Indian MSME’s Sustainable Adoption of Blockchain Technology for Supply Chain Management: A Socio-Technical Perspective

Abstract

This article studies the adoption of blockchain technology in Indian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the context of innovations in supply chain management (SCM) using blockchain technology. Besides finance, SCM is one of the main areas where disruptive innovations based on blockchain technology are going to be deployed. Blockchain technology’s unique proposition lies in the attributes of trust, transparency, traceability, immutability, and decentralization. MSME’s form the backbone of the Indian economy. This article provides a socio-technical factors-based analysis of the adoption of blockchain technology in Indian MSME, particularly in a SCM context. Sustainability is an important variable that is expected to moderate the relationship between socio-technical factors and large-scale adoption. The relationships are tested via a survey of professionals in MSMEs in India who are both familiar with blockchain technology and sustainable SCM. This study shall offer a deeper understanding of the application of socio-technical systems theory for the adoption of blockchain technologies by MSMEs in India.