Blockchain-driven Supply Chain Resilience and Performance from a Relational Perspective: The Role of Inter-organizational Relationship and Systems Adaptability

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates how blockchain technology enhances supply chain resilience and relationship performance by reinforcing inter-organizational relationships. Drawing on the relational view and boundary object perspective, we examine how blockchain influences relational trust and network capability, which in turn strengthen supply chain resilience and ultimately improve relationship performance.

Design/methodology/approach: We proposed a conceptual framework and tested it using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on survey data collected from 251 manufacturing firms in China.

Findings: The results indicate that blockchain technology significantly enhances supply chain resilience and improves relationship performance by fostering relational trust and network capability among supply chain partners. However, inter-organizational systems adaptability was found to negatively moderate the relationship between supply chain resilience and relationship performance, suggesting that system complexity may reduce the relational benefits of resilience.

Originality: This study shifts the theoretical focus from the resource-based view to a relational perspective, providing new insights into how blockchain technology strengthens supply chain relationships to improve resilience and performance. It also challenges assumptions about technological adaptability by revealing that greater flexibility in inter-organizational systems may introduce coordination burdens that diminish relationship outcomes.