Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/287861 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Citation: 
[Journal:] Business Strategy and the Environment [ISSN:] 1099-0836 [Volume:] 31 [Issue:] 8 [Publisher:] Wiley [Place:] Hoboken, NJ [Year:] 2022 [Pages:] 3786-3801
Publisher: 
Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Abstract: 
Blockchain is increasingly lauded as an enabler of the transition to a circular economy. While there is considerable conceptual research and some empirical studies on this phenomenon, scholars have yet to develop a theoretical model of blockchain's role in this transition. Grounded in the sustainability transition literature, this paper addresses this gap through the following research question: What role does blockchain play in the transition to a circular economy? Following an abductive approach, we conducted interviews with ground‐level experts implementing blockchain innovations for the circular economy across Europe and the United States. Through a thematic analysis, we derived a theoretical model of the relationships among (1) drivers and barriers of the transition to a circular economy, (2) blockchain innovation for the circular economy, (3) technical challenges of blockchain, and (4) the circular economy. While blockchain plays a moderating role, interviewees considered it only an infrastructural resource rather than a panacea.
Subjects: 
blockchain
circular economy
innovation
sustainability
transition
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article
Document Version: 
Published Version

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