Purpose

The global food industry is faced with the dilemma of finding a balance between food wastage and food shortage. Approximately one-third of food produced globally goes to waste, while about 800 million people suffer from undernourishment. Given this context, the purpose of this study is to investigate the unresolved challenges related to enhancing transparency associated with products of high perishability and low shelf life.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted 25 interviews with global agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) experts to ask what impedes the progress of the current technologies, such as blockchain, to enable transparency and traceability (T&T) in AFSCs.

Findings

The findings indicate barriers at the individual, firm and supply chain levels. Based on these barriers, the authors propose an interconnected framework to explain technologically-driven T&T and guide on barrier removal from AFSCs. The authors conclude that by applying technology (i.e. blockchain) the authors can resolve the tension of supporting T&T in AFSCs. This can enable the efficient and transparent tracking of goods, reduction of food waste and loss, as well as promotion of the use of recyclable packaging and further sustainable practices and materials, all of which are aligned with a range of UN Sustainable Development Goals (2, 8, 10 and 12). Moreover, the authors see that some factors are interrelated. Based on these factors, the authors build an interconnected framework to guide on barrier removal from AFSCs. Managers in AFSC would find the findings especially relevant.

Originality/value

Drawing on industrial network theory and signalling theory, the authors propose an interconnected framework for explaining barriers (challenges) and potential solutions (opportunities) to T&T in AFSCs. This framework is developed by examining the interconnections of barriers at micro, meso and macro levels and applying signalling theory to explain how solutions address these barriers. The specific contributions of this study are: the list of barriers that impede the implementation of technological solutions for T&T in AFSCs; and a three-stage framework that explains how to remove the barriers for T&T. The study is limited by the focus on blockchain, which calls for future research once the next decentralised technology becomes available.

中文翻译：

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揭示影响农产品供应链透明度和可追溯性的因素：相互关联的框架

目的

全球食品工业面临着在食物浪费和食物短缺之间寻找平衡的困境。全球生产的粮食约有三分之一被浪费，约 8 亿人营养不良。鉴于这种背景，本研究的目的是调查与提高高易腐性和低保质期产品相关的透明度相关的未解决的挑战。

设计/方法论/途径

作者对全球农业食品供应链 (AFSC) 专家进行了 25 次采访，询问是什么阻碍了区块链等当前技术的进步，以实现 AFSC 的透明度和可追溯性 (T&T)。

发现

调查结果表明了个人、公司和供应链层面的障碍。基于这些障碍，作者提出了一个相互关联的框架来解释技术驱动的 T&T 并指导 AFSC 消除障碍。作者得出的结论是，通过应用技术（即区块链），作者可以解决在 AFSC 中支持 T&T 的紧张局势。这可以实现高效、透明的货物追踪，减少食品浪费和损失，并促进可回收包装的使用以及进一步的可持续实践和材料，所有这些都符合一系列联合国可持续发展目标（2 、8、10 和 12）。此外，作者发现一些因素是相互关联的。基于这些因素，作者构建了一个相互关联的框架来指导 AFSC 消除障碍。 AFSC 的管理人员会发现这些发现尤其相关。

原创性/价值

作者利用工业网络理论和信号理论，提出了一个相互关联的框架，用于解释 AFSC 中 T&T 的障碍（挑战）和潜在解决方案（机遇）。该框架是通过检查微观、中观和宏观层面障碍的相互联系并应用信号理论来解释解决方案如何解决这些障碍而开发的。这项研究的具体贡献是： 阻碍 AFSC 实施 T&T 技术解决方案的障碍清单；以及解释如何消除 T&T 障碍的三阶段框架。这项研究受到对区块链的关注的限制，一旦下一个去中心化技术可用，就需要进行未来的研究。