Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study current practices in adopting blockchain technology amongst export companies in West Sweden and to capture their CEOs’ knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains. Design/methodology/approach Factors enabling or hindering the adoption of blockchains were identified from a comprehensive literature review and a survey of 72 chief executive officers (CEOs) of export-oriented firms in West Sweden, all with turnovers exceeding €2m, regarding their knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchains. Findings Blockchain technology is not currently perceived to provide benefits that would outweigh the costs of introducing it into West Sweden’s export firms. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that such technology, though currently too immature to meet today’s industrial requirements, could experience more widespread use if certain key factors (i.e. lower cost, traceability, improved security or trustworthiness and new blockchain-enabled business models) are prioritised. Research limitations/implications Answered by 72 CEOs, the survey achieved a response rate of 6%, meaning that the findings are only exploratory. Even so, they offer new insights into CEOs’ attitudes towards blockchain technology. Practical implications The CEOs reported comparatively limited knowledge of and experience with implementing blockchains, the lack of which has hampered their large-scale implementation in multi-actor supply chains. Social implications Negative sentiment amongst CEOs towards blockchain technology may lower on-the-job satisfaction amongst tech personnel aspiring to develop and implement blockchain applications in their firms. Originality/value Knowledge of and attitudes towards blockchain technology amongst top-level managers, as well as about factors enabling or hindering its adoption, guide managers in crafting strategies for implementing blockchains in their organisations and maximising the benefits therein. Unlike past studies focussing on technological aspects or views of experts and middle-management, the study was designed to capture the views of CEOs.
Highlights
Blockchain technology (BCT) supports transparency, security and flexibility in informationsharing amongst multiple actors in various supply chains (Francisco and Swanson, 2018)
We addressed that question by conducting a survey reflecting the four abovementioned areas related to the organisational adoption of BCT identified in the literature:
They admitted that their general level of understanding about BCT was quite low, very few companies had any projects regarding BCT and the understanding of how BCT could be used in their own organisations was low (Table 5)
Summary
Blockchain technology (BCT) supports transparency, security and flexibility in informationsharing amongst multiple actors in various supply chains (Francisco and Swanson, 2018). Because the complexity of managing SCs intensifies as they expand and add actors, international SCs face particular pressure from the added complexity of different legal requirements, longer transport distances and diverse business cultures, amongst other factors. Such trends can strain access to high- Understanding quality data, which enables stakeholders in SCs to make more informed, proactive decisions that improve the performance of their SCs, as literature addressing SCM has firmly established (Christopher, 2011). SCs today, especially long ones, often lack of blockchain technology visibility and transparency, which forces actors therein to make decisions based on limited, narrow data, usually at the expense of the SC’s efficiency (Heutger and Kückelhaus, 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
