Achieving transparency through blockchain: sustainability of fishery supply chain management

Abstract

Objective: This paper aimed to discuss how blockchain technology would incorporate several changes in the fishery supply chains, in order to make them more reliable and sustainable. Method: This is a qualitative study, using an exploratory method with descriptive approach. In addition, the literature review in this study presents theoretical contributions regarding utility. Main Results: The study highlights the importance of incorporating blockchain features into seafood supply chains, which are currently fragmented and lack of real-time information, focusing on its traceability potential to leveraging fishery supply chains operations and outcomes. It identifies a sequence of strategic checkpoints that provide real-time information by using blockchain in fishery supply chains. Relevance / Originality: This manuscript presents a diagram of a seafood supply chain considering how blockchain allows the data gathering in each stage in order to provide traceability to the supply chain. Hence, the study serves as a map, as well as a model, for upcoming research on how to understand the incorporation of technology into supply chains stages. Theoretical / Methodological Contributions: Supply chains support international business operations. Furthermore, as digital revolution moves aggressively forward, supply chains need to adapt to it in order to fit for the new stakeholders’ expectations. This study uses sustainable supply chain management and blockchain technology as positioning literature. Management Contributions: The study provides an overview of how fishery supply chains would work by incorporating blockchain technology, which extends the literature about sustainable supply chain management and proposes paths for actions for policymakers in order to make them improve the business ecosystem. This study implies a practical contribution to global value chain perspective and the discipline of business.