Blockchain adoption and operational performance: a secondary data analysis on effects and contingencies

Purpose–Thisstudyanalyzestheperformance implications of adopting blockchainto support supply chain business processes. The technology holds as many promises as implementation challenges, so interest in its impact on operational performance has grown steadily over the last few years. Design/methodology/approach– Drawing on transaction cost economics and the contingency theory, we built a set of hypotheses. These were tested through a long-term event study and an ordinary least squares regression involving 130 adopters listed in North America. Findings–Comparedwiththecontrolsample,adoptersdisplayedsignificantabnormalperformance interms of labor productivity, operating cycle and profitability, whereas sales appeared unaffected. Firms in regulated settings andclosertotheendcustomershowedmorepositiveeffects.Neitherindustry-levelcompetitionnorthe early involvement of a project partner emerged as relevant contextual factors. Originality/value– This research presents the first extensive analysis of operational performance based on objective measures. In contrast to previous studies and theoretical predictions, the results indicate that blockchain adoption is not associated with sales improvement. This can be explained considering that secure data storage and sharing do not guarantee the factual credibility of recorded data, which needs to be proved to customers in alternative ways. Conversely, improvements in other operational performance dimensions confirmthatblockchaincansupportinter-organizationaltransactionsmoreefficiently.Theresultsare relevant in times when, following hype, there are signs of disengagement with the technology.