Blockchain entrepreneurship roles for circular supply chain transition

Abstract

The transition to a circular supply chain (CSC) is a prerequisite to establish sustainability in the supply chain. Blockchain-based CSC enables stakeholders to effectively manage their decision-making processes, increase revenue, reduce time and costs and ensure information synchronisation. Blockchain start-ups play an essential role in facilitating the transition from a linear to a circular economy while supporting the development of CSCs. This research aims to explore the role of blockchain entrepreneurship in the transition to CSC by evaluating circular blockchain start-ups. This research contributes to the literature by providing verified roles of blockchain entrepreneurship in the transition to CSC by evaluating the literature and blockchain start-ups. Another contribution is that the causal relationships between these roles are analysed. In this study, an integrated three-step methodology including Systematic Literature Review (SLR), Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), and Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (Fuzzy-DEMATEL) methods on the base of the theory of change is proposed. An SLR is performed to determine the roles of blockchain entrepreneurship. Then, a QCA is conducted after identifying the roles for verification by evaluations of use cases of blockchain start-ups. Finally, the causal relationships between these roles are interpreted by using Fuzzy-DEMATEL. Findings indicate that blockchain entrepreneurship has 12 fundamental roles in facilitating the transition from a linear to a circular economy while supporting the development of CSCs.