Revealing the Barriers of Blockchain Technology for Supply Chain Transparency and Sustainability in the Construction Industry: An Application of Pythagorean FAHP Methods

Abstract

Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution to enhance supply chain transparency and sustainability in the construction industry. However, the widespread adoption of blockchain faces several barriers that need to be identified and understood. The construction industry faces significant challenges regarding supply chain transparency and sustainability. Current practices lack visibility, leading to difficulties in tracing material origins, tracking movement, and ensuring compliance. To fill this gap, this study employed a three-phase approach. In the first phase, a comprehensive literature review identified 37 potential barriers. Subsequently, expert discussions were held to refine the list, ultimately selecting 15 barriers of utmost importance. In the second phase, data were collected from 17 experts representing academia and industry. Finally, in the last phase, the collected data were analyzed using the Pythagorean fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (AHP) methodology. The findings revealed that the “transparency range” category was the most critical barrier, closely followed by “inadequate access to institutional finance”. Surprisingly, the study identified the “security environment” as the most significant barrier. These results offer construction companies, policymakers, and other industry stakeholders a comprehensive understanding of blockchain adoption’s challenges. With this knowledge, stakeholders can design effective strategies and policies to address these barriers. Moreover, the research highlights the importance of considering uncertainty in decision making when assessing technology adoption, making the findings applicable beyond the construction industry.

Establishing the relationship between the strategic factors influencing blockchain technology deployment for achieving SDG and ESG objectives during infrastructure development: an ISM-MICMAC approach

“…The MICMAC analysis confirms that supply chain management (F7), data security (F4) and identity management (F8) are significant driving factors with little dependence, according to Singh et al. (2023a, b, c, d). These findings demonstrate how important it is to address these problems to give BT a strong foundation for use in the construction industry.…”

“…, 2016; Singh et al. , 2023a, b, c, d). However, this study providing a more profound elucidation of developing country characteristics and conducting a comparative analysis with similar studies in developed country contexts.…”

“…, 2023; Singh et al. , 2023a, b, c, d). The questionnaire, administered via email or face-to-face, comprises two sections: one focusing on the experts' demographic information and the other prompting them to compare strategic factors pairwise.…”

“…The 13 strategic factors identified in Phase 1 as applicable to India are presented in Table 1, signifying their significance in the subsequent stages of the research (Singh et al. , 2023a, b, c, d).…”

Drivers and influencers of blockchain and cloud-based business sustainability accounting in China: Enhancing practices and promoting adoption

“…Concurrently, China has positioned itself at the forefront of technological advancements, such as blockchain and cloud computing, which hold the potential to revolutionize sustainability accounting practices [ 10 ]. Through effective implementation, these technologies can address information gaps and alleviate stakeholder concerns regarding the reliability of sustainability reports by enhancing transparency, traceability, and data management capabilities [ 11 , 12 ].…”