Predicting determinants of UK dairy farmers' behavioural intention to use blockchain applications for sustainable supply chain

This thesis addresses the need for improved technology adoption in the UK dairy industry.It suggests that blockchain technology would dramatically improve the supply chain andaddress industry difficulties and issues like the traceability of milk and environmentalconcerns. This work critically assesses the impact of technology acceptance determinantson UK dairy farmers’ behavioural intention to use blockchain technology applications fora sustainable supply chain. Relevant industry reports and related literature are reviewed,including examplesfrom overseas. A range of theories are applied to this context, includingthe diffusion of innovation theory, the technology acceptance model, and the unified theoryof acceptance and use of technology. Their relevance and application are investigated bysurveying UK dairy farmers. The quantitative research approach produced results that wereanalysed using SPSS version 25, showing that there is a low awareness of blockchaintechnology among UK dairy farmers. The Partial Least Squares Structural EquationModelling (PLS-SEM) on the SmartPLS 3.0 shows that technology acceptancedeterminants, including social influence, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness,influenced UK dairy farmers' behavioural intentions to use blockchain technologyapplications for a sustainable supply chain. Trust shows a non-insignificant influence,while the facilitating condition did not satisfy the convergent validity of 0.50 (50%). Theinvestigation concludes that blockchain adoption can transform the UK dairy industry.Significant technology acceptance determinants are recommended for designing andimplementing consortium blockchain technology in the UK dairy industry. This researchcontributes to blockchain adoption for enhancing conventional dairy supply chains throughtechnology acceptance determinants.