Kamble 2019

International Journal of Information Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Information Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijinfomgt
Modeling the blockchain enabled traceability in agriculture supply chain

Sachin S. Kamblea, Angappa Gunasekaranb, , Rohit Sharmaa
⁎
a
Operations and Supply Chain Management, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai, 400087, India
b
School of Business and Public Administration, California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, 20BDC/140, Bakersfield, CA, 93311-1022, USA
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT
Keywords: Blockchain Technology (BT) has led to a disruption in the supply chain by removing the trust related issues.
Blockchain technology Studies are being conducted worldwide to leverage the benefits provided by BT in improving the performance of
Agriculture supply chain the supply chains. The literature reveals BT to offer various benefits leading to improvements in the sustainable
Sustainability performance of the agriculture supply chains (ASC). It is expected that BT will bring a paradigm shift in the way
Traceability
the transactions are carried in the ASC by reducing the high number of intermediaries, delayed payments and
Transparency
ISM
high transaction lead times. India, a developing economy, caters to the food security needs of an ever-growing
DEMATEL population and faces many challenges affecting ASC sustainability. It is therefore essential to adopt BT in the
ASC to leverage the various benefits. In this study, we identify and establish the relationships between the
enablers of BT adoption in ASC. Thirteen enablers were identified from the literature and validated by the
experts before applying a combined Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and Decision-Making Trial and
Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology to envision the complex causal relationships between the
identified BT enablers. The findings from the study suggest that, among the identified enablers, traceability was
the most significant reason for BT implementation in ASC followed by auditability, immutability, and prove-
nance. The findings of the study will help the practitioners to design the strategies for BT implementation in
agriculture, creating a real-time data-driven ASC. The results will also help the policymakers in developing
policies for faster implementation of BT ensuring food safety and sustainable ASCs.
1. Introduction suppliers and take initiatives to meet the stringent food safety and
quality regulations. Emerging technologies such as internet of services
The agriculture supply chain (ASC) is like any consumer product (IoS), internet of things (IoT) and cloud computing (CC) are supporting
supply chain that includes the suppliers, leading firms, customers, and the decision making in supply chains leading to performance im-
distribution partners. The primary difference is that either animals or provement (Ahumada & Villalobos, 2009). These technologies are
humans consume the final products, and the raw material is grown in helping the ASC to manage the demand-supply variations, stringent
farms using agricultural practices (Miranda-Ackerman & Azzaro-Pantel, food safety norms and other sustainability requirements (Wang & Yue,
2017). In the recent past, the agriculture sector is receiving prominent 2017; Verdouw, Beulens, Reijers, & van der Vorst, 2015). Blockchain
importance to achieve sustainable growth that is inclusive of best technology (BT) is expected to be a significant contributor to the ASC by
agricultural practices, social well-being of the involved stakeholders bringing substantial improvements in the level of accountability,
and environmental protection (Castro & Swart, 2017; Dentoni & transparency, and traceability by maintaining information power
Peterson, 2011). The ASC is under severe pressure from various con- symmetry across all the supply chain partners (Bronson & Knezevic,
sumer organizations, social and environmental activists, agro-based 2016; Carbonell, 2016). A BT based data management systems in an
companies and policymakers to achieve sustainability (Allaoui, Guo, ASC can act as a significant boost for the sector to manage the land and
Choudhary, & Bloemhof, 2018). Luthra, Mangla, Chan, and Venkatesh use records, purchase details and use of farm equipment, seeds, pesti-
(2018)) identified a low level of industrialization, inefficient supply cides, traceability and financial transactions across the entire ASC
chain management, lack of managerial skills and fragmented informa- (Maru et al., 2018). These benefits will help the ASC to reduce the in-
tion sharing leading to low supply chain visibility as the main problems creasing cases of product adulteration and frauds thereby, improving
of ASC. Naik and Suresh (2018) claim that to have sustainable devel- sustainability. BT can act as the digital layer providing reliable and
opment; the ASC should ensure the involvement of farmers and trustworthy information on the origin and provenance of farm products
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: sachin@nitie.ac.in (S.S. Kamble), agunasekaran@csub.edu (A. Gunasekaran), Rohit.sharma.2017@nitie.ac.in (R. Sharma).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.023
Received 16 November 2018; Received in revised form 19 April 2019; Accepted 24 May 2019
0268-4012/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article as: Sachin S. Kamble, Angappa Gunasekaran and Rohit Sharma, International Journal of Information Management,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2019.05.023
S.S. Kamble, et al. International Journal of Information Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
(Ge et al., 2017). 2.1. Blockchain technology

