Blockchain’s Role in Enhancing Quality and Safety and Promoting Sustainability in the Food and Beverage Industry

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to assess the potential roles of blockchain technology in enhancing quality, safety, and sustainability throughout the production and distribution of food and beverage products. To achieve this, a multiple case study approach has been selected as the primary research methodology. This article underscores the transformative impact of blockchain implementation on inter-organizational transactions, reducing uncertainty among supply chain participants and fostering more equitable interdependence among partners in the value chain. These developments have the potential to bolster quality, safety, and sustainability within the food and beverage industry. The article also explores strategies for enhancing blockchain’s influence on interfirm governance structures within the food and beverage sector. It delves into the possibilities of broadening participation by increasing the number and variety of participants in blockchain networks. It investigates how the synergy between blockchain technology and other emerging technologies can further optimize their impact on reducing interfirm governance structures. Also addressed in the paper is the potential for blockchain-based solutions to enhance distributive fairness within the food and beverage industry, offering marginalized groups, such as small-holder farmers, greater opportunities for integration into the global economy. Special emphasis is placed on blockchain’s capacity to enhance interfirm governance in this industry by reducing uncertainty among supply chain participants and creating more symmetrical dependencies among them. The article also posits that by fostering entrepreneurial prospects for marginalized communities and promoting distributive fairness, blockchain technology can contribute to socially responsible actions. Overall, this study extends theories and concepts from information and communications technologies’ (ICTs) effects on agency, boundaries, and uncertainty in the context of organizational and inter-organizational dynamics.