IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-02005158.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Distributed Ledgers and Operations: What Operations Management Researchers Should Know about Blockchain Technology

Author

Listed:
  • Volodymyr Babich
  • Gilles Hilary

    (GU - Georgetown University [Washington])

Abstract

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology. While it has grown in prominence, its full potential and possible downsides are not fully understood yet, especially with respect to Operations Management (OM). This article fills this gap. After briefly reviewing the technical foundations, we explore multiple business and policy aspects. We identify five key strengths, the corresponding five main weaknesses, and three research themes of applying Blockchain technology to OM. The key strengths are (1) visibility, (2) aggregation, (3) validation, (4) automation, and (5) resiliency. The corresponding weaknesses are (1) lack of privacy, (2) lack of standardization, (3) garbage in, garbage out, (4) black box effect, and (5) inefficiency. The three research themes are (1) information, (2) automation, and (3) tokenization. We illustrate these research themes with multiple promising research problems, ranging from classical inventory management, to new areas of ethical OM, and to questions of Industrial Organization.

Suggested Citation

  • Volodymyr Babich & Gilles Hilary, 2019. "Distributed Ledgers and Operations: What Operations Management Researchers Should Know about Blockchain Technology," Post-Print hal-02005158, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02005158
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02005158
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-02005158/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hart, Oliver D & Moore, John, 1988. "Incomplete Contracts and Renegotiation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(4), pages 755-785, July.
    2. Ang, James S. & Cheng, Yingmei & Wu, Chaopeng, 2015. "Trust, Investment, and Business Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 569-595, June.
    3. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    4. Volodymyr Babich & Panos Kouvelis, 2018. "Introduction to the Special Issue on Research at the Interface of Finance, Operations, and Risk Management (iFORM): Recent Contributions and Future Directions," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 1-18, February.
    5. Volodymyr Babich, 2006. "Vulnerable options in supply chains: Effects of supplier competition," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(7), pages 656-673, October.
    6. Tang, Christopher S. & Babich, Volodymyr, 2014. "Using social and economic incentives to discourage Chinese suppliers from product adulteration," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 497-508.
    7. Awi Federgruen & Ming Hu, 2016. "Technical Note—Sequential Multiproduct Price Competition in Supply Chain Networks," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 64(1), pages 135-149, February.
    8. Zhibin (Ben) Yang & Göker Ayd{i}n & Volodymyr Babich & Damian R. Beil, 2009. "Supply Disruptions, Asymmetric Information, and a Backup Production Option," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 55(2), pages 192-209, February.
    9. Panagiotis Kouvelis & Martin A. Lariviere, 2000. "Decentralizing Cross-Functional Decisions: Coordination Through Internal Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(8), pages 1049-1058, August.
    10. Christian Catalini & Joshua S. Gans, 2018. "Initial Coin Offerings and the Value of Crypto Tokens," NBER Working Papers 24418, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. George Baker & Robert Gibbons & Kevin J. Murphy, 2002. "Relational Contracts and the Theory of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(1), pages 39-84.
    12. Dawn Barnes-Schuster & Yehuda Bassok & Ravi Anupindi, 2002. "Coordination and Flexibility in Supply Contracts with Options," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 171-207, May.
    13. Bank for International Settlements, 2014. "Trade finance: developments and issues," CGFS Papers, Bank for International Settlements, number 50, december.
    14. Volodymyr Babich & Christopher S. Tang, 2012. "Managing Opportunistic Supplier Product Adulteration: Deferred Payments, Inspection, and Combined Mechanisms," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 14(2), pages 301-314, April.
    15. Hau L. Lee & V. Padmanabhan & Seungjin Whang, 1997. "Information Distortion in a Supply Chain: The Bullwhip Effect," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(4), pages 546-558, April.