India is considered as an agrarian powerhouse and is the world’s
second largest fruits and vegetable producer accounting for 10.9 per- “Blockchain technology” (BT) is becoming one of the most pro-
cent and 8.6 percent of the world fruit and vegetable production (FAO mising technologies of the new economy. Also known as, the “dis-
Report, 2017). The Indian ASC face the issue of meeting the demands of tributed ledger technology,” the BT market size is expected to grow to
the evergrowing population, poor infrastructure used for preserving the USD 7,683.7 million by 2022, at a compound annual growth rate of
horticultural crops, and quality issues leading to annual food losses to 79.6% (Singh, 2018). The vast market potential of BT has taken over
the tune of 40 percent (Ritchie, Reay, & Higgins, 2018). The other the business world by a storm, gaining increased attention from both
problems faced by them is the high number of intermediaries leading to researchers and industry practitioners (Kamble et al., 2019). BT is ex-
delayed payments and high transaction lead times (Balaji & Arshinder, pected to transform the traditional ways of performing transactions
2016). Furthermore, the consumers are becoming more concern about leading to its applications in a variety of potential areas (Wang et al.,
the product quality and use of safe agricultural practices, thereby put- 2019). BT employs a distributed (Hofmann, Strewe, & Bosia, 2018;
ting pressure on the ASC’s to adopt responsible sourcing on the agro- Saberi et al., 2018) and decentralized database (Kouhizadeh & Sarkis,
based organizations (Yawar & Kauppi, 2018). The current literature on 2018) which is publicly accessible, ensuring a high level of integrity for
blockchain focuses on the opportunities, benefits, and challenges it all the transactions happening on the blockchain network (Nakamoto,
offers to the existing supply chain, using literature review methodology 2008). BT is a digital database, which can hold any form of information
(Angelis & Ribeiro da Silva, 2019; Saberi, Kouhizadeh, & Sarkis, 2018; such as transactions, records, and events with defined rules for in-
Wang, Han, & Beynon-Davies, 2019; Hughes, Rana, & Dwivedi, 2019; formation updates (Sikorski, Haughton, & Kraft, 2017). The network
Hughes, Dwivedi et al., 2019). continuously grows in the form of blocks, as more transactions (in-
Further, few studies have focused on analyzing the important be- formation and data) are added. As the blocks add-on, the system de-
havioral dimensions that affect the blockchain adoption in the supply velops and these blocks link and form a chain using a hash. In the
chain (Kamble, Gunasekaran, & Arha, 2019; Queiroz & Wamba, 2019; context of a data structure, a blockchain network is an ordered list of
Francisco and Swanson, 2018). The supply chain managers, never- blocks, which contain transactions, smart-contract creation, and in-
theless are not provided with any decision-making framework on how vocations (Nakamoto, 2008). As BT provides a general-purpose pro-
to adopt blockchain or to inform them about the enablers. As BT is an gramming infrastructure, application specific programs that control the
emerging technology and relatively new in the Indian context it is es- transfer of currencies based on predefined functions or smart contracts
sential for the practitioners in the ASC to identify the enablers of the BT can be run on a blockchain network (Ouaddah, Elkalam, & Ouahman,
adoption and understand how they are inter-related with each other 2017). BT eliminates the role of a third party or an intermediary to
and to what extent they can address the above problems. The re- control and overlook the system. Instead, it deploys a transparent
lationship between the enablers will help the ASC practitioners to consensus mechanism which ensures that only valid transactions are
convince the organizations to adopt BT in their supply chains to address executed (Nakamoto, 2008; Bocek & Stiller, 2018). All operations are
the issue of sustainability. Therefore, in the present study, we identified visible to the participants in the network, and therefore, BT prevents
factors that enable the BT adoption in the supply chain based on extant participants’ malicious activities.
literature review and insights received from ASC practitioners. This was
followed by the use of a combined interpretive structural modeling 2.2. The value proposition of Blockchain in supply chains
(ISM) and decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)
methodology to establish hierarchical levels and relationships between Supply chain management is defined by the Council of Supply Chain
the selected enablers. The findings of the study suggest how the ASC Management Professionals as “the planning and management of all
practitioners and policymakers must take important initiatives on en- activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion and all
abling a BT driven ASC in India. The remaining of the paper is orga- logistics management activities. Importantly, it also includes co-
nized as follows: section 2 presents a literature review on BT, ASC and ordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be
identifies the enablers of BT. The research methodology is presented in suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers, and customers”
section 3. Section 4 presents the application of ISM-DEMATEL metho- (CSCMP, 2019). Supply chain management is a promising area for BT
dology in modeling the enablers of BT in the ASC. Section 5 presents the applications (Kamble et al., 2019). BT adoption in the supply chain
discussion on the findings and section 6 presents the conclusions, enhances visibility and transparency by eliminating trust related issues.
managerial implications, and limitations of the study. The critical factors for any logistics and supply chain organizations are
transparency and traceability (Shankar, Gupta, & Pathak, 2018). The
primary challenge of the traditional supply chain is the shortage of an
2. Literature review open and trustworthy information resource across the supply chain
(Wang et al., 2019). Benefits of BT includes the broader participation of
The researchers carried an extant literature review of articles pub- stakeholders, lower transaction costs, reduced lead times resulting in
lished in Web of Science and Scopus to get insights on BT adoption in increased efficiency. Some of the most prominent features of BT are a
ASCs. The primary search keywords included the terms “blockchain consensus mechanism (Nakamoto, 2008), provenance (Kshetri, 2018),
adoption” or “blockchain implementation.” The search generated 45 auditability (Zheng, Xie, Dai, Chen, & Wang, 2017), immutability
research papers. The second set of keywords were focused on selecting (Underwood, 2016), and traceability (Kim & Laskowski, 2018). BT
papers that dealt with blockchain in ASC and included the search terms; applications are becoming popular across healthcare (Kamble,
“blockchain” and “agriculture supply chain” or “food supply chain.” Gunasekaran, Goswami, & Manda, 2018; Yue, Wang, Jin, Li, & Jiang,
The search criteria produced additionally 20 papers. The search was 2016), agriculture (Chen, Irawan, & Shae, 2018; Sharma, Kamble, &
performed in April 2019 without any time restrictions. We also re- Gunasekaran, 2018), finance (Hofmann et al., 2018) and Government
viewed a few industry reports, news articles, and trade magazines from sectors (Ølnes, 2016). BT application operates without the need for
different internet sources to get additional insights on the selected trusted intermediaries ensuring the highest level of cyber-security and
topic. The review of literature is presented into six subsections viz. privacy (Kshetri, 2017). BT is expected to make the new era supply
overview of BT, the value proposition offered by BT, BT adoption in chains more efficient by making the processes more transparent and
logistics and supply chain management, BT in the ASC, the BT enablers reliable, improving the trust related issues in the transactions, which
(BTE) and managerial challenges for BT adoption. are inevitable in the complex supply chains due to the involvement of
multiple partners and presence of finance-related redundancies in
2
Fig. 1. Blockchain technology in agriculture supply chain.
record keeping (Kim and Laskowski, 2018). Ivanov, Dolgui, and situations such as crop diseases and pest infestations, the ASCs are
Sokolov (2019)) claim that compared to a traditional supply chain, prone to high risk and therefore needs active risk mitigation and control
where higher inventories and excess capacity are maintained in an- measures. The other issues faced by the ASCs include higher transaction
ticipation of supply chain disruptions, the BT driven supply chains help settlement time which is a labor-intensive activity (Pingali et al., 2005),
in risk mitigation by efficient management of demand and supply, lack of inclusivity of small and medium level farmers which lowers their
available supply chain resources and reducing inventory costs. economic development and makes them ineffective in catering to the
demand for surplus food supply from an evergrowing population. By
consolidating the links between producers, consumers, farmers, and
2.3. Blockchain adoption in supply chain
markets the ASCs can generate higher incomes (Sanghera, 2018).
The ability of BT in product traceability, authenticity, and per-
While many studies in the literature have focused on highlighting
forming real-time transactions will bring tremendous improvements in
the benefits and value derived by the organizations through blockchain
food traceability which in turn will have a positive impact on food
implementation, very few studies have analyzed the blockchain adop-
quality, safety, and sustainability (Li & Wang, 2018; Tian, 2016). BT
tion behavior at the individual and organizational level. We identified
can reduce risks and increase the efficiency of the ASCs by eliminating
three studies from the literature that analyses the blockchain adoption
intermediaries and ensure transparency and traceability in the ASCs
behavior using survey-based methodologies. These studies are based on
(Yiannas, 2018). The risks and uncertainties can be mitigated by en-
the combination of different technology adoption models that included;
abling trust among market participants. Smart contracts will help in
technology acceptance model, technology readiness index and theory of
providing equal opportunities for inclusive market participation for
planned behavior (Kamble et al., 2019), and unified theory of accep-
smallholders. BT can integrate and manage all processes and transac-
tance and use of technology (Francisco & Swanson, 2018; Queiroz &
tions in ASCs on a real-time basis. For all the transactions processed on
Wamba, 2019). The supply chain practitioners are found to be least
the distributed ledger, transaction details, and product attributes can be
concerned about the lack of control or have any distrust on the potential
added by the users. Product movements throughout the ASC can be
of blockchain because of highly skilled technical employees and ex-
tracked as the product moves from the farmers to the retailers. Fig. 1
perience in supply chain domain (Kamble et al., 2019). The behavioral
presents a schema of a typical blockchain network in ASC.
intention of blockchain adoption is mainly driven by perceived use-
fulness, and therefore sector wise blockchain applications are required
