Enhancing Stakeholder Confidence in Wine Supply Chains trough Blockchain Solutions

This study seeks to examine how stakeholders view the integration of blockchain in the wine sector due to the industry's limited traceability and transparency. This is a challenging sector where it's frequently hard to monitor every step in its supply chain, resulting in a rise in counterfeit goods. It is important to understand how blockchain would impact an industry as traditional as the wine industry, and how its characteristics could represent benefits or challenges for stakeholders. First, it was conducted primary research with the help of a systematic literature review, followed by a quantitative analysis using a survey aimed at different stakeholders in this industry that were previously identified in the literature review. It was used SPSS to analyse its results. This was followed by a qualitative analysis of the different stakeholder profiles aimed to gather more concrete insights, through interviews using MaxQDA to analyse them. This study responded to five research hypotheses that reflected the research questions. This study concluded that stakeholders perceive transparency, trust, and traceability as the most impactful benefits however, their limited knowledge of this technology leads them to focus on its benefits and challenges. The connection between trust and the decrease in counterfeiting is crucial, given that it facilitates transparency quickly and readily, where this technology is seen as a tool to enhance processes and enabling business, making the supply chain more transparent to everyone involved. Because blockchain technology is primarily linked to cryptocurrencies, a large number of the study's participants were not familiar with its possible uses in different sectors. This study addresses how blockchain can enhance confidence in the wine industry and explores stakeholder perceptions regarding its impact on this industry. It was also possible to understand the perception and awareness that consumers have of such a recent technology, as well as its benefits and challenges. By highlighting the most important factors for them, this study established a basis for a future solution.