Purpose: The study explores the integration of blockchain technology with Digital Product Passports (DPP) to facilitate information transparency to address industry-wide concerns. Methodology: This research employed a qualitative exploratory design, utilizing detailed semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the relative field. The research synthesized insights from industry reports, academic discourse, and empirical data to offer a holistic perspective on the subject matter. Findings: The study reveals a pressing need for standardized and transparent mechanisms for sharing information within the industry's supply chains. As an initial stage, adopting a Digital Product Passport contains many challenges. The research identifies three key categories of challenges (i.e. Technological, Organizational, and Regulatory challenges) and tries to investigate the role of blockchain technology in the supply chain to solve them. Implications: The integration of DPPs and blockchain holds the potential to revolutionize supply chain collaboration, enhance consumer trust, and facilitate the transition to a circular economy. The study underscores the importance of stakeholder collaboration, education, and the establishment of industry-wide standards to unlock the full transformative potential of these technologies. Value: This research contributes to the growing discourse on circular supply chains by explaining the role of DPPs and blockchain technology in promoting transparency, and traceability. The study offers a comprehensive framework for understanding the data requirements of digital product passports, bridging the gap in the existing literature. The findings serve as a foundation for informed decision-making by industry practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

[pt] Um sistema de rastreamento que armazena dados de alto volume, tais como indicadores de mobilidade, status de agentes e cargas, é de interesse tanto para empresas quanto para consumidores. Um sistema como esse permite verificar informações, como os locais visitados em um shopping center, a duração das estadias dos funcionários em determinadas partes de um prédio de escritórios ou fábrica, se um ônibus parou em cada ponto de ônibus em uma rota, a rota do entregador ou se uma equipe de seguranças está executando a ronda especificada em um bairro. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a eficiência de identificar a posição atual de uma entidade móvel e propor uma solução para transmitir, adicionar e recuperar informações como estas. A solução proposta é um framework chamado ARTIIMoR, que armazena dados de maneira segura, imutável e transparente usando um sistema de Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) multicamadas. Três camadas de DLT são utilizadas para armazenar informações de localização em diferentes níveis de abstração e agregação. O sistema visa permitir que empresas e consumidores registrem informações de posição e movimento com confiabilidade, escalabilidade e rastreabilidade. / [en] A tracking system capable of storing high volume data, such as mobility indicators, agent and cargo statuses, is of interest to both companies and consumers. Such a system enables the checking of information, such as the locations visited in a shopping center, the duration of employees stays incertain parts of an office building or factory, whether a bus stopped at each bus stop on a route, the route of a delivery driver, or whether a security team is performing the specified patrol in a neighborhood. This dissertation aims to investigate the efficiency of identifying the current position of amobile entity and propose a solution for transmitting, adding, and retrieving information like this. The proposed solution is a framework called ARTIIMoR,which stores data securely, immutably, and transparently using a multilayer Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) system. Three layers of DLT are used to store location information at different levels of abstraction and aggregation.The system aims to allow companies and consumers to record position andmovement information with reliability, scalability, and traceability.

The unprecedented growth of the cryptocurrency market over the past decade has attracted significant interest from various stakeholders, including investors, policymakers, and researchers. Cryptocurrencies, digital currencies that operate on blockchain technology, are revolutionary because they offer financial transactions without the need for traditional banking systems. This innovative approach to finance has reshaped the global economic landscape, presenting unique opportunities and substantial challenges. Cryptocurrency, spearheaded by the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, represents a significant shift from traditional fiat currencies to a decentralized digital economy. Bitcoin and its contemporaries rely on a peer-to-peer network, utilizing cryptographic techniques to ensure transaction security and user anonymity, a characteristic has fueled both adoption and controversy. As the market has grown, so have the complexities associated with its expansion, notably in regulation, security, and market dynamics. This dissertation explores these complexities through three distinct but interconnected essays, each focusing on a different aspect of the cryptocurrency environment.

Yes / Insurance claims processing involves multiple entities and data sources, necessitating communication between human agents. Consequently, vehicle insurance claims have traditionally required significant human effort and time. Daily vehicle-related transactions, including those managed by transportation authorities, pose challenges for tracking. Centralised systems have been utilised for national solutions, but trust management, transparency, and access control issues arise. There is potential for further integration of vehicle-related transactions. This article proposes a blockchain framework for vehicle insurance to streamline the reporting of accidents and filing of insurance claims. Blockchain-based automation platforms can enhance the scale and response time of claims processing, providing users with control over additional transactions, inspection, and insurance. For experimental purposes, a blockchain was created using Hyperledger Fabric to store information about vehicles, owners, and insurance. Efficient querying of this blockchain requires specific participants, assets, and transactions. The consensus algorithm can identify invalid claims if a transaction request contains an error. By deploying blockchain technology and smart contracts, this architecture has the potential to address trust and security concerns associated with traditional insurance policies and claims.

