Abstract
In recent times, organizations are increasingly adopting blockchain technology in their supply chains due to various advantages such as cost optimization, effective and verified record-keeping, transparency, and route tracking. This paper aims to examine the factors influencing the intention of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India to adopt blockchain technology in their supply chains. A questionnaire-based survey was used to collect data from 216 SMEs in the northern states of India. The study has considered an integrated technology adoption framework consisting of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE). Using this integrated TAM-TOE-DOI framework, the study has proposed eleven hypotheses related to factors of blockchain technology adoption. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) have been used to test the hypotheses. The results show that relative advantage, technology compatibility, technology readiness, top management support, perceived usefulness, and vendor support have a positive influence on the intention of Indian SMEs to adopt blockchain technology in their supply chains. The complexity of technology and cost concerns act as inhibitors to the technology adoption by SMEs. Furthermore, the three factors, namely, security concerns, perceived ease of use, and regulatory support, do not influence the intention to adopt the technology. The study contributes to filling a significant gap in the academic literature since only a few studies have endeavored to ascertain the technology adoption factors by supply chains of SMEs in a developing country like India. The study has also proposed a novel integrated technology adoption framework that can be employed by future studies. The findings are expected to enable SMEs to understand important factors to be considered for adopting blockchain technology in their supply chains. Furthermore, the study may benefit the blockchain technology developers and suppliers as they can offer customized solutions based on the findings.
Highlights
In today’s digital society, many next-generation communication technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of ings, and cloud computing, have been introduced to offer unlimited competencies for various applications and contexts [1]
Blockchain technology has been embraced by many supply chain management systems in recent times [6]. is technology works in a distributed network with each transaction being validated and recorded by consensus of the nodes in the chain [7]. e technology enables verifiable and immutable records along with data transparency and route tracking
To examine the determinants of blockchain adoption in supply chains of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the present study considers Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), TOE framework, and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory to propose an integrated TAM-TOE-DOI framework
Summary
In today’s digital society, many next-generation communication technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of ings, and cloud computing, have been introduced to offer unlimited competencies for various applications and contexts [1]. A limited number of studies ascertained the technology adoption by supply chains of SMEs in a developing country like India [8, 11]. E existing studies have used various theoretical models and constructs to ascertain the determinants of blockchain technology adoption by supply chains of the organizations [8, 9, 12, 13]. Us, there is a need to use a comprehensive model to include the various available constructs proposed by the existing theoretical models and relevant to blockchain technology adoption by supply chains of SMEs. One of the major limitations as pointed out by most of these studies has been the use of only a few antecedents to assess the determinants of the technology. Ereafter, the conclusions, the implications of the study, and future research directions are presented
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
