Exploring blockchain for green logistics: how institutional forces and process innovation shape sustainability in SMEs

Amanollahnejad, Albert; Izadi, Javad; Zaghmout, Bilal

Exploring blockchain for green logistics: how institutional forces and process innovation shape sustainability in SMEs

Amanollahnejad, Albert ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4258-6794, Izadi, Javad and Zaghmout, Bilal ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6296-9608 (2026) Exploring blockchain for green logistics: how institutional forces and process innovation shape sustainability in SMEs. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. pp. 1-27.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2025-0655

Abstract

Purpose
This study explores how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) interpret and respond to institutional pressures in relation to blockchain-enabled process innovation within green logistics. It examines how coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are perceived by SMEs and how these pressures intersect with internal process capabilities in sustainability-oriented logistics practices.

Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews with 18 participants, comprising 12 SME consultants and 6 SME directors based in the UK Supplementary secondary data from industry reports and consultancy materials were used for contextual triangulation. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, guided by institutional theory and business process management (BPM) as interpretive lenses.

Findings
The findings suggest that coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are widely perceived as shaping SMEs' engagement with blockchain in green logistics. However, participants reported notable variation in how these pressures are prioritised, influenced by firm size, resources, sectoral context and internal processes. Blockchain was viewed as a tool for transparency, not transformative solution.

Practical implications
The study suggests that SME managers and advisors should therefore view blockchain adoption as part of an incremental process transformation rather than a purely technological intervention, while policymakers may consider reducing regulatory uncertainty and supporting skills development to lower adoption burdens.

Originality/value
This study contributes an exploratory, context-sensitive account of blockchain adoption in green logistics by integrating institutional theory and BPM as interpretive frameworks. Rather than advancing causal claims, it offers nuanced insight into how institutional pressures and organisational conditions are jointly understood by SMEs.