    16. Matthew J. Sobel & Volodymyr Babich, 2012. "Optimality of Myopic Policies for Dynamic Lot-Sizing Problems in Serial Production Lines with Random Yields and Autoregressive Demand," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 60(6), pages 1520-1536, December.
    17. Frank Chen & Zvi Drezner & Jennifer K. Ryan & David Simchi-Levi, 2000. "Quantifying the Bullwhip Effect in a Simple Supply Chain: The Impact of Forecasting, Lead Times, and Information," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(3), pages 436-443, March.
    18. Terry A. Taylor & Erica L. Plambeck, 2007. "Supply Chain Relationships and Contracts: The Impact of Repeated Interaction on Capacity Investment and Procurement," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(10), pages 1577-1593, October.
    19. Ravi Anupindi & Yehuda Bassok & Eitan Zemel, 2001. "A General Framework for the Study of Decentralized Distribution Systems," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 3(4), pages 349-368, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sameer Hasija & Zuo-Jun Max Shen & Chung-Piaw Teo, 2020. "Smart City Operations: Modeling Challenges and Opportunities," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 203-213, January.
    2. Yu Gong & Shenghao Xie & Deepak Arunachalam & Jiang Duan & Jianli Luo, 2022. "Blockchain‐based recycling and its impact on recycling performance: A network theory perspective," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 3717-3741, December.
    3. Sharma, Luv & Olson, John & Guha, Abhijit & McDougal, Lori, 2021. "How blockchain will transform the healthcare ecosystem," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 64(5), pages 673-682.
    4. De Giovanni, Pietro, 2020. "Blockchain and smart contracts in supply chain management: A game theoretic model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    5. Tang, Christopher S. & Veelenturf, Lucas P., 2019. "The strategic role of logistics in the industry 4.0 era," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1-11.
    6. Guo, Qiaozhen & He, Qiao-Chu & Chen, Ying-Ju & Huang, Wei, 2021. "Poverty mitigation via solar panel adoption: Smart contracts and targeted subsidy design," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Gilles Hilary & Laura Xiaolei Liu, 2021. "Blockchain and Other Distributed Ledger Technologies in Finance," Springer Books, in: Raghavendra Rau & Robert Wardrop & Luigi Zingales (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Technological Finance, pages 243-268, Springer.
    8. Zhu, Shuai & Song, Malin & Lim, Ming Kim & Wang, Jianlin & Zhao, Jiajia, 2020. "The development of energy blockchain and its implications for China's energy sector," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    9. He Chang & Huimin Liu & Shuai Jin, 2023. "Design of a river chief incentive mechanism based on blockchain: A principal–agent model," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1534-1546, April.
    10. Gabriella M. Hastig & ManMohan S. Sodhi, 2020. "Blockchain for Supply Chain Traceability: Business Requirements and Critical Success Factors," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 29(4), pages 935-954, April.
    11. Leng, Jiewu & Ruan, Guolei & Jiang, Pingyu & Xu, Kailin & Liu, Qiang & Zhou, Xueliang & Liu, Chao, 2020. "Blockchain-empowered sustainable manufacturing and product lifecycle management in industry 4.0: A survey," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    12. Suyuan Luo & Tsan‐Ming Choi, 2022. "E‐commerce supply chains with considerations of cyber‐security: Should governments play a role?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(5), pages 2107-2126, May.
    13. Daeheon Choi & Chune Young Chung & Thou Seyha & Jason Young, 2020. "Factors Affecting Organizations’ Resistance to the Adoption of Blockchain Technology in Supply Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-37, October.
    14. Tava Lennon Olsen & Brian Tomlin, 2020. "Industry 4.0: Opportunities and Challenges for Operations Management," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 113-122, January.
    15. Dutta, Pankaj & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Somani, Surabhi & Butala, Richa, 2020. "Blockchain technology in supply chain operations: Applications, challenges and research opportunities," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    16. Vincent Tawiah & Abdulrasheed Zakari & Guo Li & Anthony Kyiu, 2022. "Blockchain technology and environmental efficiency: Evidence from US‐listed firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(8), pages 3757-3768, December.