to be developed by the vendors to improve the utility of the blockchain
2.5. Enablers for BT adoption (BTE)
(Kamble et al., 2019). These studies identify that the blockchain
adoption by logistics and supply chain management practitioners is still
Table 1 contains the list of BTEs identified from the literature. The
in its nascent stage and there is a need for conducting more sector-
identified factors represent a summarized and synthesized form of the
specific blockchain adoption studies postulating the relationships be-
key BTE’s that drives the organizations to implement blockchain in
tween the various enablers and barriers of blockchain adoption. The
their supply chains. The discussion on the identified enablers is pre-
outcomes of such studies will help the practitioners to understand
sented below.
better the issues and challenges involved in blockchain adoption and
formulate strategies to overcome them.
2.5.1. Anonymity and privacy (BTE1)
2.4. Blockchain in ASCs Blockchain has a privacy-preserving framework that allows more
information security (Ouaddah et al., 2017; Maesa, Mori, & Ricci, 2017;
The ASC possess numerous efficiency and transparency problems Zyskind & Nathan, 2015). Blockchain deploys a cryptographic private
which cause constant threats to farmers and consumers. Taylor and key which ensures data privacy and anonymity. BT uses ring signatures
Fearne (2009) report that there is a constant disconnect between agri- for providing anonymity of the users in the network. A ring signature is
cultural production and consumer demand because of numerous in- encryption that verifies that the signer, i.e., one of the stakeholders
termediaries present between producers and consumers. There is also a holds a private key that corresponds to a unique set of public keys,
lack of transparency due to data discrepancies and inconsistencies, lack without revealing which one (Nakamoto, 2008). BT ensures data se-
of interoperability, and lack of information on produce traceability curity without compromising on the privacy of the stakeholders (Yue
which impacts the ASCs visibility (Wang & Yue, 2017). The agricultural et al., 2016).
production is dependent on weather and has to deal with difficult
3
Table 1
List of BTE’s.
BTE Details References
Anonymity and privacy (BTE1) BT deploys cryptographic private key which ensures data privacy and anonymity. (Nakamoto, 2008; Ying et al., 2018)
Auditability (BTE2) The blockchain data is error-free and highly visible across the supply chain making it (Atzori, 2015; Hofmann et al., 2018)
auditable, increasing the auditability and efficiency.
Decentralized database (BTE3) The data is not stored on a single server and is distributed across different nodes. (MacDonald et al., 2016; Zheng et al., 2016)
Immutability (BTE4) The transaction data cannot be changed, edited or tampered. (Tran et al., 2017; Kshetri, 2017)
Improved risk management (BTE5) Settlement of trade is possible instantaneously, and the dealing parties no longer must (Gokhale, 2016; Wang et al., 2019)
worry about failure of payments or trade settlement delays.
Provenance (BTE6) Unique digital token assigned for the product at each transaction point in the supply (Wang et al., 2019; Li & Wang, 2018)
chain.
Reduced transaction costs (BTE7) Compared to traditional supply chains the transaction costs are less due to the removal (Iansiti & Lakhani, 2017;
of intermediaries. Hofmann et al., 2018; Ying et al., 2018)
Reduced settlement lead times Less number of intermediaries and no requirement for verification by external agencies (Shrier et al., 2016; Kamble et al., 2019; Ying
(BTE8) reduce the lead time. et al., 2018)
Secured database (BTE9) The data in blockchain data is tamper proof and tough to manipulate. (Ølnes, 2016; Huckle et al., 2016; Farell, 2015;
Chen et al., 2018)
Shared database (BTE10) Data access is provided to the relevant partners. (Gokhale, 2016; Wang et al., 2019)
Smart contracts (BTE11) Electronic contracts with agreed terms and conditions between the parties. Xu et al., 2016; Nakamoto, 2008.
Traceability (BTE12) The provenance of data supports the product traceability providing the details on the (Tian, 2016; Jeppsson & Olsson, 2017;
source of origin of the final product. Abeyratne & Monfared, 2016)
Transparency (BTE13) The data is visible to the concerned parties in real-time and transactions are based on (Abeyratne & Monfared, 2016; Kshetri, 2017)
the consensus mechanism.
2.5.2. Auditability (BTE2) 2016; Wang et al., 2019). The reduced failure risks will further lead to
The blockchain is an auditable, trust-free, tamper-proof, and self- lower margin or collateral requirements releasing the capital for new
regulating system (Atzori, 2015). Facilitating auditability is one of the investment opportunities. Hence, with the blockchain deployment,
most striking features of BT. The provision of a decentralized database decisions on investments and collaterals can be taken quickly instead of
makes the blockchain fault- free and helps in maintaining an audit trail following the traditional long-term processes (Micheler & von der
(Wijaya, Liu, Suwarsono, & Zhang, 2017). All transactions on the Heyde, 2016; Morini, 2016).
Blockchain are visible to all its participants, with the conforming in-
crease in auditability and trust (Fanning & Centers, 2016). Deploying 2.5.6. Provenance (BTE6)
blockchain across the supply chains will improve accountability, by BT promises better supply chain provenance (Kim and Laskowski,
making the processes trustworthy and guarantee data integrity (Wang 2018). Some of the industries derive the value of their goods through
et al., 2019). BT can establish an authoritative record for trade data and provenance. Deploying BT will create a unique fingerprint for each of
information which allows organizations to automatically reconcile in- the products. With this, all products can be traced back to their origins
voices, which increases accountability and efficiency (Hofmann et al., throughout the value chain (Wang et al., 2019; Li and Wang, 2018). For
2018). deploying blockchain in a supply chain, the blockchains are to be ac-
companied by digital tokens. At every stage of the value addition pro-
2.5.3. Decentralized database (BTE3) cess, the stakeholder assigns a digital token to each of the underlying
In a blockchain, the metadata used for communication is scattered assets. Whenever the underlying asset moves from one stakeholder to
throughout the ledger and cannot be collected at one centralized point, the other, the digital token corresponding to that asset is also reassigned
i.e., a blockchain database is distributed. The data is not stored on a in the blockchain. It ensures last mile connectivity as the stakeholders,
single server but, is distributed simultaneously on different computers at any point in time, can track their assets. Secured data provenance is
known as nodes. BT uses an open database which enables a decen- crucial for data accountability (Tosh et al., 2017). Food, music, and art
tralized, distributed ecosystem (MacDonald, Allen, & Potts, 2016; are the major industries where provenance nature of BT can play a
Morabito, 2017; Wright & De Filippi, 2015; Zheng et al., 2016). A de- significant role (Rabah, 2017).
centralized database leads to enhanced trust among the participants in
a blockchain. 2.5.7. Reduced transaction costs (BTE7)
BT usage leads to a reduction in transaction costs (Iansiti & Lakhani,
2.5.4. Immutability (BTE4) 2017). The BT features such as a decentralized database, cryptographic
Immutability refers to the phenomena that a thing is unchangeable signature protection, and reduced need for intermediaries contribute to
over time or is rather unable to be changed. Immutability enables an the reduction in the transaction costs (Kshetri, 2017). BT also supports
audit trail of all the historical operations on the registry to ensure reducing the overhead costs as compared to traditional trading prac-
complete traceability of records (Tran, Xu, Weber, Staples, & Rimba, tices (Sikorski et al., 2017). The smart contract driven trade transac-
2017). The blockchain inherently provides an immutable audit trail tions helps in the development of a multi-supplier base thereby effec-
(Weber et al., 2016) and BTs decentralized nature results in reduced tively reducing the transaction costs (Hofmann et al., 2018).
susceptibility to manipulation and forgery of data in the blockchain
network by cyber-attacks (Kshetri, 2017). 2.5.8. Reduced settlement lead times (BTE8)
BT deployment leads to a reduction in settlement lead-time resulting
2.5.5. Improved risk management (BTE5) in a reduction of the transactional lead times. Introduction of BT will
Majority of the risks in business processes arise due to delay in result in consolidation or removal of unnecessary steps involved in
payments, inefficient asset management practices, and data threats. current post-trade settlement process (Gokhale, 2016). The business
With the provision of a distributed database, the final settlement of processes use the data attributes that are embedded in the transaction
trade is possible instantaneously, and the dealing parties no longer must making the transaction flow conditional on time, improving the busi-
worry about failure of payments or trade settlement delays (Gokhale, ness efficiency by decreasing the transactional lead times (Kamble
4
et al., 2019; Shrier, Wu, & Pentland, 2016; Ying, Jia, & Du, 2018.). outweighing the risks compared with their existing centralized tech-
nologies. We have categorized these challenges into three categories
2.5.9. Secured database (BTE9) namely: organizational, technological and environmental.
BT uses a distributed database. This unique feature of BT makes it
highly secure as it uses asymmetrical cryptography and exchange va- 2.6.1. Organizational challenges
lidation in the form of hash and blocks (referred to as mining). The data
recorded on a block in the ledger is tough to manipulate. The secured • Resistance from successful organizations to alter their existing rev-
database feature presents a strong case for using it in enabling smart enue models (Michelman, 2017).
organizations (Chen et al., 2018; Farell, 2015; Huckle, Bhattacharya, • Resistance from existing supply chain intermediaries and other
White, & Beloff, 2016; Ølnes, 2016; Ying et al., 2018.). partners, as the blockchain aims to remove the intermediaries
(Zhao, Fan, & Yan, 2016).
2.5.10. Shared database (BTE10) • Resistance from existing supply chain partners to share valued in-
The information stored in the ledgers is shared between partici- formation in real-time on a decentralized and shared database.
pants. The participants will have their copy through replication and (Queiroz & Wamba, 2019; Wang et al., 2019).
have restricted access to relevant transactions from the shared system of • The lack of technical competence and awareness of BT (Kamble
records (IBM, 2017). The distributed nature of the blockchain network et al., 2019). Awareness and expertise are required to be developed
helps to ensure that the transactions do not get compromised from on various aspects of BT that includes; application scope, counter-
potentially targeted centralized attacks or accidents (Gokhale, 2016; parties, process, data, technology, people, regulation, performance,
Wang et al., 2019). and security (Angelis & Ribeiro da Silva, 2019).
2.5.11. Smart contracts (BTE11) 2.6.2. Technological challenges

