Blockchain adoption and consumer privacy concerns in a platform supply chain with manufacturer competition

School of Management, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, P.R. China

^* Corresponding author: czhou@tju.edu.cn

Received: 4 September 2024
Accepted: 5 June 2025

Abstract

The traceability feature of blockchain technology can enhance product quality and safety, yet it also raises potential risks regarding the leakage of consumer privacy data. This study builds a game model to investigate the introduction of blockchain technology strategies by competing manufacturers and their impacts on supply chain performance. The results show that consumer preference for blockchain technology promotes the introduction of such technology by manufacturers, while consumer privacy concerns inhibit the introduction of such technology. In addition, when consumer privacy concerns are at a low level, the introduction of blockchain technology boosts profits for both manufacturers and the platform. By adjusting the value of consumer preference, we investigate whether or not consumers can tolerate a greater degree of risk of privacy breaches, and whether or not manufacturers should expand the scope of the introduction of blockchain technology strategies. Counterintuitively, the manufacturer’s optimal strategy is not related to competitors’ decisions, but only to consumer privacy concerns and the cost of blockchain technology. Finally, we explore the impact of blockchain technology on consumer surplus and social welfare.