Data structure and representative quotations
| 2nd order theme | 1st order code | Frequency | Quotations |
|---|---|---|---|
| External accountability pressures | Public scrutiny of work practices | 9 | “With all the attention on modern slavery now, if we had a system that could clearly show where our products come from, it would make it much easier to respond when NGOs or the media start asking questions” (HC-P8) |
| Modern slavery regulations | 11 | “The Australian Modern Slavery Act has certainly pushed us to look deeper into our supply chain and issues of modern slavery but it hasn't been easy …” (HC-P7) | |
| Reputational risks | 10 | “If modern slavery presents in the supply chains, it's their reputation and image as a hospital on the line” (BC-P2) | |
| Modern slavery data governance | Permissioned data-sharing | 10 | “Blockchain lets us open up the right information to the right partners, without handing over all our commercial details to everyone in the chain” (BC-P10) |
| Enhanced modern slavery data reliability | 8 | “Now, those questionnaires responses sit in folders. Having them time-stamped and locked into a ledger would give our clients more confidence that nothing has been altered” (BC-P3) | |
| Real-time modern slavery data monitoring | 7 | “We expect blockchain helps us automate our procurement processes and monitor modern slavery information, rather than us looking at documented audits every time” (HC-P2) | |
| Socially sustainable procurement | Confidence in relationship-building with suppliers | 9 | “We rely on building relationships with our suppliers here, who are our first point of contact … It's like a chain of trust, but trust can get shaky the further you go up the chain” (HC-P1) |
| Sustainable supplier selection and onboarding | 12 | “In essence, you could require suppliers to be onboarded onto the blockchain first, with their information and activities recorded so firms can have transparency and monitor them more closely” (BC-P12) | |
| Proactive modern slavery risk management | Monitor workers' working conditions | 11 | “If suppliers were entering data on things like recruitment fees or dormitory conditions onto a shared ledger, firms would have a much better sense of what workers actually face further up the chain” (BC-P14) |
| SC risk detection and crisis response | 9 | “Instead of waiting for an annual audit, blockchain system could surface warning signs earlier then it could help hospitals investigate the issues before it blows up into a crisis” (BC-P8) | |
| Alternative supplier selection | 8 | “If there is a system that can flag a particular area as high-risk, it would be easier to justify moving volume to an alternative supplier that is already verified on the system” (HC-P7) | |
| Organisational readiness | Low blockchain literacy and misconceptions | 13 | “When mentioning blockchain, I immediately think of Bitcoin or some sort of speculative trading, so I don't really see how it relates to modern slavery or hospitals at all” (HC-P4) |
| Blockchain setup costs | 11 | “The cost of running an efficient blockchain will require additional costs of extra infrastructure and hardware” (BC-P10) | |
| Unclear blockchain value proposition | 12 | “If it gives us clear savings by implementing the blockchain then I would think that would be beneficial for us to do that sooner”. (HC-P6) | |
| Change management burden | 10 | “If the users are already familiar and comfortable with current system, they may be resistant to use” (BC-P13) | |
| Technology misalignment | Unverifiable modern slavery data | 10 | “Garbage in, garbage out. A lot of our clients get now are self-declarations that they can't verify, and putting those onto a blockchain doesn't magically make them true” (BC-P13) |
| Data processing inefficiencies | 8 | “The existing processes in most hospitals are quite manual; if we just bolt blockchain, we risk doubling the workload rather than streamlining the workflows” (BC-P2) | |
| Legacy system interoperability | 10 | “If there isn't a system to track attendance, calculate work hours, and determine wages in a structured format, it would be impossible to implement blockchain” (BC-P11) | |
| Institutional and regulatory constraints | Blockchain regulatory uncertainty | 11 | “There will need to be legislation updates knowing that how the privacy of information is being stored and used and access to information” (BC-P13) |
| Weak labour legislation | 10 | “We come from a country where we are under the pressure of reporting. Our sourcing countries often have different labour legislation and may still be in the early stage” (HC-P4) | |
| Supplier integration barriers | Supplier limited modern slavery understanding | 12 | “For our suppliers, even the term “modern slavery’ is still quite abstract, they don't always recognise that things like recruitment fees or holding passports can fall into that category” (HC-P5) |