To conduct digital supply chain transactions and document ex-
changes, stakeholders must agree on coming to a consensus. A smart • The concern that BT can still be hacked by a group of miners coming
contract, therefore, comes handy as it contains the agreed terms of together referred to as selfish mining (Zhao et al., 2016).
stakeholders (Xu et al., 2016). Of late, electronic contracts have made a • Huge implementation costs, computing power requirements and
drastic impact on the business processes, especially in the context of the environmental concerns because of high energy requirements.
BT (Scott, Loonam, & Kumar, 2017). Blockchains are secured and apply • The blockchain transactions are immutable. However, this will not
to a wide range of domains (Bocek & Stiller, 2018). An asset or a cur- allow for any corrections in the database, when errors in data entry
rency is transferred into a BT application digitally in the form of a smart are committed (Kamble et al., 2019).
contract. • Achieving an optimal combination of interoperable and compatible
platforms may be a difficult task (Collomb & Sok, 2016; Wang et al.,
2.5.12. Traceability (BTE12) 2019).
BT provides the capability to offer traceability with trusted in- • Issues such as moving from the existing centralized ledger systems
formation, through the process of gathering, sharing, and transferring (ERP) to a decentralized system and data ownership needs a possible
the authentic data in sourcing, processing, warehousing, distribution justification in terms of what significant additional benefits the BT
and sales (Tian, 2016; Jeppsson and Olsson, 2017). Any information will be able to offer (Angelis & Ribeiro da Silva, 2019).
can be traced back to each block of the blockchain via the timestamp
(Sharples & Domingue, 2016). The inherited characteristics of BT such 2.6.3. Environmental challenges
as the provision of a secure shared and a decentralized database en-
hances trust through transparency and traceability for the transaction • Bringing all the supply chain and trading partners together to im-
of goods, data, and financial resources (Abeyratne and Monfared; plement blockchain across the supply chain network is a difficult
2016). task (Kshetri, 2018).
• There is a need to comply with the legal and regulatory framework
2.5.13. Transparency (BTE13) of Government. Many countries have not yet come with the reg-
In BT, the blockchain network generates an identical copy of the ulatory guidelines on the same (Kamble et al., 2019). Since the
network at each node allowing real-time audit and inspection of the contemporary BT architecture can bypass government interference,
data which brings transparency in the network. Transparency in all the revised regulatory and legal restrictions from the government may
network activities and operations brings high visibility to all the sta- restrict the value offered by BT.
keholders in the network thereby reducing the need of a trusted in-
termediary (Abeyratne & Monfared, 2016). BT can help in bringing 3. Research methodology
transparency to supply chains (), building trust and reputation (Kshetri,
2017; Steiner, 2015). BT provides new frontiers in redesigning the The present study uses combined ISM and DEMATEL decision-
network reputation and helps prevent fraudulent activities (Cai & Zhu, making techniques. The basis of the selection and details of the in-
2016). The consensus in the blockchain paves the way for the high level tegrated methodology is discussed in this section.
of authenticity increasing the transparency. Compared to a centralized
supply chain, blockchain is far more efficient and transparent (Kamble 3.1. ISM
et al., 2019).
Developed by Warfield (1974), ISM is an interactive learning pro-
2.6. Managerial challenges for BT adoption cess and is considered as a powerful tool for working with participants
in a group where structured debate helps the participants to reach a
Although, the BT is expected to offer many benefits to the tradi- consensus. ISM assists in structuring and organization a set of different,
tional supply chains there are a few challenges the organizations must directly and indirectly, associated elements into a comprehensive sys-
address. These challenges pose a significant threat to the implementa- tematic model (Sage, 1977). The primary objective of using ISM is to
tion of BT, as implementing such an emerging system from scratch is a access the domain knowledge of subject experts in disintegrating a
grueling and expensive effort. The experts opine that the organizations complex problem into smaller subsystems leading to the construction of
should pursue BT adoption when there is a significant expected benefit a multi-level structural model (Rana et al., 2018). The emerging
5
Table 2
Literature on ISM-MICMAC.
Sl. No. ISM-MICMAC Application Area References
1 Barriers to m-commerce adoption in SME’s. Rana et al. (2019)

