Blockchain technology, characterized by decentralization and immutability, offers promising solutions in supply chain management, such as the tracking and tracing of products and enhancing visibility and security. This research is motivated by the need for blockchain governance to enable the transition from complex blockchain technology into practical business applications. The research problem addresses the design of governance in blockchain-based supply chain consortia. This requires consideration of (1) governance of an organization that needs to be extended to cover a blockchain infrastructure of a supply chain, as well as (2) the blockchain technology with its risks and potentials for the stakeholders and the supply chain. The supply chain domain investigated in this work is the coffee supply chain in different variations that exemplifies global food supply chains. This dissertation aims at the design of a reference model necessary to govern consortium blockchain use cases in settings in which blockchain as an innovative technology is employed not only for business value, but also for visibility and collaboration, security, sustainability, fairness, and digital sovereignty. This dissertation employs the Design Science Research framework of Hevner et al. (2004) and is structured around an iterative design process with three design cycles. Two blockchain design studies, namely CoffeeChain and DP-PChain, provide the scenario design for the design cycles. Two empirical studies on digital sovereignty and ethical considerations of governance in blockchain-based supply chain consortia explore how to govern blockchain according to societal, regulatory, and business requirements. The first design cycle presents the design of the Blockchain Governance Control Matrix (BGCM), a reference model for managing blockchain technology with all its security aspects. The second design cycle presents the design of the Collaborative Governance Framework (CGF), a reference model for managing the economic value creation and collaboration in blockchain consortia. The third design cycle presents the Reference Model for Blockchain Security and Collaboration, which resulted from the harmonization of the BGCM and the CGF. The findings of this dissertation aim to expand the existing knowledge base on IT governance for blockchain and supply chain consortia. The results include a design for blockchain-enabled tracking and tracing, the design of a product passport to represent economic value in a blockchain-enabled supply chain, designs for digital sovereignty and fairness, and designs for blockchain governance for IT security and blockchain governance for economic value creation and collaboration.     «

Blockchain technology, characterized by decentralization and immutability, offers promising solutions in supply chain management, such as the tracking and tracing of products and enhancing visibility and security. This research is motivated by the need for blockchain governance to enable the transition from complex blockchain technology into practical business applications. The research problem addresses the design of governance in blockchain-based supply chain consortia. This requires considera...     »