Towards sustainability: the role of supply chain capabilities, resilience, circular economy, and blockchain technology in food supply chains

In today's competitive landscape, sustainability has evolved from a trend to a strategic imperative,particularly challenging for the complex and waste-prone food supply chain. This study explores thesynergistic effects of three critical pillars: resilience, circular economy (CE), and I4.0 technologiesparticularly Blockchain technology (BCT) on sustainable performance of food supply chains. Whilethese elements independently contribute to sustainability, research on their combined effects hasremained fragmented. This study bridges that gap by examining how these pillars interact with coresupply chain capabilities (agility, collaboration, and traceability) to enhance sustainability in foodsupply chain.The research examines the relationship between supply chain capabilities, resilience, CE practices andBCT in achieving sustainable supply chain performance, drawing on a combination of Resource-BasedView (RBV), Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), and Dynamic Capability Theory (DCT). Toachieve its objectives, this study set out to collect primary data via a self-administered survey from 299managerial-level employees in the dynamic UK food and drink manufacturing sector. Structuralequation modelling (SEM) was used to test hypotheses. The results revealed that SC capabilities(agility, collaboration, and traceability) play a significant role in strengthening SC resilience, whichenhances an organization’s ability to manage and recover from disruptions effectively. Whilecollaboration and traceability were found to foster CE practices, agility’s influence on CE practices wasnot statistically significant. Furthermore, collaboration did not directly influence sustainable supplychain performance in this study. Notably, supply chain resilience and circular economy practices bothdemonstrated statistically significant positive impacts on sustainable supply chain performance. Themediation analysis showed that SC resilience positively and significantly mediates the relationshipbetween agility, traceability, and sustainable supply chain performance. However, collaboration'simpact on sustainable performance was not mediated by SC resilience. Additionally, the study foundthat circular economy practices positively and significantly mediate the relationship between agility,collaboration, traceability, and sustainable supply chain performance. Moderation analysis suggeststhat Blockchain technology plays a complex moderating role. Specifically, it enhances the synergisticeffects of agility and collaboration on supply chain resilience while showing no impact on traceability.Blockchain also strengthens the positive relationships between collaboration and traceabilityconcerning circular economy practices, though it mitigates the negative influence of agility on thesepractices. Interestingly, Blockchain technology amplifies the positive effects of agility andcollaboration on sustainable supply chain performance although it does not have a positive effect ontraceability. The conceptual framework presented in this study offers a novel foundation for enhancingsustainability in supply chains by integrating supply chain resilience, circular economy (CE) practices,core supply chain capabilities (agility, collaboration, and traceability), and Blockchain technology. Bystrategically harnessing these components, supply chain professionals can drive meaningfulsustainability improvements throughout their supply chain performance.