Blockchain technology for supply chain management : a holistic approach for adoption, implication, and challenges

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Blockchain is a technology that helps the organization uplift firm performance by improving supply chain (SC) integration, agility, and security through real-time information sharing, end-to-end visibility, transparency, data management, immutability, auditability, irrevocable information, and cyber-security platforms. The oil and gas (O&G) sectors are negatable to researchers, and there are limited studies on O&G supply chain management (SCM). Additionally, there is no empirical evidence that suggests implementation of blockchain for O&G as a solution for potential problems. This study has made an initial effort towards proposing a framework that shows the problems and challenges for the oil and gas supply chain under its segments (upstream, midstream, and downstream) and provides the interlink among blockchain properties for SCM problems. Furthermore, this study analyzes the impact of SC integration, SC flexibility, and financial security on firm performance in a blockchain environment and understands the robustness capabilities as a mediator between SC parameters and firm performance. SC managers were selected for survey questionnaires from the Pakistan Oil and Gas industries. The perception of SC managers was analyzed, and the result revealed that the SC manager believes that the blockchain enables SC to increase firm performance because blockchain technology is reflected as high-tech to support the firm process, responses, methods, and its help to eliminate bottlenecks, avoid uncertainties, and improve decision making, which leads to improved firm performance and robustness capabilities. This study guides managers about the potential problems of existing SC and how blockchain solves SC problems more effectively.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

블록체인은 실시간 정보 공유, 엔드투엔드 가시성, 투명성, 데이터 관리, 불변성, 감사 가능성, 취소 불가능한 정보, 사이버 보안 플랫폼 등을 통해 공급망 (SC) 통합, 민첩성, 보안을 개선해 조직의 성과 상승을 돕는 기술이다. 하지만 기존의 연구자들은 석유 및 가스 (O&G) 분야에 블록체인 기술을 적용하는 것에 대해 부정적이었으며 O&G 공급망 관리 (SCM)에서의 제한된 연구만이 수행되었고, 블록체인 기술이 O&G에서 발생하는 문제들을 해결할 수 있다는 실험적인 연구는 수행된 적이 없다.
본 연구는 O&G 공급망의 세그먼트 (업스트림, 미드스트림 및 다운스트림)에 따른 문제점들을 보여주고 SCM 문제에 대한 블록체인 속성 간의 상호 연계를 제공하는 프레임워크를 제안하기 위해 초기 노력을 기울였다. 또한 본 연구는 블록체인 기술이 적용된 환경에서 SC 통합, SC 유연성 및 재무 보안이 기업 성과에 미치는 영향을 분석하고 SC 매개변수와 조직 성과 사이의 매개자로서 갖는 강건성을 설명한다.
본 연구의 유용성을 입증하기 위해 파키스탄 O&G산업의 SC 관리자들을 선정하여 인터뷰를 수행하였다. SC 관리자들의 응답을 통해 블록체인 기술이 SC의 병목현상 제거, 불확실성 회피를 통해 확실한 절차, 대응, 방법을 통한 의사결정에 도움이 되는 첨단 기술로써 SC의 성과와 강건성을 높일 수 있음을 확인하였다. 본 연구는 기존 SC에서의 잠재적 문제를 블록체인 기술을 통해 어떻게 효과적으로 해결하는지를 관리자에게 설명한다.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1
• 1.1 Background 1
• 1.2 Motivation of the study 3
• 1.3 Contribution of the study 5
• 1.4 A bridge between supply chain management and Blockchain technology 6
• 1.5 Research Questions 9
• Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 11
• 2.1 Pakistan oil and gas sector 11
• 2.2 Oil and gas industry, supply chain management and Blockchain 12
• 2.3 Supply chain integration, blockchain, and firm performance 17
• 2.4 Supply chain agility, blockchain, and firm performance 18
• 2.5 Supply chain financial security, blockchain, and firm performance 19
• 2.6 Robustness capability, supply chain parameters, blockchain, and firm performance 20
• 2.7 Conceptual framework 22
• 2.8 Blockchain adoption challenges for SCM 24
• 2.8.1 Intra-organizational challenges 25
• 2.8.2 Inter-organizational challenges 26
• 2.8.3 System-related challenges 27
• 2.8.4 External challenges 27
• Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY 29
• 3.1 Sampling techniques and measure 29
• Chapter 4. RESULTS 31
• 4.1 Demographic analysis 31
• 4.2 Descriptive, reliability, and correlation analysis 32
• 4.4 Factor loading analysis 34
• 4.5 Hypotheses testing 36
• 4.5.1 Testing main and mediation effect 36
• 4.5.2 Supply chain integration, firm performance, and robustness capability (H1 and H4) 36
• 4.5.3 Supply chain agility, firm performance, and robustness capability (H2 and H5) 38
• 4.5.4. Supply chain financial security, firm performance, and robustness capability (H3 and H6) 40
• 4.6 Summary of the hypotheses 42
• Chapter 5. DISCUSSION 44
• 5.1 General discussion 44
• 5.2 Theoretical implication 48
• 5.3 Practical implication 49
• Chapter 6. CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE WORK 51
• 6.1 Conclusion 51
• 6.2 Limitation 52
• 6.3 Future work 52
• References 54
• 논문요약 78