Blockchain or not? Optimal decisions for food retailers considering consumer expertise

Abstract

This paper studies the benefit of the blockchain food traceability system (BFTS). Based on game theory and the willingness-to-pay model, pricing models are formulated considering important factors like the proportion of consumer with high expertise in traceability, risk attitude to doubtful traceability information and perceived convenience of traceability information checking. By compared the optimal total welfare under the BFTS and that under the traditional food traceability system in valuation analysis, conditions where applying the BFTS is more valuable than applying the TFTS are figured out. Finally, insightful management implications are given.