Blockchain and the circular economy: potential tensions and critical reflections from practice
By Mahtab Kouhizadeh, Qingyun Zhu, Joseph Sarkis. 2020
397 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Abstract Blockchain technology and the circular economy (CE) are two emergent concepts that can change the way we live for decades. Arrival of Industry 4.0 is set to transform organisational activities through various technological innovations. Blockchain is such a critical technology. Yet, the breadth of the blockchain concept and its application require nuanced investigation in different contexts, including examining some tensions with the applications. This paper examines how blockchain technology is likely to transform and advance circular economy realisation. Using grounded theory building from multiple case studies, we present early evidence linking the blockchain application to circular economy dimensions of regenerate, share, optimise, loop, virtualise, and exchange (ReSOLVE model). Case studies of blockchain application in various industrial sectors, at different adoption levels, for diverse organisational purposes are analysed and discussed. We systematically examine the practices, gaps, potential tensions, and critical reflections. Our study concludes with a summary of research propositions, limitations, and future research directions.
Subfields: Information Systems, Strategy and Management
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a9a4bbc1843c2a154b6c6af995e8168454436b42
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In Strategy and Management
Citations in the corpus
- The role of block chain technology in circular economy practices to improve organisational performance (2021, methodology): “Kouhizadeh, Zhu, and Sarkis (2019) explain the application of BCT with an example of a tracking system i.e. Global Positioning System (GPS), they have elaborated that GPS can track the products throughout their life cycle, which will be of advantage in the processes of recycling, remanufacturing,…”
- Redesigning Supply Chains using Blockchain-Enabled Circular Economy and COVID-19 Experiences (2020, neutral): “While these concepts alone are noted in the academic supply chain literature, they have not been combined nor linked with blockchain technology capabilities to improve the circular economy ( Kouhizadeh et al., 2020 ).”