Blockchain-enabled green traceability for sustainable organic food: Impacts on trust, value co-creation and willingness to pay a premium

Abstract

Consumers are giving sustainability and transparency more weight when making decisions about what to buy as a result of the ongoing digital transformation and growing environmental concerns. The purpose of this study was to investigate how consumers’ willingness to pay more for sustainable products is impacted by blockchain affordances, specifically transparency, traceability, and immutability. This was accomplished by employing a blockchain-integrated prototype app to simulate real-world decision-making scenarios in a scenario-based survey of 834 participants interested in sustainable products in Vietnam. The proposed relationships were clearly analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results showed that the blockchain affordances significantly improved the quality of information, systems, and products. The perceived values in this study increased consumer well-being, promoted value co-creation, and fostered trust, thereby increasing consumers’ willingness to pay. In addition, this study also suggested that blockchain accessibility affects consumers’ perceived values. Some of the effects are also improved by information-seeking behavior. To better understand how blockchain technologies can promote trust, facilitate co-creation, and support the growth of green brands, the study theoretically combines the Information Systems Success Model with Service-Dominant Logic. In fact, the results of this study offer valuable guidance for businesses in developing transparent, consumer-centric blockchain applications, thereby encouraging responsible, ethical consumer behavior in the context of sustainable development, especially in developing countries.