The value of blockchain technology in supply chains with capital constraints: from the perspective of demand volatility

Abstract

AbstractBlockchain technology (BCT) has the potential to revolutionize the supply chain financing (SCF) system and mitigate the detrimental effects of demand volatility on SCF. As one of the first to examine the effects of BCT implementation in SCF from the perspective of demand volatility, we focus on the impacts of BCT on equilibrium and whether the retailer has the incentive to adopt BCT. We perform a comparative analysis of the Stackelberg game involving three parties under scenarios with and without BCT adoption. We find that when the demand volatility reduction coefficient is sufficiently large, BCT can facilitate a reduction of the ordering quantity while still sustaining the same service level, thus avoiding excessive inventory, and reducing the associated risk of bankruptcy. Additionally, the decreased bankruptcy risk enabled the bank to reduce interest rates. The adoption of BCT can improve the profit of the retailer when the adoption cost of BCT is sufficiently low. Our findings provide management insights into when the small and medium‐sized enterprises should adopt BCT and the interactive decision‐making of all parties in the SCF business after BCT adoption.