Critical Drivers and Barriers to Blockchain Adoption in the Iraqi Construction Supply Chain: A Grey Delphi–DEMATEL Approach

Abstract

Blockchain technology (BT) has recently captured the attention of researchers and practitioners in the construction sector, in particular. Researchers widely agree that blockchain is not just a buzzword, but a revolutionary technology that is revolutionizing the world of corporate management, construction companies, and their supply chain operations. Despite the remarkable progress in the use of this technology in the construction sector, blockchain applications related to operations and supply chain management (OSCM) in Iraq remain completely absent. With increasing interoperability and resource constraints, this study presents a list of obstacles to blockchain adoption. In a review of 1,176 recent articles, filtering for articles on the challenges of using blockchain in construction supply chains (CSC) yielded 86 articles. The obstacles revolve around five main themes: (1) Technology, (2) Organization, (3) Environment, (4) Trust, and (5) Acceptance. Using a Grey Delphi–DEMATEL Approach, the results concluded that there are influential obstacles, such as inadequate information sharing, concerning trust management, as well as others that are influenced, including insufficient policies in the organization, absence of technical support. Therefore, this study seeks to extend our understanding of the BT and how the companies create and capture business value with it.