacts by reinforcing consumer trust; encouraging sustainable and ethical practices; combating product counterfeiting; empowering stakeholders; and contributing to a more responsible, transparent and progressive socioeconomic environment.

This study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, some relevant investigations may have been missed or omitted, which could have affected our findings. Moreover, the limited availability of the literature on blockchain adoption in supply chains may restrict the scope of our conclusions. The evolving nature of blockchain adoption in supply chains poses limitations. As this technology is nascent, we expect that a rapidly emerging body of literature will provide more extensive evidence-based general conclusions in the future. Another limitation is the lack of information on academic and industry research that may have provided more balanced insights into the advancement of technology. We attribute this limitation to the limited collaboration between academia and industry in the field of blockchain supply chain management.

Further collaborative research in both domains is required to advance the literature on blockchain technology in supply chain management and bridge the gap between theory and practice. Furthermore, although text-to-data analytics provides valuable insights that may not be easily extracted through manual analysis, it has limitations. For instance, it may struggle to capture specialized terms in technological domains such as blockchain. Despite our efforts to collectively interpret the insights, we may have missed some relevant aspects of the analysis. Finally, this study does not offer a comprehensive discussion but rather serves as an important inquiry into a subject worthy of investigation.

Our literature review revealed limited peer-reviewed publications on blockchain and supply chain product provenance. Future research should address the gaps and limitations identified in the current literature. Some suggested research questions for future studies are as follows:

What are the measurable attitudes of shoppers when ascertaining their willingness to use a blockchain-based tool to verify a product’s provenance history? What behavioral factors are significant for consumers to be willing to pay a premium price for a blockchain-certified product? Is it possible to design a theoretical framework for blockchain integration into a supply chain network using fingerprinting techniques? What are the main scalability problems of blockchain implementations in food supply chain networks? Is it possible to collect direct insights from early blockchain adopters into the benefits and challenges of technology implementation and quantitatively evaluate them? What new business models can food companies create or redesign to incorporate blockchain technology by food companies? How can blockchain aid in verifying sustainable practices such as responsible sourcing, carbon footprint tracking, waste reduction or fair labor practices? How can blockchain benefit beauty supply chain product provenance and avoid business practices such as greenwashing, considering that beauty and personal care are among the most profitable industries worldwide?