| Lack of economic incentives for suppliers | 9 | “If supplier admits there's an issue in their factory, their worry is the termination of contract, so they're cautious about putting anything sensitive into a system like blockchain” (HC-P5) | |
| Fear of sharing confidential data | 11 | “Suppliers may fear disclosing personal and labour-related information if they believe it could expose them contract termination or penalties” (HC-P7) | |
| Supplier support and capability development | Supplier blockchain training | 11 | “Larger firms, might need to take the lead in helping smaller suppliers onboard and integrate with the blockchain system” (HC-P3) |
| Supplier resource and cost support | 8 | “We can't expect a supplier to absorb all the costs of new system resource. If buyers share some resource costs, then it becomes a joint capability rather than a burden” (BC-P8) | |
| Interoperable technologies integration | Seamless integration with existing platforms | 9 | “We already have supplier portals and e-procurement tools; ideally blockchain would sit on top of those platforms, not replace everything we've built over the last ten years” (HC-P7) |
| Connecting supporting technologies for blockchain | 10 | “We need complementary tools [BC] to help tackle the unverifiable modern slavery information on the chain, there may be new ways, that is something to be investigated” (BC-P12) | |
| Stakeholder collaboration and partnerships | Strategic- collaborative information-sharing | 10 | “You need hospitals, suppliers and NGOs all at the table, it can't be siloed. To use blockchain, there would need to be collaboration on information sharing” (BC-P9) |
| Partnerships with third-party technology providers | 11 | “Partnering with technology providers that understand modern slavery would be essential to design a system that actually works” (HC-P4) | |
| Data sharing incentive strategy | 9 | “If we let suppliers know complete data could translate into preferred status or a small price premium, they'd be much more willing to share information consistently” (BC-P14) | |
| Fostering organisational learning | Leadership buy-in | 12 | “Hospitals in nature are usually risk-averse as we have our own systems in place, so having a culture where leadership is open to integrating tools like blockchain is important” (HC-P3) |
| Internal employees training | 10 | “The training of employees to use blockchain and having the appropriate tooling and being able to train the employees that perform the audits” (BC-P10) |
| 2nd order theme | 1st order code | Frequency | Quotations |
|---|---|---|---|
| External accountability pressures | Public scrutiny of work practices | 9 | “With all the attention on modern slavery now, if we had a system that could clearly show where our products come from, it would make it much easier to respond when NGOs or the media start asking questions” (HC-P8) |
| Modern slavery regulations | 11 | “The Australian Modern Slavery Act has certainly pushed us to look deeper into our supply chain and issues of modern slavery but it hasn't been easy …” (HC-P7) | |
| Reputational risks | 10 | “If modern slavery presents in the supply chains, it's their reputation and image as a hospital on the line” (BC-P2) | |
| Modern slavery data governance | Permissioned data-sharing | 10 | “Blockchain lets us open up the right information to the right partners, without handing over all our commercial details to everyone in the chain” (BC-P10) |
| Enhanced modern slavery data reliability | 8 | “Now, those questionnaires responses sit in folders. Having them time-stamped and locked into a ledger would give our clients more confidence that nothing has been altered” (BC-P3) | |
| Real-time modern slavery data monitoring | 7 | “We expect blockchain helps us automate our procurement processes and monitor modern slavery information, rather than us looking at documented audits every time” (HC-P2) | |
| Socially sustainable procurement | Confidence in relationship-building with suppliers | 9 | “We rely on building relationships with our suppliers here, who are our first point of contact … It's like a chain of trust, but trust can get shaky the further you go up the chain” (HC-P1) |
| Sustainable supplier selection and onboarding | 12 | “In essence, you could require suppliers to be onboarded onto the blockchain first, with their information and activities recorded so firms can have transparency and monitor them more closely” (BC-P12) | |
| Proactive modern slavery risk management | Monitor workers' working conditions | 11 | “If suppliers were entering data on things like recruitment fees or dormitory conditions onto a shared ledger, firms would have a much better sense of what workers actually face further up the chain” (BC-P14) |
| SC risk detection and crisis response | 9 | “Instead of waiting for an annual audit, blockchain system could surface warning signs earlier then it could help hospitals investigate the issues before it blows up into a crisis” (BC-P8) | |
