Consumers' Intention to Adopt Blockchain Food Traceability Technology towards Organic Food Products.

Xin Lin,Athapol Ruangkanjanases,Tung-Hsiang Chou,Shu-Chen Chang,Shih-Chih Chen

doi:10.3390/ijerph18030912

Abstract

Establishing a blockchain food traceability system (BFTS) is increasingly important and urgent to resolve the contradiction between consumers’ intention regarding safe food selections and the spread of polluted foods. Using the advantages of blockchain, such as immutability, decentralization, openness, and anonymity, we can build trusted food traceability systems based on these important characteristics. With reliable information, traceability from production to sales can effectively improve food safety. In this research, multiple models, namely, the information success model (ISS) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) are formed into a conceptual integrated framework to study the intentions’ influenced factors of BFTS technology for Chinese consumers to help ensure food safety and the quality of Chinese organic food products. A face-to-face questionnaire survey with 300 valid responses was analyzed by Partial Least Square from the Chinese consumers focusing on the organic food products. This study found that the attitude and perceived behavioral control qualities significantly and positively affect the usage intention in adopting BFTS, while the subjective norms are positively but not significantly correlation with the usage intention in using BFTS. The above results will inform suggestions for productors and academics along with implications to promote BFTS’ usage intention.

Highlights

IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
This study shows that there are a number of incentives or drivers associated with food safety issues; quality systems; perceived behavior control; cost reduction; openness; subjective norms; immutability; competitive advantage [65,66]
The results confirm that trust significantly influence the willingness of food consumers to use blockchain food traceability system (BFTS), and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model and information success model (ISS) model play a vital role in the cultivation of trust cognition, and customers’ shopping intentions will be stimulated

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. During the last couple of decades, many recurrent food safety issues have troubled people all over the world. According to the statistics released from the World Health. Organization (WHO) on 30 April 2020, an estimated 600 million people—almost 10% of the people worldwide—become ill from eating unclean food which directly kills 420 thousand and indirectly costs 33 million deaths each year. The annual loss of productivity and health care costs due to unsafe food amounts to $110 billion [1]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion