Critical Success Factors for Blockchain Technology Integration for Effective Tourism Supply Chain Management in Tanzania

Abstract

Tourism supply chains in developing countries face persistent challenges, including fragmented information flows, weak inter-organizational trust, limited data transparency, and inadequate digital integration. Blockchain technology offers mechanisms to address these challenges through tamper-resistant records, traceability, transparency, and secure information sharing. However, its integration into tourism supply chain management remains limited in Tanzania, and the critical success factors that shape its effective use are not yet well understood. This study examines the critical success factors influencing the effective integration of blockchain technology in tourism supply chain management in Tanzania. Drawing on the technological–organizational–environmental (TOE) framework and selected user-acceptance constructs from the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the study develops and tests a quantitative model linking technological, organizational, environmental, and perceived benefit factors to effective BCT use in tourism supply chain management. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 128 tourism-sector stakeholders in Arusha, Tanzania, and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings show that technological factors, particularly accessibility, effort expectancy, privacy and security, and performance expectancy, significantly influence the effective use of BCT. Organizational factors, including ICT policy, funding, and management commitment, also have positive effects. ICT infrastructure is positively associated with effective BCT use, while social influence and rules and regulations show negative effects in the current Tanzanian context, suggesting that institutional uncertainty and limited blockchain awareness may constrain adoption. Perceived benefits, including traceability, data transparency, immutability, and trustworthiness, further strengthen BCT effectiveness. The study contributes to information systems research by clarifying how organizational readiness and user-perceived technological value jointly shape blockchain integration in a developing-country tourism supply chain context.