3 Information systems project failure analysis Hughes, Dwivedi, Rana, & Simintiras, (2016)
4 Mapping information systems failure factors Hughes, Dwivedi, & Rana (2017)
5 Information systems project success factors Hughes, Rana, & Dwivedi (2019)
6 Driving innovation through big open linked data Dwivedi et al. (2017)
7 The trustworthiness of digital government services Janssen, Rana, Slade, & Dwivedi (2018)
8 Adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies Kamble, Gunasekaran & Sharma (2018)
Table 3 3.2. ISM-DEMATEL

ISM-DEMATEL application areas.
Sl. No. DEMATEL Applications Reference
Binary numbers are used in ISM to represent the contextual re-
lationships between the BTEs (0 for no relationship and 1, if a re-
1 Industry 4.0 applications Rajput and Singh (2018) lationship exists). However, in practice, not all the relationships are
2 e-waste management practices Kumar and Dixit (2018) equal and therefore acts as a significant limitation of the ISM metho-
3 Remanufacturing applications Bhatia and Srivastava (2018)
4 Supplier selection in green SCM Hsu, Kuo, Chen, & Hu (2013)
dology. The relationships may be low, moderate, strong, and very
6 Critical factors of Green SCM Wu and Chang (2015) strong (Bhosale & Kant, 2016). In this study, we use DEMATEL meth-
7 Critical factors for agricultural Bingfu, Zuli, Ming, Zhuojun, odology to overcome the limitations of ISM and obtain more profound
mechanization development & Xiaolian (2008) insights into the inter-relationships of BTEs. The results of the DE-
8 The value created system of science Lin and Tzeng (2009)
MATEL are represented through a causal diagram using diagraph,
(technology) park.
showing the contextual relationships and the strengths of influence
between the variables (Shieh, Wu, & Huang, 2010). The DEMATEL
insights from ISM help in analyzing the inter-relationships and depen- methodology has been used in various studies (see Table 3).
dence structures between the factors used to illustrate the concept. ISM Developed by the Science and Human Affairs Program of the
has been previously used by the researchers to address different pro- Battelle Memorial Institute of Geneva between 1972–1979, the
blems in the information system context (See Table 2). DEMATEL methodology analyzes complex and interrelated problems by
Though the ISM methodology has been used extensively for mod- resolving the cause and effect relationship among the evaluation cri-
eling the structural variables, it has a few limitations. The main teria and establish inter-relationship among factors (Lin and Tzeng,
weakness of ISM is the bias of the person who provides the ratings for 2009; Kumar & Dixit, 2018). The output of the DEMATEL method is an
the relationship between the variables. The person's knowledge and influence relations map (IRM), a graphical representation of inter-
familiarity with the technology and the industry influence the re- dependencies within the selected elements.
lationship among the variables (Dwivedi et al., 2017). Dwivedi et al. The procedure for DEMATEL methodology is summarized as follows
(2017) list the following steps for deploying the ISM methodology. Si- (Shieh et al., 2010).
milar approaches are used in other research studies (Rana, Barnard,
Baabdullah, Rees, & Roderick, 2019; Hughes, Dwivedi, & Rana, 2017; 3.2.1. Development of direct influence matrix (A)
Kamble, Gunasekaran, Goswami et al., 2018; Rana et al., 2018; Kamble, While developing the A, the diagonal elements of the IRM obtained
Gunasekaran, Sharma et al., 2018) in ISM are set to zero while the experts are requested to replace the
relationships (1’s) with 1, 2, or 3 (1= “low influence,” 2 = “medium
i Identification of the variables that influence or has a direct or in- influence,” and 3= “high influence.” In the A, x ij represents the degree
direct impact on the system. These variables may be identified from to which factor i affected the factor j. Independent matrices, one for
the existing literature or by performing exploratory research stu- each expert ( X k = [x ijk ]), where k is the expert is developed and a final
dies. However, the defined variables are required to be validated by average matrix (M = [ aij ]), is computed incorporating the responses of
a group of experts. all the H respondents as follows:
ii The experts are required to establish contextual relationships be- H
tween the variables finalized in the previous step. A = 1/ H x ijk