The world is facing new challenges caused by global warming and is puttingpressure on governments, companies and the civil society to act fast. Like all industries, the wine industry is affected by climate change and wine producers are simultaneously struggling to stay viable while competing on a global market. To become sustainable, transparency is needed in the supply chain so that stakeholders and consumers can influence it. In this study, blockchain technology is investigated as a possible technology that can increase sustainability, transparency and over-all efficiency in the supply chain. The study is a case study and takes place in South Africa. The study takes the perspective of small and medium sized enterprises because they are a big part of the market and has not been researched in this area. Empirical data was collected through interviews, observations and secondary data and it was analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that there is a lot of administrative work in the industry where compliance and certifications take a lot of time and effort. The smaller wineries, that often want to focus on making good wine, have a harder time with the administrative work since the same person might have several roles or functions in the business. The current traceability system is also one of the best in the world but is largely paper based. In the discussion it is shown that the industry has some elements that would be good for a blockchain system but the smaller producers would probably not dare to invest in such a system since they need improvements in quality or efficiency to stay viable and the technology required is expensive. The thesis concludes that the industry has some structures in place that would be a good base for a blockchain system. This could add an extra level of security and trust to the system. The implementation for the small-scale producers seems far away since the technological requirements are expensive. / De rådande klimatförändringarna ställer nya krav på företag att ta ansvar för sina utsläpp och miljöpåverkningar. Därför blir det allt mer vanligt för företag att medvetet öka hållbarheten i sina värdekedjor eftersom det också blir allt viktigare för stakeholders och konsumenter. För att kunna sätta press på företag krävs dock transparens och med komplexa värdekedjor kan detta vara svårt att skapa. Därför krävs nya teknologier som kan hjälpa företag att öka transparens, effektivitet och integritet. Blockchain-teknologi är en relativt ny teknologi som med sina decentraliserade egenskaper har potential att användas i värdekedjan för att öka hållbarhet och transparens. Denna studie undersöker just det genom en fältstudie i den Sydafrikanska vinindustrin. Det är in riktadpå främst små- och medelstora företag och inkluderar också industriorganisationer för att bidra med en holistisk bild av värdekedjan för vin. Genom intervjuer, observationer och sekundärdata samlades empirisk data in och analyserades med tematisk data-analys. Resultaten visade att små-och medelstora vinproducenter fäktas med mycket administrativt arbete och har svårt att vara ekonomiskt hållbara på en global marknad. Spårbarheten i Sydafrika fungerar utmärkt och därför finns det redan viss infrastruktur på plats i landet som skulle kunna vara en grund till att utveckla ett blockchain-baserat system för att öka säkerheten, transparensen och minska administrativa kostnader för de mindre företagen. Ifall ett blockchain-system skulle implementeras skulle det troligtvis inte drivas av de små företagen även fast de hade gynnats mest, utan av större företag med finansiell kapacitet.

