Table 3 Findings table Stage Regulative... | Emerald Publishing

Table 3

Findings table

Stage	Regulative pressures	Normative pressures	Cognitive pressures	Illustrative quotes	Emergent themes
Initiation	Facilitator: early government signals and national strategies raise awareness	Facilitator: industry associations and vendors start early best-practice conversations and provide educational support	Barrier: misconceptions (e.g. blockchain = only crypto) slow engagement	“When we first started talking about blockchain, it was a brand new topic. A big part of our job was to educate clients explaining what blockchain and DLT are, and what these technologies could mean for them.” (P2) “Education in the space is the most important thing… to try to attract users outside the blockchain community.” (P9)	Sensemaking and framing: awareness raising and educational outreach dominate. Early institutional actors serve as translators, helping stakeholders interpret, frame and legitimize blockchain amidst uncertainty
	Barrier: lack of legal clarity causes hesitation
	Barrier: lack of legal clarity causes hesitation		Facilitator: vendor-led education reframes value and addresses confusion
Adoption	Facilitator: clear legal frameworks (e.g. MiCA) boost confidence	Facilitator: standards, certifications and required compliance shape pilots and industry practice	Facilitator: success stories encourage uptake; vendor and legal advisory builds confidence	“Once frameworks like MiCA started to arrive, companies felt more comfortable because there were clear rules and regulated partners to work with.” (P20) “Creating SLAs is tricky because there aren’t established industry standards for blockchain yet.” (P4)	Threshold crossing: regulatory clarity combined with normative standards and cognitive signals from successful pilots creates an enabling environment, lowering perceived risk and driving adoption
Adoption	Barrier: mixed regulatory signals delay action; lack of technical standards makes it difficult to proceed
Acceptance	Facilitator: regulator support for more strategic/sector-wide use	Facilitator: peer success stories and growing acceptance through industry certification and professional group consensus	Facilitator: experience and real success stories build trust and move blockchain from pilots to strategic planning	“I’ve seen a big curve and a big maturity over the last number of years and we’re doing less and less proof of concept… it’s less about trying to build a small proof of concept and really more strategic in terms of understanding how do you get adoption or how are we going to scale.” (P2) “Industry certification is very appealing because it adds value to blockchain approval by complementing existing processes and potentially removing some control elements.” (P16)	Legitimation and maturation: the technology gains industry legitimacy as professional certification and proven use elevate blockchain from experimentation to strategic planning and mainstream acceptance
Acceptance	Barrier: fragmented regulation or standards may create friction
Routinization	Facilitator: buyer and retailer requirements drive certification and blockchain adoption	Facilitator: industry certification, professional norms, and shared governance embed blockchain into regular operations	Facilitator: blockchain becomes expected in the market; marketing and storytelling is built around blockchain-enhanced traceability; habitual use emerges	“Consumers appreciate traceability more and are willing to pay a little more for food that can be verified.” (P15) “Supermarket chains, especially in continental Europe, require products to be certified by external organizations … (P13)	Institutional embedding: blockchain becomes part of the industry’s standard infrastructure through certification, buyer requirements and governance, with routinised practices reinforcing habitual use and sectoral expectations
	Barrier: new standards may increase compliance costs and maintain margin pressures
		Professional service provider frameworks and association activities support routinization
Infusion	Facilitator: sector-wide legal infrastructure integrates blockchain into industry fabric	Facilitator: professional standards bodies and cross-sector adoption entrench blockchain as organizational norm	Facilitator: competitive and strategic necessity; blockchain taken for granted in ops and planning; cross-sector learning fuels further adoption	“Blockchain has become central to a shared vision for how the industry operates… tracking the entire supply chain from where the food is produced and the authorizations involved, to the materials used, the processors, and retailers.” (P22) “Blockchain is key to tracing products within a circular economy and will become an imperative moving forward.” (P15)	Normalization: blockchain transitions from best practice to industry imperative, underpinned by professionalization and sector wide expectation its use becomes assumed, driving further entrenchment via cross sector learning

