Unlocking Blockchain Technologies Potential in Supply Chains: A Study on Cost Governance and Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Blockchain technology adoption in supply chains entails simultaneously reducing transaction costs and building dynamic capabilities. This study addresses the gap in prior research that treated cost minimization and supply chain capability building in isolation by asking how organizations can integrate cost-governance and resource-capability dimensions under decision uncertainty to prioritize blockchain enablers. To address this, the authors propose a dual-theory multi-criteria decision-making framework combining transaction cost economics and dynamic capability theory with a grey system-based weighted influence nonlinear gauge system (g-WINGS). The analysis revealed that transparency & traceability emerged as the most critical enabler (R + C = 0.669), driven by sub-factors such as immutable record-keeping and real-time visibility. Efficiency & automation, along with security & data integrity, were identified as predominant “cause” factors, indicating their role in driving performance improvements. The findings suggest that supply chain organizations prioritize allocating resources to efficiency and automation along with security and data integrity, as these foundational BCT enablers drive downstream benefits. A small-scale implementation of transparency and traceability practices, such as implementing immutable record keeping for a product line, will help them to develop greater rollout across supply chain functions.