From farm to plate: Q-analysis of consumer requirements in blockchain-based agri-food supply chains

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Journal of Open Innovation Technology Market and Complexity

Publication Date

3-1-2026

Abstract

Blockchain platforms have revolutionized the food industry by establishing a more trustworthy supply chain. By providing a secure and open record of all transactions, blockchain technology helps improve food safety. This reassures consumers who may wish to ensure that products are guaranteed to meet certain dietary or nutritional standards. However, the adaptability of existing supply chains and consumers' full adoption of such systems remains a gap in scholarly research. This field study employs Q-methodology to explore the concourse of requirements and priorities of food consumers in blockchain-based agri-food supply chains. Abductive reasoning is utilized to elaborate on the subjective perspective of consumers when specifying the system design requirements of blockchain technology. Although the study is exploratory, testable hypotheses for future research are proposed using abductive reasoning pertaining to enhancing consumer trust and improving blockchain adoption in the agri-food supply chains (ASCs). This paper concludes that consumer-driven food production supported by blockchain-enabled ASCs is an effective pathway to understanding how blockchain features may be harnessed to reshape discerning consumers’ informed purchasing decisions in the evolving landscape of ASCs.

ISSN

2199-8531

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Volume

12

Issue

1

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Abductive Reasoning, Agricultural food supply chain, Blockchain technology, Q-methodology, Trust Framework

Scopus ID

105032102754

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

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