| Abstract |
Food Supply Chains (FCSs) are center-stage in the global conversation on sustainability. The challenge of food loss and waste is prominent in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Goals, which demands halving the per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030. Consumer awareness of food safety and health has also greatly increased in the last few decades; correspondingly, confidence in the quality of food has greatly decreased. Studies show that local and organic foods are perceived by consumers to be relatively healthier, and this new interest has led to academics and industry practitioners exploring a holistic understanding of FSCs a to tackle such emerging challenges. Several studies have examined FSCs through the lenses of circular economy principles, leading to the emerging term, circular food supply chains (CFSCs). Emergent digital technologies, including blockchain technologies (BCT), are touted to provide traceability, transparency and scalability which, if applied in FSCs, may help to address many of these challenges. However, the theory and technology of circular economy and BCT have, to-date, had only limited influence on FSCs due to inherent and/or perceived application risks. Further, there is a need for more considered and strategic integration of digital technologies, in general, as mechanisms for identify and mitigating potential risks, and achieving desired outcomes. Using a hybrid modelling approach of fuzzy set theory and interpretive structural modelling, this paper develops and proposes a framework in identifying and analysing these integration risks. |