Blockchain Technology Adoption for Supply Chain Management in Austria

Abstract

This master’s thesis presents a comprehensive study of blockchain technology adoption for supply chain management in Austria. The thesis includes three literature reviews: one on blockchain technology, another on its application tosupply chain management, and a third on blockchain adoption studies and theories.Based on the findings from the literature reviews, a new approach for studying blockchain adoption was developed. Our adoption framework is based on aprocessual approach that includes Neo-Institutional Theory and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. It was tested in a preliminary study consistsing of interviews with Austrian organizational managers.The development of this new framework was necessary due to the structure ofthe Austrian economy, which consists of a majority of small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs). As discovered during the literature review, existing literature on blockchain technology adoption for supply chain management does not adequately address the role of SMEs in this process. The main idea of our frameworkis to focus on the inter-organizational environment and use the supply chain asthe unit of analysis rather than the individual company, which allows for a better evaluation of the situation and expectations of organizations about the adoptionof blockchain technology for supply chain management.The findings of the study showed the importance of taking the structure of the supply chain into account when studying blockchain adoption in this context and therefore indicate the validity of the developed framework. Furthermore, the findings provide valuable insights into the current situation of the adoption process of blockchain technology for supply chain management in Austrian organizations.In addition, the findings suggest that future blockchain technology adoption studies for supply chain management should be separated based on different adoption scenarios and differentiate between developing and participating companies inthe blockchain solution. This approach will provide a more useful understanding of the factors that influence the adoption of blockchain technology in the supplychain management field. Finally, the results of this thesis indicate that, atthe current moment, it should be of high importance for Austrian policymakers to support those companies that might be facing a mandatory adoption of blockchain technology for supply chain management, demanded by other participants in their supply chain.