Are consumers’ food purchase intentions impacted by blockchain technology?

Framing of the research. Consumers are increasingly concerned with food products’ authenticity and traceability. Blockchain technology (BCT) enables end-to-end traceability to the food supply chain, accessible to consumers through their mobiles. Purpose of the paper. The study aims at understanding consumers’ knowledge and factors affecting the intention to adopt the BCT when shopping for food. A model based on an integrated version of the TAM is verified. Methodology. A survey based on a structured questionnaire was digitally shared among consumers. 392 responses were collected; PLS-SEM was used to verify the proposed model on the sample of knowledgeable consumers (N: 120). Results. The level of knowledge of the BCT is very low (31% of the sample). Perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PE) influence the attitude-intention to adopt path. The technology principles knowledge impacts PU, PE, and blockchain guarantee, while the latter positively impacts on attitude. Indirect effects are all verified. Research limitations. Due to the novelty of the phenomenon, the sample is small as the study focused only on knowledgeable consumers, limiting the generalizability of results. Cross-cultural studies may improve our knowledge. Managerial implications. Our results are useful to supply chain members and especially to managers of manufacturing and retail companies willing to provide solutions to guarantee authenticity and traceability to consumers and institutions aimed at protecting their citizens. Originality of the paper. The BCT studies are mainly focused on the firm side, while little data or insights on the consumer side are available.