The impact of blockchain technology on consumer behavior: a multimethod study

Blockchain is a ground-breaking technology that is transforming supply chain management. This study aims to empirically investigate the impacts of blockchain technology on consumer behavior. We conduct this research in collaboration with a Chinese e-commerce company that has introduced a blockchain platform for tracing. We use a multimethod design by combining natural experiment- and case study methods. First, we collected data from four industries (i.e. milk powder, seafood, alcohol and nutrition) to conduct the experiment, and the findings reveal that the firms that adopted the blockchain tracing system have an increase in product sales and a decrease in product returns compared to those that did not. Second, we conducted a multiple case study with four cases from the four industries. The findings reveal that the adoption of a blockchain tracing system improves supply chain transparency and process management, which then enhances consumer service and trust. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence that adopting blockchain technology can improve firms' marketing performance. The findings also reveal how the adoption of blockchain technology affects consumer behavior.