How blockchain technology adoption enhances supply chain performance: the mediating role of knowledge hiding

Purpose Despite growing interest in blockchain technology adoption (BTA) within supply chain contexts, its impact on inter-organizational knowledge behavior remains underexplored. Drawing on organizational information processing theory (OIPT), this study aims to investigate how BTA affects supply chain performance (SCP) by mitigating knowledge hiding (KH). It also examines how different business environments moderate the relationship between BTA and KH. Design/methodology/approach This study used a 2-wave survey method to gather data from 329 Chinese manufacturers to empirically examine the hypothesized relationships. Findings The findings indicate that BTA significantly reduces KH, which in turn improves SCP. KH plays a partial mediating role in this relationship. Moreover, the effectiveness of blockchain in mitigating KH is stronger in environments characterized by high market turbulence and dysfunctional competition but weaker under conditions of high environmental uncertainty. Originality/value This study advances OIPT by integrating BTA, KH and business environmental contingencies into a unified framework. It uncovers the behavioral mechanism through which BTA improves SCP and clarifies the contextual boundary conditions, offering novel theoretical insights and practical guidance for managing digital transformation in complex supply networks.