iii Development of a structural self-interaction matrix (SSIM) based on k=1
the contextual relationships between the pair of variables. The re-

lationships between a pair of variables are denoted by using the 3.2.2. Calculate the normalized initial direct- relation matrix
alphabets V, A, O, and X. In this step, the average DIM (A) is normalized to develop an initial
iv The SSIM is then converted to an initial reachability matrix (IRM). direct- relation matrix (D) as follows;
In this step, the alphabets V, A, O, and X are converted to binary
elements 0 and 1. D = A × S;
v The IRM is then checked for the presence of transitivity. The tran- where S = 1/ max1 i n j = 1 aij .
n
sitivity rule states that if a variable P affects variable Q and variable The values obtained in D range from 0 to 1.
Q affects variable R; then variable P necessarily affects variable Q.
Resolving the transitivity leads to the development of the final 3.2.3. Development of total relation matrix
reachability matrix (FRM). Next, the total relation matrix (T) is developed by using the ex-
vi The partitioned levels obtained in the FRM is used to draw a di- pression T = D (I –D)−1, where I is the identity matrix. The sum of rows
rected graph (DG). The transitivity links are eliminated from the and columns of the total relation matrix is also calculated for computing
DG, and the contextual links obtained in the IRM are re-established. the degree of influence.
vii The variable nodes are then replaced with the statements to convert
the DG into an ISM model. 3.2.4. Calculation of the degree of influence
In the total relation matrix, the sum of any ith row (ri ) indicates both
6
Fig. 2. Framework for research methodology.
direct and indirect effects given by that factor to the other factors. iii Four senior-level managers from agri-business organizations.
Similarly, the sum of columns of any jth column (dj ) indicates both di- iv Two managers from the banking industry.
rect and indirect effects received by that factor from the other factors.
Therefore, the sum of ri + dj indicates the importance of the factor i in The total number of twelve experts satisfied the group size re-
the entire system and the difference ri dj indicates the net- effect that quirements for conducting exploratory studies as suggested by Robbins
factor i contributes to the system. The factor i is interpreted as a net (1994) and Murry and Hammons (1995). Total of fifteen BT enablers
cause for positive values of (ri dj ) and receiver or result when the was identified from the literature and discussed with the group of ex-
difference (ri dj ) is negative. perts for validation. The validation resulted in the final selection of
thirteen BTE’s for the study. The operational process used to identify
3.2.5. Digraph plot these enablers and their description are earlier discussed in Section 2.
In the final step of the DEMATEL, the digraph is plotted using the
(ri + dj ) and (ri dj ) values obtained in the previous step. In order to 4.1.2. Contextual relationships based on ISM hierarchical levels
filter the significant effects, a threshold values is used. For analyzing the BTE’s in Indian ASC, we use a “leads to” type of
The framework adopted for research methodology is presented in contextual relationship structure, which means that one BTE “leads to”
Fig. 2. another BTE.
4. Application of integrated ISM- DEMATEL methodology for 4.1.2.1. SSIM development. The SSIM is developed by establishing the
analyzing blockchain enablers in ASC contextual relationship between the selected pairs of thirteen BTE’s.
The same group experts used to validate the BTE’s were used for
In this section, we demonstrate the use of ISM and DEMATEL developing the SSIM. As mentioned earlier the following four symbols
methodology in the context of identifying the BTE’s in ASC and estab- (V, A, X, and O) were used to define the contextual relationships:
lishing the relationships between the identified BTE’s. V→ BTEi will lead to the achievement of BTEj
A→ BTEj will lead to the achievement of BTEi
4.1. ISM methodology X→ BTEi and BTEj are correlated and hence help to achieve each
other.
4.1.1. BT enablers for ASC O→ There exists no relationship between BTEi and BTEj and are
The BTE for ASC were identified through an extant literature survey independent of each other.
and validation from a group of experts. The team of experts consisted of The SSIM presented in Table 4 is interpreted as follows;
twelve members with the following composition;
1 The enabler “Secure database technology” (BTE9) leads to the
i Four academicians: one professor from the supply chain, one pro- achievement of “Product traceability” (BTE12). Thus, “V” is used to
fessor from computer science, one professor from information denote the relationship between BTE1 and BTE4.
technology and one professor from agricultural sciences. 2 The enabler “Smart contracts” (BTE11) is achieved with the support
ii Two system integrators with the computer science and engineering of “Reduced settlement lead time” (BTE8). Thus, “A” is used to
background having expertise in the blockchain area. denote the relationship between BTE11 and BTE8.
7
Table 4
SSIM Matrix.
BTE’s BTE 13 BTE 12 BTE 11 BTE 10 BTE 9 BTE 8 BTE 7 BTE 6 BTE 5 BTE 4 BTE 3 BTE2 BTE1
BTE1 V V A A A X X V V V A V
BTE2 A V A A A A A X A X A
BTE3 V V V X X V V V V V
BTE4 A V A A A A A X A
BTE5 A V A A A A A V
BTE6 A V A A A A A
BTE7 V V A A A X
BTE8 V V A A A
BTE9 V V V X
BTE10 V V V
BTE11 V V
BTE12 A
BTE13
3 The enablers “Reduced settlement lead time” (BTE8) and “Reduced 4.1.3. ISM-MICMAC analysis
costs” (BTE7) helps to enable each other. Thus, “X” is used to denote Based on the dependence and the driving power values obtained in
the relationship between BTE7 and BTE8. FRM in Table 7, the BTE’s were classified into four quadrants as shown
4 “O” is used when no relationship exists between the selected BTE’s. in Fig. 3. The description of the BTE’s in these four quadrants are dis-
In our study, “O” was not used signifying that all the selected BTE’s cussed below;
either influenced or got influenced by the other BTE’s.
i Autonomous enablers: The BTEs in this quadrant relates to weak
driving and dependence power. The BTEs classified as the autono-
4.1.2.2. IRM development. The IRM is prepared by the conversion of the mous enablers are disconnected from the system and do not have
V, A, X and O terms in the SSIM into binary elements (0 and 1). The IRM any influence on the adoption of BT in ASC. The findings imply that
is shown in Table 5 and is obtained using the following conversion rule: all the BTEs identified in our study are relevant and play a sig-
nificant role in enabling the adoption of BTEs in ASC.
i If the SSIM entry is “V” for a particular cell (i, j) then in the IRM, the ii Dependent enablers: The BTEs in this quadrant relates to weak
cell (i, j) is replaced by ‘1’ and the corresponding cell (j, i) is entered driving power and strong dependence powers. The dependent en-
with the value ‘0’. ablers are represented in the top upper half of the ISM hierarchical
ii If the SSIM entry is “A” for a particular cell (i, j) then in the IRM, the model. In the present study, six BTEs viz., auditability (BTE2), im-
cell (i, j) is replaced by ‘0,’ and the corresponding cell (j, i) is entered mutability (BTE4), improved risk management (BTE5), provenance
with the value ‘1’. (BTE6), traceability (BTE12), and transparency (BTE13) are identi-
iii If the SSIM entry is “X” for a particular cell (i, j) then in the IRM, the fied as the dependent enablers. The findings imply that all these six
cell (i, j) is replaced by ‘1’ and the corresponding cell (j, i) is entered BTEs are considered as the topmost the reasons an organization may
with the value ‘1’. consider while deciding to adopt BT in an ASC.
iv If the SSIM entry is “O” for a particular cell (i, j) then in the IRM, iii Linkage Enablers: The BTEs in this quadrant relates to strong driving
both the cells (i, j) and (j, i) are replaced by ‘0’. and dependence power and are, therefore considered to be unstable.
In the present study, no BTE was classified in this category in-
4.1.2.3. FRM development. This step involved the removal of dicating a clear demarcation between two broad categories viz.,
transitivity from the IRM in establishing the level partitions. A dependence enablers and driving enablers.
MATLAB code was developed and used by the researchers to remove iv Driving Enablers: The BTEs in this quadrant relates to strong driving
the transitivity. The obtained FRM is presented in Table 6. The power and weak dependence power. In the present study, these
partitioned levels obtained in the FRM is then used to draw a BTEs are represented in the lower half of the ISM hierarchical
directed graph (See Table 7 for the iterations). model. The BTEs viz., anonymity and privacy (BTE1), decentralized
Table 5
Initial Reachability Matrix.
BTE’s BTE 13 BTE 12 BTE 11 BTE 10 BTE 9 BTE 8 BTE 7 BTE 6 BTE 5 BTE 4 BTE 3 BTE2 BTE1
BTE1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
BTE2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BTE3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
BTE4 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BTE5 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BTE6 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BTE7 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
BTE8 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
BTE9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
BTE10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
BTE11 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
BTE12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
BTE13 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
BTE1: Anonymity and Privacy, BTE2: Auditability, BTE3: Decentralized Database Technology, BTE4: Immutability, BTE5: Improved Risk Management; BTE6:
Provenance, BTE7: Reduced Transaction Costs, BTE8: Reduced Settlement Lead Times, BTE9: Secure Database Technology, BTE10: Shared Database, BTE11: Smart
Contracts, BTE12: Traceability, BTE13: Transparency.
8
Table 6
Final Reachability Matrix.
BTE’s BTE 1 BTE 2 BTE 3 BTE 4 BTE 5 BTE 6 BTE 7 BTE 8 BTE 9 BTE 10 BTE 11 BTE 12 BTE13 Driving Power
BTE1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 9
BTE2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
BTE3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13
BTE4 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
BTE5 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
BTE6 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
BTE7 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 9
BTE8 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 9
BTE9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13
BTE10 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 13
BTE11 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 10
BTE12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
BTE13 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6
Dependence Power 7 12 3 12 9 12 7 7 3 3 4 13 8 100
database technology (BTE3), reduced transaction cost (BTE7), re- 5. Discussion on the findings
duced settlement lead time (BTE8), secure database (BTE9), shared
database (BTE10), and smart contracts (BTE11) were identified as Based on the findings presented in Table 11 and Fig. 5, the selected
the driving enablers. The finding implies that these BTEs are the enablers can be prioritized as follows;
primary enablers that the ASCs sees potential starting points for the
BT adoption in ASC. BTE12 > BTE4 > BTE9 > BTE3 > BTE10 > BTE2 > BTE6 >
BTE8 > BTE5 > BTE1 > BTE7 > BTE13 > BTE11. The trace-
The ISM hierarchical model is developed using the inputs from the ability of the agricultural products was found to be the most important
FRM and shown in Fig. 4. enabler (r + d = 1.101). The net cause enablers were; anonymity and
privacy (BTE1), decentralized database (BTE3), reduced transaction
4.2. DEMATEL methodology costs (BTE7), reduced settlement time (BTE8), secured database tech-
nology (BTE9), shared database (BTE10) and smart contracts (BTE1).
4.2.1. Average direct influence matrix Auditability (BTE2), immutability (BTE4), improved risk management
In order to obtain better insights on the causal dependencies and its (BTE5), provenance (BTE6), traceability (BTE12) and transparency
influence on each other, the DEMATEL methodology was deployed. The (BTE13) were identified as the net receivers based on the (r-c) values. It
same group of experts used for ISM was approached to get the inputs for is observed in Table 11 that the BTE12 (traceability) does not affect
DEMATEL. The relationships between the BTEs were obtained in a di- other enablers but gets affected by all the other enablers. Furthermore,
rect influence matrix (A) by using integer scores ranging from 0, 1, 2, the BTE4 (immutability) and BTE2 (auditability) affects BTE2 (trace-
and 3 (0 = “no influence,” 1= “low influence,” 2 = “medium influ- ability) and gets affected by all the other enablers. Our findings iden-
ence,” and 3= “high influence”). The average direct influence matrix is tified the blockchain features such as reduced transaction costs, reduced
shown in Table 8. settlement time, decentralized, secured and shared database as the net
cause enablers, supporting the claims made in the previous studies that
the BTE’s offer supply chain the benefit of disintermediation, enabling
4.2.2. Normalized initial direct- relation matrix
integrity of data (Michelman, 2017), no third-party authentications for
In this step, the average direct influence matrix is normalized to
transactions (Yuan & Wang, 2016) resulting in reduction of transaction
develop an initial direct- relation matrix (D), as shown in Table 9.
costs and settlement lead times (Michelman, 2017). The secured data-
base as a significant enabler supports the claim made in the previous
4.2.3. Total relation matrix studies enabling trust between the supply chain partners driving the
In this step, the total relation matrix (T) was developed by using the interest in blockchain (Collomb & Sok, 2016; Hull et al., 2017;
expression T = D (I –D)−1, where I is the identity matrix. We also Nakasumi, 2017). Our findings also support the claim that execution of
calculate the sum of rows and columns of the total relation matrix. (See smart contracts reduces the number of intermediaries leading to re-
Table 10). duced costs and transaction delays making the supply chain efficient
(Collomb & Sok, 2016; Bocek & Stiller, 2018). These cause enablers
4.2.4. Degree of influence were found to influence the net receivers providing real-time visibility
The sum of ri + dj indicates the importance of the BTE i in the entire of the transactions (transparency) to all the concerned supply chain
system and the difference ri dj indicates the net- effect that BTE i partners, significantly improving the information available for risk
contributes to the system. The BTE i is interpreted as a net cause for management (Engelenburg, Janssen, & Klievink, 2017; Kshetri, 2017).
positive values of (ri dj ) and receiver or result when the difference The information in a blockchain, which is auditable and immutable can
(ri dj ) is negative. The net effect (prominence) values for the BTE’s help the supply chain to overcome the problems of unethical and illegal
are depicted in Table 11. exploitation due to its transparency (Collomb & Sok, 2016; Nakasumi,
2017; Weber et al., 2016). Traceability was identified to be the key
4.2.5. Digraph plot dependent driver for the blockchain adoption in ASC. The previous
The digraph was plotted using the ri + dj and ri dj values obtained research studies indicated that product visibility and traceability is a
in Table 11. In the above digraph, only those effects greater than 0.058 difficult task to be accomplished in the geographically dispersed and
is displayed. The threshold value of 0.58 was computed using the disconnected traditional supply chains. With the consumers paying
average of all the elements in the matrix T (Shieh et al., 2010).
9
S.S. Kamble, et al.
Table 7
Iterations for Level Partitions.
Iteration No. Reachability Antecedent Intersection Level Iteration No. Reachability Antecedent Intersection Level
I 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,12,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 1,5,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8

