Are consumers’ food purchase intentions impacted by blockchain technology?

Frame of the research: As the demand for food authenticity and traceability continues to grow, Blockchain technology (BCT) will likely play a key role in supporting consumers’ food purchase intentions as it enables them to access end-to-end traceability of the food supply chain through their mobiles. Purpose of the paper: The study aims at exploring consumer awareness of BCT and the main factors influencing their intention to adopt BCT when shopping for groceries. The study verifies a structural model based on an integrated version of the TAM with Technology Principles Knowledge (TPK) and Blockchain Guarantee (BG) constructs. Methodology: A survey based on a structured questionnaire was digitally shared among a sample of 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 BCT is very low (31% of the sample). Perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PE) influence the attitude-intention to adopt the path. Knowledge of the technology’s principles impacts PU, PE and importance given to blockchain guarantee, while the latter positively affects 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 general applicability of results. Cross-cultural studies may improve our knowledge. Managerial implications: Our results are useful to food supply-chain operators - especially manufacturers and retailers - willing to provide consumers with easy-to-use and innovative solutions during shopping. To this end, results show that BCT may suit consumers’ requests for guaranteed authenticity and traceability. Originality of the paper: BCT studies mainly focus on the firm, while data or insights on consumers are scarce.