Stage	Regulative pressures	Normative pressures	Cognitive pressures	Illustrative quotes	Emergent themes
Initiation	Facilitator: early government signals and national strategies raise awareness	Facilitator: industry associations and vendors start early best-practice conversations and provide educational support	Barrier: misconceptions (e.g. blockchain = only crypto) slow engagement	“When we first started talking about blockchain, it was a brand new topic. A big part of our job was to educate clients explaining what blockchain and DLT are, and what these technologies could mean for them.” (P2) “Education in the space is the most important thing… to try to attract users outside the blockchain community.” (P9)	Sensemaking and framing: awareness raising and educational outreach dominate. Early institutional actors serve as translators, helping stakeholders interpret, frame and legitimize blockchain amidst uncertainty
	Barrier: lack of legal clarity causes hesitation
	Barrier: lack of legal clarity causes hesitation		Facilitator: vendor-led education reframes value and addresses confusion
Adoption	Facilitator: clear legal frameworks (e.g. MiCA) boost confidence	Facilitator: standards, certifications and required compliance shape pilots and industry practice	Facilitator: success stories encourage uptake; vendor and legal advisory builds confidence	“Once frameworks like MiCA started to arrive, companies felt more comfortable because there were clear rules and regulated partners to work with.” (P20) “Creating SLAs is tricky because there aren’t established industry standards for blockchain yet.” (P4)	Threshold crossing: regulatory clarity combined with normative standards and cognitive signals from successful pilots creates an enabling environment, lowering perceived risk and driving adoption
Adoption	Barrier: mixed regulatory signals delay action; lack of technical standards makes it difficult to proceed
Acceptance	Facilitator: regulator support for more strategic/sector-wide use	Facilitator: peer success stories and growing acceptance through industry certification and professional group consensus	Facilitator: experience and real success stories build trust and move blockchain from pilots to strategic planning	“I’ve seen a big curve and a big maturity over the last number of years and we’re doing less and less proof of concept… it’s less about trying to build a small proof of concept and really more strategic in terms of understanding how do you get adoption or how are we going to scale.” (P2) “Industry certification is very appealing because it adds value to blockchain approval by complementing existing processes and potentially removing some control elements.” (P16)	Legitimation and maturation: the technology gains industry legitimacy as professional certification and proven use elevate blockchain from experimentation to strategic planning and mainstream acceptance
Acceptance	Barrier: fragmented regulation or standards may create friction
Routinization	Facilitator: buyer and retailer requirements drive certification and blockchain adoption	Facilitator: industry certification, professional norms, and shared governance embed blockchain into regular operations	Facilitator: blockchain becomes expected in the market; marketing and storytelling is built around blockchain-enhanced traceability; habitual use emerges	“Consumers appreciate traceability more and are willing to pay a little more for food that can be verified.” (P15) “Supermarket chains, especially in continental Europe, require products to be certified by external organizations … (P13)	Institutional embedding: blockchain becomes part of the industry’s standard infrastructure through certification, buyer requirements and governance, with routinised practices reinforcing habitual use and sectoral expectations
	Barrier: new standards may increase compliance costs and maintain margin pressures
		Professional service provider frameworks and association activities support routinization
Infusion	Facilitator: sector-wide legal infrastructure integrates blockchain into industry fabric	Facilitator: professional standards bodies and cross-sector adoption entrench blockchain as organizational norm	Facilitator: competitive and strategic necessity; blockchain taken for granted in ops and planning; cross-sector learning fuels further adoption	“Blockchain has become central to a shared vision for how the industry operates… tracking the entire supply chain from where the food is produced and the authorizations involved, to the materials used, the processors, and retailers.” (P22) “Blockchain is key to tracing products within a circular economy and will become an imperative moving forward.” (P15)	Normalization: blockchain transitions from best practice to industry imperative, underpinned by professionalization and sector wide expectation its use becomes assumed, driving further entrenchment via cross sector learning

Source(s): Authors’ own work