2,4,6,12 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 1,5,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8,
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10
2,4,6,12 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10
2,4,5,6,12 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 5 1,5,7,8,11 3,9,10,11 11
2,4,6,12 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 ,5,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,13 13
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,12,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 IV 1,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,12,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 1,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 1,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8,
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,11,12 3,9,10,11 11 1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10
12 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13 12 I 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10
10
2,4,5,6,12,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,13 13 1,7,8,11 3,9,10,11 11
II 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 ,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,13 13 IV
2,4,6 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 II V 1,7,8 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 V
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
2,4,6 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 II 1,7,8 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 V
2,4,5,6 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 5 1,7,8 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8, V
2,4,6 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 2,4,6 II 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8, 1,7,8,11 3,9,10,11 11
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 VI 3,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
1,2,4,5,6,7,8,11 3,9,10,11 11 3,9,10,11 3,9,10 3,9,10
2,4,5,6,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11,13 13 11 3,9,10,11 11 VI
III 1,5,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 VII 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10 VII
1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10 VII
5 1,3,5,7,8,9,10,11,13 5 III 3,9,10 3,9,10 3,9,10 VII
International Journal of Information Management xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Fig. 3. MICMAC analysis.
more attention to the authenticity and legitimacy of the products they Shi, 2017; Nakasumi, 2017). Our finding revealed that traceability is
purchase, there is increasing pressure on the ASC’s to provide them with the key driving factor for BT adoption in ASC finds strong support in the
the information on the product’s origin. The previous studies have literature (Tian, 2016; Foerstl, Schleper, & Henke, 2017; Wang et al.,
identified the blockchain to connect the supply chains seamlessly pro- 2019).
viding them with a high level of product traceability and visibility
(Bonino & Vergori, 2017; Wang and Yue, 2017; Xu, Chen, Gao, Lu, &
Fig. 4. ISM digraph.
11
Table 8
Average direct influence matrix.
BTE’s BTE 1 BTE 2 BTE 3 BTE 4 BTE 5 BTE 6 BTE 7 BTE 8 BTE 9 BTE 10 BTE 11 BTE 12 BTE13
BTE1 0.000 2.667 0.000 2.833 1.833 1.833 1.333 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 1.333
BTE2 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 0.000 1.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.667 0.000
BTE3 1.833 2.833 0.000 2.833 1.833 2.833 1.667 1.667 1.333 1.333 1.333 2.833 2.667
BTE4 0.000 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.500 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 0.000
BTE5 0.000 1.833 0.000 1.833 0.000 1.833 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.667 0.000
BTE6 0.000 1.333 0.000 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.833 0.000
BTE7 1.333 1.833 0.000 1.667 1.667 1.833 0.000 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 1.333
BTE8 1.667 1.833 0.000 2.833 2.833 2.500 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 1.833
BTE9 1.667 2.833 1.333 2.667 2.833 2.500 1.667 1.667 0.000 1.333 1.333 2.667 2.500
BTE10 1.333 2.833 1.333 2.833 2.833 2.500 1.833 1.333 1.333 0.000 1.333 2.833 2.667
BTE11 1.333 1.667 0.000 1.667 2.833 1.667 1.333 1.333 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.833 1.833
BTE12 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
BTE13 0.000 1.333 0.000 1.667 1.667 1.500 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.667 0.000
6. Conclusions, implications, contributions, and limitations of the practitioners should pay more attention to the identified causes (BTE1,
study BTE3, BTE7, BTE8, BTE9, BTE10, and BTE11) rather than the receivers
(BTE2, BTE4, BTE5, BTE6, BTE12, and BTE13). The (r + c) and (r-c)
BT is in its nascent stage, and there are numerous challenges- value implies that a decentralized database (BTE3) which is sharable
technical, regulatory, infrastructural, and institutional which BT needs (BTE10) and secured (BTE9) are the critical enablers of the BT in ASC.
to overcome before reaching its maturity stage. The other challenges These enablers than helps the ASCs in achieving reduced settlement
include enormous computing power and high bandwidth internet lead times (BTE8) with reduced transaction costs (BTE7) with the help
connection, which requires enormous efforts from implementing orga- of smart contracts (BTE11) that eventually will result in achievement of
nizations to acquire them in a short time (Min, 2019). BT holds tre- a blockchain environment which is auditable (BTE2), immutable
mendous potential in leveraging ASC operations if the enablers to its (BTE4), provides provenance (BTE6), improves risk management
adoption are reinforced with favorable strategies and policies. The (BTE5), transparent (BTE13) and traceable (BTE12). The findings of the
enablers of BT in ASC were identified from the literature, validated by study imply that the ASC pursues substantial benefits from the block-
the experts before using the ISM and DEMATEL methodology to es- chain technology and therefore, the practitioners are required to ac-
tablish the dependency relationships between them. In this section, we quire capabilities required to use the technology. The practitioners will
discuss the implications for managers and policymakers and highlight be required to overcome the challenges of taking their stakeholders
the limitations of the study. along with and includes overcoming the fear of losing revenue models
(Michelman, 2017), banks reluctance to support blockchain enabled
6.1. Managerial implications transactions (Zhao et al., 2016), resistance from intermediaries because
of the fear of being removed and supply chain partners aversion from
The findings of this study offer meaningful insights to practitioners sharing information (Fawcett, Osterhaus, Magnan, Brau, & McCarter,
in the agribusiness organizations, consultants and blockchain system 2007; Kembro & Näslund, 2014). The findings of the study imply that
integrators while implementing BT in the ASCs. The knowledge of de- the practitioners are highly inclined to have a good traceability system
pendent and the driving enablers identified from the ISM will be highly so that their ASC produces safe and high-quality products, thereby re-
useful for the practitioners to take care of the implementation chal- sulting in a good brand image and trust. The food falsification has be-
lenges of BT in ASC. In this study, driving enablers define the perfor- come a significant issue for all the stakeholders involved in an ASC that
mance outcome of BT. DEMATEL technique uncovered the prominence- includes the producers, researchers, governments, and consumers. The
causal relationships amongst the BT enablers, by categorizing the BTEs existing practices of food labeling systems fall short of providing the
in cause and effect groups. This will enable the practitioners to focus on customers the confidence of buying authentic, safe and quality product.
the causal effects of the enablers in BT adoption and will guide them for The findings identified the increasing importance of tracking and au-
faster implementation of BT in ASCs.The findings suggest that the thenticating the food supply chain to understand provenance and need
Table 9
Normalized initial direct relation matrix.
Enablers BTE 1 BTE 2 BTE 3 BTE 4 BTE 5 BTE 6 BTE 7 BTE 8 BTE 9 BTE 10 BTE 11 BTE 12 BTE13
BTE1 0.000 0.107 0.000 0.113 0.073 0.073 0.053 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.053
BTE2 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.000 0.040 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.107 0.000
BTE3 0.073 0.113 0.000 0.113 0.073 0.113 0.067 0.067 0.053 0.053 0.053 0.113 0.107
BTE4 0.000 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.060 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.000
BTE5 0.000 0.073 0.000 0.073 0.000 0.073 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.107 0.000
BTE6 0.000 0.053 0.000 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.073 0.000
BTE7 0.053 0.073 0.000 0.067 0.067 0.073 0.000 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.053
BTE8 0.067 0.073 0.000 0.113 0.113 0.100 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.073
BTE9 0.067 0.113 0.053 0.107 0.113 0.100 0.067 0.067 0.000 0.053 0.053 0.107 0.100
BTE10 0.053 0.113 0.053 0.113 0.113 0.100 0.073 0.053 0.053 0.000 0.053 0.113 0.107
BTE11 0.053 0.067 0.000 0.067 0.113 0.067 0.053 0.053 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.113 0.073
BTE12 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
BTE13 0.000 0.053 0.000 0.067 0.067 0.060 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.107 0.000
12
Table 10
Total relation matrix.
BTE’s BTE 1 BTE 2 BTE 3 BTE 4 BTE 5 BTE 6 BTE 7 BTE 8 BTE 9 BTE 10 BTE 11 BTE 12 BTE13 Row total
BTE1 0.007 0.140 0.000 0.156 0.088 0.109 0.057 0.057 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.183 0.061 0.857
BTE2 0.000 0.009 0.000 0.117 0.000 0.047 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.124 0.000 0.297
BTE3 0.094 0.191 0.006 0.207 0.125 0.189 0.088 0.087 0.057 0.057 0.060 0.250 0.139 1.550
BTE4 0.000 0.057 0.000 0.010 0.000 0.063 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.125 0.000 0.255
BTE5 0.000 0.082 0.000 0.087 0.000 0.082 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.131 0.000 0.383
BTE6 0.000 0.057 0.000 0.060 0.000 0.006 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.087 0.000 0.209
BTE7 0.057 0.105 0.000 0.107 0.082 0.104 0.006 0.057 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.173 0.061 0.752
BTE8 0.070 0.115 0.000 0.161 0.128 0.139 0.057 0.007 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.192 0.081 0.950
BTE9 0.088 0.192 0.057 0.202 0.162 0.178 0.087 0.086 0.006 0.057 0.060 0.244 0.133 1.552
BTE10 0.075 0.190 0.057 0.205 0.160 0.176 0.092 0.073 0.057 0.006 0.060 0.249 0.138 1.538
BTE11 0.061 0.108 0.000 0.118 0.134 0.108 0.060 0.060 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.190 0.084 0.922
BTE12 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
BTE13 0.000 0.067 0.000 0.083 0.067 0.073 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.136 0.000 0.424
Column Total 0.452 1.313 0.12 1.513 0.946 1.274 0.447 0.427 0.12 0.12 0.18 2.084 0.697 9.693
Table 11 agriculture produce, food processing, storage, food distribution and