Throughout history, the food sector has been accountable for several crises, and as the market gets more global it is difficult to keep control of and trust the information. As a consequence to the food scandals, due to the information asymmetry, the customer awareness is increasing as well as initiatives such as certificates to address the problems. To be able to increase the transparency, the information infrastructure is constantly developing and most recently the technology of blockchain has gathered a lot of attention as a possible solution to the problems. A blockchain is an open, distributed and decentralized verification system for digital transactions where data about the transaction is stored safely in so called blocks which forms a chain in a network. In order to obtain food safety, it is necessary to have traceability systems that records and can provide product specific information. This study investigates the challenges and possibilities of a possible implementation of a traceability system supported by blockchain technology. This research is made by a case study, looking into a food supply chain for a package of milk, starting at the dairy manufacturer and ending at the retailer. By doing interviews and observations, a mapping of the case specific supply chain was made and a blockchain technology supported framework for traceability was suggested. From analyzing theoretical data and empirical findings the possibilities and challenges of a blockchain supported framework for traceability was discussed. The conclusion of the study is that the blockchain technology still is immature in the context of food supply chains and some of the biggest challenges are to develop a culture that promotes collaborations, information sharing and standardizations which are easy to adopt. However, blockchain technology has the possibility to offer secure and transparent traceability characteristics to a traceability system and a framework can lead to both cost and environmental savings in case of a product recall. Furthermore, to be willing to collaborate and to put time and effort into new implementations it is important to find the actual value of implementation for all stakeholders. / Livsmedelssektorn står ansvariga för flertalet skandaler, med en allt mer globaliserad marknad blir det än mer svårt att behålla kontrollen över information och lita på den. Som en konsekvens av skandalerna, till följd av informations-asymmetrin, har konsumenternas medvetenhet ökat såväl som initiativ så som certifieringar för att bemöta problemen. Informationsinfrastrukturer utvecklas ständigt för att kunna öka transparensen och blockkedjetekniken har den senaste tiden fått mycket uppmärksamhet för att kunna vara en möjlig lösning till problemen. En blockkedja är ett öppet, distribuerat och decentraliserat verifikationssystem för digitala transaktioner där data om transaktionen är säkert sparad i så kallade block som tillsammans bildar en kedja i ett nätverk. För att uppehålla livsmedelssäkerhet är det nödvändigt med spårbarhetssystem som registrerar och kan tillhandahålla produktspecifik information. Studien undersöker utmaningar och möjligheter för en möjlig implementering av ett blockkedjetekniksbaserat ramverk för spårbarhet. Studien är genomförd som en fallstudie genom att undersöka en livsmedelskedja för ett paket mjölk som avgränsats till att börja vid mejeriet och sluta i matbutiken. Genom att göra intervjuer och observationer gjordes en kartläggning av livsmedelskedjan och ett förslag på ett ramverk för spårbarhet supportat av blockkedjeteknik togs fram. Från analys av teoretiska data och empiriska upptäckter diskuterades möjligheterna och utmaningarna med ett blockkedjetekniksbaserat ramverk för spårbarhet. Slutsatsen av studien är att blockkedjetekniken fortfarande är en omogen teknik i kontexten av en livsmedelskedja och att några av de största utmaningarna ligger i att utveckla en kultur som uppmanar till samarbete, informationsdelning och standardiseringar som är enkla att implementera. Tekniken erbjuder däremot säkerhets- och transperensegenskaper till ett spårbarhetssystem och ett ramverk kan medföra både kostnads- och miljöbesparingar vid en produktåterkallelse. För att samarbeta och investera i tid och pengar för en implementation är det dessutom viktigt att hitta de faktiska värdena i implementeringen för alla intressenter.

This master thesis explores how blockchain technologies can be utilized within the financial sector with focus on how to store both private and public information on the blockchain. The capital market is looking into ways of cutting down administrative work through streamlining the financial process by using blockchain technologies. Public key encryption together with hash functions and a consensus mechanism make up the basis for creating a shared trustless database system. The thesis was conducted by extensive research concerning cryptographic topics, and a literature study was made to compare existing solutions. This was done in order to come up with a new design which suggests how to utilize blockchain technologies in order to create private transactions. The design solves issues regarding key management and how to handle both private and public information on the blockchain. The proposed design is an extension of Visigon's existing permissioned blockchain, and it introduces different roles within the peer to peer network as well as a concept of having regulating nodes that together with the involved bank's nodes handle the process of private transactions. Private transactions are encrypted by using symmetric keys and thereafter recorded on the blockchain. In conclusion blockchain technology might not be the most suitable database system for banks to keep transactions private. Future solutions should consider the best attributes of blockchain technologies and create a new system with the single purpose of being a tool for the financial market.

Blockchains, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies are reaching further global adoption each day and are becoming more prominent to be the foundation for a new technological era and to be used in transactions globally. The technology has strong coherent properties, including a high level of security, decentralization, and its use of smart contracts to obviate intermediaries. These technologies offer the possibility to do any transaction without a centralized bank controlling, denying, or reversing the transaction. This report aims to shed light on blockchain technologies possible impact on society and if the current centralized-based system can be replaced or if it is deemed as necessary. What the potential outcome would be if these centralized authorities sees a decrease in power and how blockchains, smart contracts and stablecoins can be used as an everyday payment and transaction system, excluding all third parties. To do this, a literature review, a quantitative survey, and qualitative interviews were conducted. The literature review, to lay the ground for the questions in the survey, interviews, and additionally, to determine what blockchain and what kind of stablecoin is most suited for global adoption. The result from the qualitative interview were to acquire knowledge from more experienced individuals working or owning a company that is based on top of blockchains. Lastly, considering blockchain technology and web 3.0 is still under development and yet to become globally accepted, the questionnaire survey was conducted to retrieve the general consensus from individuals inside crypto communities. The report overall, came out to be successful, indicating that blockchain technologies has a bright future and that the decentralization it adds to society can benefit the individual in multiple of different ways, specifically in the financial sector. However, although the conclusion that blockchain technologies can be used as a global payment system were deemed successful, objective, and subjective opinions were discussed and reported relevant, whereas one individual might view the exclusion of intermediaries as necessary and beneficial, while the other – as something negative. Scalability issues in blockchains and smart contracts controversy, such as its complexity and its immutability aspect are also analyzed and discussed as a potential hindrance for further global adoption.

