(How) Can Blockchain Contribute to the Management of Systemic Risks in Global Supply Networks?

Even though globalization has led to larger, faster, and more efficient supply chains, at the same time the new worldwide interconnection has also resulted in major challenges with respect to hidden systemic risks. In particular, there is a lack of a holistic perspective on the entire supply network. This missing global view prohibits the anamnesis and management of underlying risks. Against this backdrop, in this paper we discuss the potential contributions of Blockchain technology to systemic risk management in global supply chains and networks. Given the increasing number of recent initiatives of businesses in the context of Blockchain, we argue that Blockchain technology can lower the hurdle for the use of secure multiparty computation. Ultimately, it may be possible to implement a corresponding monitoring mechanism for systemic risks without (i) the need of a central authority and (ii) revealing competition relevant, confidential information to other supply network participants.