| Alternative supplier selection | 8 | “If there is a system that can flag a particular area as high-risk, it would be easier to justify moving volume to an alternative supplier that is already verified on the system” (HC-P7) | |
| Organisational readiness | Low blockchain literacy and misconceptions | 13 | “When mentioning blockchain, I immediately think of Bitcoin or some sort of speculative trading, so I don't really see how it relates to modern slavery or hospitals at all” (HC-P4) |
| Blockchain setup costs | 11 | “The cost of running an efficient blockchain will require additional costs of extra infrastructure and hardware” (BC-P10) | |
| Unclear blockchain value proposition | 12 | “If it gives us clear savings by implementing the blockchain then I would think that would be beneficial for us to do that sooner”. (HC-P6) | |
| Change management burden | 10 | “If the users are already familiar and comfortable with current system, they may be resistant to use” (BC-P13) | |
| Technology misalignment | Unverifiable modern slavery data | 10 | “Garbage in, garbage out. A lot of our clients get now are self-declarations that they can't verify, and putting those onto a blockchain doesn't magically make them true” (BC-P13) |
| Data processing inefficiencies | 8 | “The existing processes in most hospitals are quite manual; if we just bolt blockchain, we risk doubling the workload rather than streamlining the workflows” (BC-P2) | |
| Legacy system interoperability | 10 | “If there isn't a system to track attendance, calculate work hours, and determine wages in a structured format, it would be impossible to implement blockchain” (BC-P11) | |
| Institutional and regulatory constraints | Blockchain regulatory uncertainty | 11 | “There will need to be legislation updates knowing that how the privacy of information is being stored and used and access to information” (BC-P13) |
| Weak labour legislation | 10 | “We come from a country where we are under the pressure of reporting. Our sourcing countries often have different labour legislation and may still be in the early stage” (HC-P4) | |
| Supplier integration barriers | Supplier limited modern slavery understanding | 12 | “For our suppliers, even the term “modern slavery’ is still quite abstract, they don't always recognise that things like recruitment fees or holding passports can fall into that category” (HC-P5) |
| Lack of economic incentives for suppliers | 9 | “If supplier admits there's an issue in their factory, their worry is the termination of contract, so they're cautious about putting anything sensitive into a system like blockchain” (HC-P5) | |
| Fear of sharing confidential data | 11 | “Suppliers may fear disclosing personal and labour-related information if they believe it could expose them contract termination or penalties” (HC-P7) | |
| Supplier support and capability development | Supplier blockchain training | 11 | “Larger firms, might need to take the lead in helping smaller suppliers onboard and integrate with the blockchain system” (HC-P3) |
| Supplier resource and cost support | 8 | “We can't expect a supplier to absorb all the costs of new system resource. If buyers share some resource costs, then it becomes a joint capability rather than a burden” (BC-P8) | |
| Interoperable technologies integration | Seamless integration with existing platforms | 9 | “We already have supplier portals and e-procurement tools; ideally blockchain would sit on top of those platforms, not replace everything we've built over the last ten years” (HC-P7) |
| Connecting supporting technologies for blockchain | 10 | “We need complementary tools [BC] to help tackle the unverifiable modern slavery information on the chain, there may be new ways, that is something to be investigated” (BC-P12) | |
| Stakeholder collaboration and partnerships | Strategic- collaborative information-sharing | 10 | “You need hospitals, suppliers and NGOs all at the table, it can't be siloed. To use blockchain, there would need to be collaboration on information sharing” (BC-P9) |
| Partnerships with third-party technology providers | 11 | “Partnering with technology providers that understand modern slavery would be essential to design a system that actually works” (HC-P4) | |
| Data sharing incentive strategy | 9 | “If we let suppliers know complete data could translate into preferred status or a small price premium, they'd be much more willing to share information consistently” (BC-P14) | |
| Fostering organisational learning | Leadership buy-in | 12 | “Hospitals in nature are usually risk-averse as we have our own systems in place, so having a culture where leadership is open to integrating tools like blockchain is important” (HC-P3) |
| Internal employees training | 10 | “The training of employees to use blockchain and having the appropriate tooling and being able to train the employees that perform the audits” (BC-P10) |
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