Background:  Industry 4.0 technologies are expected to play an important role in the near future. Among these, blockchain technology is in the spotlight and recognized to be revolutionary within the agri-food industry and its supply chains. However, the technology and its adoption is in an early phase and involves several challenges for agri-food organizations. Given its nascent nature, academic research is scarce and a need for research of blockchain technology adoption in different contexts has been identified.  Purpose:  The purpose of this thesis is therefore to analyze the reasoning behind Swedish agri-food organizations’ decisions to adopt or reject blockchain technology as well as their approach to its adoption in their supply chains.  Method:  A qualitative research design with an inductive approach was applied, where the primary data was gathered through 9 semi-structured interviews with agri-food organizations and experienced individuals within the field.  Conclusion:  The findings show that trustworthiness is the main goal and driver of blockchain technology adoption and identified several secondary reasons for adoption. The research also specifies challenges which act as reasons for rejection as well as two-edged critical factors affecting adoption decisions. Further, Swedish agri-food organizations were recognized to be in an immature adoption phase and hence two main approaches to blockchain adoption, proactive and pending, were determined. Based on these findings, the BAP framework visualizing the blockchain adoption process was developed.

Syftet med denna studie var att förstå kriterier, barriärer, kostnader och fördelar som är förknippade med implementering av blockchain-teknik, och utifrån detta utforska hur blockchain-teknik kan förbättra BPM. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär och gjordes sekventiellt genom att först genomföra en omfattande tvärvetenskaplig litteraturöversikt och därefter intervjua personer med erfarenhet från blockchain-teknik. Analysen gjordes med både en induktiv och deduktiv ansats där tematisk analys tillämpades. Resultaten från studien visar att blockchain-teknik kan minska transaktionskostnader, förbättra avstämning och verifiering, förbättra samarbetsprocesser och skapa förtroende och öppenhet samtidigt som de stöder organisationer med styrning av datasäkerhet, korrekthet av data, och minskade IT-kostnader till följd av förbättrad hantering med säkerhetskopiering av data, servrar och lagring. Stort fokus ligger för tillfället på smarta kontrakt där integrering av affärslogiken tillsammans med en förbättrad databasstruktur möjliggör förbättrat samarbete och automatisering av standardiserade affärsprocesser. Resultaten indikerar också brist på blockchain-ingenjörer, vilket påverkar utveckling och tillväxt. Studien belyser ett behov av ytterligare implementeringsstudier och att bättre skilja mellan de olika blockchain-typerna och de problem de kan lösa. Säkerhet, hållbarhet och interoperabilitet nämns ofta som utmaningar i den pågående diskussionen om blockchain. Detta är inte unikt för blockchain-teknik och mer nyanserade förklaringsmodeller krävs. Blockchain-teknik kan vara framtiden, och kan ersätta befintlig infrastruktur, i slutändan måste organisationer överväga vid vilken tidpunkt de bör börja tänka på att sätta blockchain på sin agenda, med de olika avvägningar som detta innebär. / The purpose of this study was to understand criteria, barriers, costs and benefits that are associated with implementing blockchain technology, and from this explore how blockchain technology can improve BPM. The study is of qualitative nature and was done sequentially by conducting an extensive cross-disciplinary literature review first, and then interviewed people with experience from blockchain technology. The analysis was done with both an inductive and deductive approach by doing a thematic analysis. The results from this study show that blockchain technology can reduce transactional costs, improve reconciliation, improve collaborative business processes and bring trust and transparency while supporting organizations with governance of data security, data consistency and reducing associated IT-costs with managing back-up of data, servers and storage. A lot of focus is currently centered around smart contracts, where incorporating the business logic together with an improved database structure allows for improved collaboration and automation of standardized business processes. The results also indicate a shortage of blockchain engineers, consequently impacting development and growth. The study highlights a need for further implementation studies and to better distinguish between the different blockchain types and the problems they can solve. Security, sustainability and interoperability are often mentioned as challenges in the current discourse on blockchain. This is not unique for blockchain and more nuanced explanation models are required. Blockchain technology may be the future and replace existing infrastructure, ultimately organizations have to consider at what point in time they should start thinking about putting it on their agenda and the associated trade-offs that comes with this. / <p>2021-06-06</p>