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Revisiting buyer–seller relationships in sustainable sourcing: advancing trust-commitment theory within the context of blockchain technology

Yanji Duan (Department of Marketing and Logistics, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, USA)
Qingyun Zhu (Department of Management Information Systems, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA)
Joseph Sarkis (Business School, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA)

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management

ISSN: 0960-0035

Article publication date: 1 October 2024

248

Abstract

Purpose

Trust-commitment theory has been fundamental in understanding interorganizational relationships in sustainable supply chain management. Trust-commitment dynamics can provide insights into sustainable sourcing outcomes. Despite recent extensions to trust-commitment theory, trust and commitment correlation and the mediation role of trust between antecedents (i.e. opportunism) and commitment remains fundamental. We revisit trust-commitment theoretical relationships within the context of blockchain technology—and specifically blockchain smart contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted the scenario-based experiment with 100 business professionals from operations, supply chain and related fields to test the proposed hypotheses on how different governance mechanisms impact various managerial perceptions in a buyer–seller setting.

Findings

Findings reveal that compared with the formal written contract, blockchain smart contract enhances affect-based trust—as the only significant trust dimension, secures buyer commitment and interestingly, encourages opportunistic behavior. The impact of blockchain smart contract on cognition-based and institution-based trust is not significant. The findings advance trust-commitment theory with valuable managerial insights within the blockchain and sustainable sourcing context.

Originality/value

This study serves as a foundation for future studies to further clarify blockchain technology on sustainable buyer–seller relationships using fundamental relationships of trust-commitment and other social exchange theories.

Keywords

Citation

Duan, Y., Zhu, Q. and Sarkis, J. (2024), "Revisiting buyer–seller relationships in sustainable sourcing: advancing trust-commitment theory within the context of blockchain technology", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-01-2024-0037

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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