Does the combination of sustainable business model patterns lead to truly sustainable business models? Critical analysis of existing frameworks and extensions

Digitalization is changing the way companies create value. It is an umbrella term for diverse applications of digital technologies to processes inside companies and along the value chain. This research aims at understanding how literature has addressed the impact of blockchain technology on business models (BM) and supply chains. The study is based on a simple framework assuming that blockchain technology can affect BM directly, but also indirectly via supply chain management (SCM). Thus, three types of relationships are studied: i) the impact of blockchain on BMs, ii) the impact of blockchain on SCM, and iii) the impact of blockchain on BMs via SCM. To this aim, a systematic literature review is conducted using the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The selected 78 relevant articles are analyzed both by descriptive and content analysis. Results show that blockchain technology can affect BMs either generically or in specific industries, while it affects SCM on the dimensions of 1) efficiency and process improvement, 2) transparency and traceability, 3) sustainable SCM, and 4) supply chain collaboration. The indirectly impact of blockchain on BMs via SCM act on the dimensions of 1) supply chain transparency, 2) supply chain restructuring and 3) supply chain collaboration. This paper concludes with a research agenda discussing the open research questions before blockchain can achieve wide adoption in practice.