City Research Online

Abstract

The global climate crisis is pushing firms toward sustainable supply chain practices, with digital technology offering a vital pathway to track greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research investigates the factors influencing the adoption of digital traceability systems for managing these emissions, focusing on implementation scope and supply chain complexity (SCC). Drawing on Institutional Theory and Transaction Cost Economics, we conducted a choice-based conjoint experiment with managers in manufacturing sectors to capture the trade-offs in their decisionmaking process. Our results show that firms are more likely to consider technology solutions when (a) those solutions cover Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions, and (b) there is greater SCC due to ‘detail-numerousness’ (number of elements in a system) and ‘detail-variety’ (heterogeneity of these elements). However, dynamic complexity (changing nature of elements) has an ambiguous impact on technology adoption. ‘Detail-numerousness’ (e.g., number of products produced) is the most critical attribute for internal operations, while ‘detail-variety’ (e.g., geographical dispersion and supplier heterogeneity) has the greatest impact on upstream supply chains. This research extends the supply chain technology adoption literature by providing a nuanced empirical understanding of how distinct dimensions of SCC at both internal and upstream levels shape the adoption of digital traceability.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Business Logistics published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	Digital Traceability, Scope 3 Emissions, Supply Chain Complexity, Transaction Cost Economics, Institutional Theory
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Departments:	Bayes Business School Bayes Business School > Faculty of Management
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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