    17. Dulani Jayasuriya Daluwathumullagamage & Alexandra Sims, 2020. "Blockchain-Enabled Corporate Governance and Regulation," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-41, June.
    18. Dulani Jayasuriya Daluwathumullagamage & Alexandra Sims, 2021. "Fantastic Beasts: Blockchain Based Banking," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-43, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Volodymyr Babich & Gilles Hilary, 2020. "OM Forum—Distributed Ledgers and Operations: What Operations Management Researchers Should Know About Blockchain Technology," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 223-245, March.
    2. Babich, Volodymyr & Hilary, Gilles, 2019. "Blockchain and other Distributed Ledger Technologies in Operations," Foundations and Trends(R) in Technology, Information and Operations Management, now publishers, vol. 12(2-3), pages 152-172, March.
    3. Guillaume Roels & Christopher S. Tang, 2017. "Win-Win Capacity Allocation Contracts in Coproduction and Codistribution Alliances," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(3), pages 861-881, March.
    4. Giorgio Zanarone & Desmond (Ho-Fu) Lo & Tammy L. Madsen, 2016. "The double-edged effect of knowledge acquisition: How contracts safeguard pre-existing resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(10), pages 2104-2120, October.
    5. James M. Malcomson, 2012. "Relational Incentive Contracts [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    6. Alessandro De Chiara, 2018. "Courts' Decisions, Cooperative Investments, and Incomplete Contracts," CEU Working Papers 2018_5, Department of Economics, Central European University.
    7. Ola Kvaløy & Trond E. Olsen, 2016. "Incentive Provision when Contracting is Costly," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(332), pages 741-767, October.
    8. Erica L. Plambeck & Terry A. Taylor, 2007. "Implications of Renegotiation for Optimal Contract Flexibility and Investment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(12), pages 1872-1886, December.
    9. Suresh P. Sethi & Sushil Gupta & Vipin K. Agrawal & Vijay K. Agrawal, 2022. "Nobel laureates’ contributions to and impacts on operations management," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 31(12), pages 4283-4303, December.
    10. Z. Justin Ren & Morris A. Cohen & Teck H. Ho & Christian Terwiesch, 2010. "Information Sharing in a Long-Term Supply Chain Relationship: The Role of Customer Review Strategy," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 58(1), pages 81-93, February.
    11. Dobhan, Alexander & Oberlaender, Michael, 2013. "Hybrid contracting within multi-location networks," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 612-619.
    12. Jongwook Kim & Joseph T. Mahoney, 2005. "Property rights theory, transaction costs theory, and agency theory: an organizational economics approach to strategic management," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 223-242.
    13. Kefeng Xu & Yang Dong & Yu Xia, 2014. "‘Too Little’ or ‘Too Late’: The Timing of Supply Chain Demand Collaboration," Working Papers 0203mss, College of Business, University of Texas at San Antonio.
    14. Pamela Pen-Erh Pei & David Simchi-Levi & Tunay I. Tunca, 2011. "Sourcing Flexibility, Spot Trading, and Procurement Contract Structure," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 59(3), pages 578-601, June.
    15. Desmond (Ho‐Fu) Lo & Giorgio Zanarone & Mrinal Ghosh, 2022. "Contracting to (dis)incentivize? An integrative transaction‐cost approach on how contracts govern specific investments," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(8), pages 1528-1555, August.
    16. Joel Watson, 2021. "Theoretical Foundations of Relational Incentive Contracts," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 13(1), pages 631-659, August.
    17. Ilya Segal & Michael D.Whinston, 2012. "Property Rights [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    18. Liang Guo, 2021. "Partial Unraveling and Strategic Contract Timing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(12), pages 7719-7736, December.
    19. Crémer, Jacques, 2010. "Solving the "selective intervention" puzzle," IDEI Working Papers 598, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse.
    20. Yeon-Koo Che & Jozsef Sakovics, 2006. "The Hold-up Problem," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 142, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Visibility; Information aggregation; Validation; Resiliency; Smart contracts; Digital Assets;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02005158. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.