Fuzzy DEMATEL analysis of barriers to Blockchain-based life cycle assessment in China

The emerging Blockchain technology can drastically improve the effectiveness and efficiency of life cycle assessment, which is widely used for assessing the environmental impact of products and processes. However, Blockchain adoption is impeded by various barriers including systems-related, external, intra-organizational and inter-organizational barriers. So far, no research has analyzed how these barriers interact with each other for better decision-making in life cycle assessment. This research narrows the knowledge gap by prioritizing the important barriers using a fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation of Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Pairwise comparison data were collected from three representative organizations in China, which all have Blockchain implementation experiences. The results show that the key cause barriers are immaturity of technology, and technical challenges for collecting supply chain data in real time. The prominent barriers include lack of new organizational policies for using technology, and lack of government policy/regulation guidance and support, among others. Managerial implications are discussed based on the results and findings.