Prominence causal values. retailing enabled by a BT platform. The practitioners should aim to
BTE’s dj ri ri + dj ri dj
develop strong technical partnerships with leading BT service providers
and system integrators to build traceability capability for the organi-
BTE1 0.452 0.857 1.309 0.405 zations. The findings reveal that to achieve traceability; there is a re-
BTE2 1.313 0.297 1.610 −1.016 quirement of a robust technology platform that is secured, sharable,
BTE3 0.119 1.550 1.669 1.431
enabled by smart contracts and decentralized. Such partnerships will be
BTE4 1.514 0.255 1.769 −1.259
BTE5 0.947 0.383 1.330 −0.564
able to develop a world-class traceability capability. The practitioners
BTE6 1.273 0.209 1.482 −1.064 will be required to adopt lean supply chain principles to support in-
BTE7 0.448 0.752 1.200 0.304 formation management during a digital product lifecycle (Vazquez-
BTE8 0.426 0.950 1.376 0.524 Martinez, Gonzalez-Compean, Sosa-Sosa, Morales-Sandoval, & Perez,
BTE9 0.119 1.552 1.671 1.433
2018).
BTE10 0.119 1.538 1.657 1.419
BTE11 0.179 0.922 1.101 0.743 Further to achieve traceability at the global scale, the ASC should
BTE12 2.084 0.000 2.084 −2.084 ensure that the BT deployed at their organizational level has mapped all
BTE13 0.696 0.424 1.120 −0.272 the critical transactions as per the existing international standards and
are validated. The practitioners should aim at capturing all the relevant
BTE1: Anonymity and Privacy, BTE2: Auditability, BTE3: Decentralized
information about the entire cycle of agricultural events onto the
Database Technology, BTE4: Immutability, BTE5: Improved Risk Management;
blockchain to enable the transparent and trusted source of information
BTE6: Provenance, BTE7: Reduced Transaction Costs, BTE8: Reduced
Settlement Lead Times, BTE9: Secure Database Technology, BTE10: Shared for the farmers. This will support the farmers and all the other stake-
Database, BTE11: Smart Contracts, BTE12: Traceability, BTE13: Transparency. holders to have data related to the seed quality, soil moisture, climate,
payments, demand and sale price, etc. on one single platform. With BT,
for a high level of traceability (Aung & Chang, 2014; Galvez, Mejuto, & the practitioners will be able to achieve a direct link between the food
Simal-Gandara, 2018). The findings imply the acceptance of BT as an producers and the final consumers. The BT initiatives will help to em-
innovative tool to ensure an efficient ASC by the practitioners. The power the small farmers to organize themselves, eliminating the re-
practitioners agree that their ASC can realize traceability with trusted quirement of intermediaries.
information sources by collecting authentic real-time data of Further, the enablers identified in this study provides an opportu-
nity for the stakeholders to quantify, monitor, and control the risks in
Fig. 5. Prominence causal diagram.
13
the ASCs, relieving the rural distress and social sustainability in de- several ways. First, this research has compiled all relevant studies on
veloping countries like India. For this to happen, the practitioners blockchain adoption, reviewed and synthesized the literature to extract
should include and integrate the technical benefits to be achieved from enablers of blockchain adoption in ASC context. Second, this is the first
BT with a social perspective. The BT enabled ASC should provide op- research of its type that has explored the enablers of BT adoption and
portunities to its supply chain partners with appropriate incentives to derived its framework using a combined ISM and DEMATEL metho-
capture complete, and reliable data, which is a requirement for dology for the ASCs in the context of India. Third, the driving and de-
achieving traceability of the farm produce. pendence powers of the BTEs using the MICMAC diagram and the
magnitude of the relationships using the DEMATEL is expected to help
6.2. Implications for policymakers the practitioners and researchers to clearly understand and categorize
the BTEs as independent, mediating or dependent variable. Finally, the
For the policymakers, implementation of BT in ASC will ease the developed framework using ISM and DEMATEL will help the re-
regulatory and certification norms as the agricultural products can be searchers to select the relevant variables and develop new research
traced along with each phase. This will reduce fraudulent activities in models.
the ASCs and result in accountability of the processes. For ensuring
tamper-proof transactions, appropriate origin labeling, RFID tags, safe 6.4. Limitations and future directions
packing, and a secure network of integrated intermediaries needs to be
developed. Traceability details will boost food quality, safety and help The study identified thirteen enablers for implementing blockchain
in maintaining quality control throughout the ASC. Transparency in technology in agriculture supply chains. The enablers were identified
ASC will ensure that food quality compliance is met and will lead to from existing literature and validated by experts from the field of agro-
improved product sustainability standards. BT will help facilitate in- based supply chain and technology. The selected experts were from
ternational trade by meeting the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary India, and they might have been missed on a few blockchain technology
standards (SPS). As produce data about quality, safety, and sustain- enablers, that would have been significant in another countries context.
ability would be available on the blockchain network, cases of any food Therefore, it is recommended to conduct similar studies on enabling
related contamination and safety issue can be quickly traced. BT will blockchain technology in other countries and explore new enablers that
help in determining the origins of the contaminated product and may have an impact on the blockchain technology adoption. The out-
thereby ensuring that faulty produced is removed from the warehouse comes of such studies should be compared with the results obtained in
thereby minimizing health and financial losses. The existing trade fi- this study and used for refining the interdependencies between the
nance methods are complicated, time-consuming, inefficient, and in- enablers. It would be interesting to conduct similar studies in developed
volve much paperwork for managing transactions. This hurts businesses economies as the agricultural practices in these countries are techno-
and hampers the cash-flow and working capital requirements. The logically advanced, with few countries already in the stage of im-
study identified BT to reduce the transaction cost times, settlement lead plementing blockchain technologies in agriculture supply chains.
times, risks for stakeholders, and efficient transactions processes. BT Further, the ISM-DEMATEL methodology used subjective judgments
will ensure real-time approvals and payments in trade finance. from academicians, practitioners and system integrators to establish the
Transparency in transactions will be maintained as all information interdependencies between the selected blockchain enablers. Even
would be available and accessible to all stakeholders across the block- though the researchers took enough care, the personal biases of the
chain network. Implementing BT will bring in greater auditability and chosen experts may have influenced the outcomes of the study. Future
accountability in the transaction processes. studies may be conducted on validating the cause-effect relationships
Financial services such as agriculture value chain credit and in- obtained in this study using empirical research designs based on survey
surance services also play a crucial role in reducing the stakeholders’ methodology. We recommend the use of Structural Equation Modeling
risk. BT can help in financial inclusion of small land holding farmers by (SEM) and other multicriteria decision-making tools for this purpose.
enhancing the efficiency of the ASCs. Smart contract enabled services
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Information Management

Modeling the blockchain enabled traceability in agriculture supply chain

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

(Ge et al., 2017). 2.1. Blockchain technology

Fig. 1. Blockchain technology in agriculture supply chain.

2.5.11. Smart contracts (BTE11) 2.6.2. Technological challenges

1 Barriers to m-commerce adoption in SME’s. Rana et al. (2019)

Table 3 3.2. ISM-DEMATEL

tween the variables finalized in the previous step. A = 1/ H x ijk

the contextual relationships between the pair of variables. The re-

Fig. 2. Framework for research methodology.

I 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,12,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8 1,5,7,8,13 1,3,7,8,9,10,11 1,7,8

Fig. 3. MICMAC analysis.

Fig. 4. ISM digraph.

Table 11 agriculture produce, food processing, storage, food distribution and

Fig. 5. Prominence causal diagram.

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