Circular Supply Chain Stakeholder Mapping for Blockchain Governance of Lithium-ion Battery Safety

The application of blockchain (BC) technology in the lithium-ion battery (LIB) circular supply chain can provide significant support to help in this practice. Yet BC application is limited due to various complexities—accurate information and data from stakeholders is plays a significant role in that complexity. This study aims to identify stakeholder roles in BC application to address safety issues during the circular supply chain—a critical issue for the adoption of CE for LIB to help mitigate LIB materials scarcity. We survey and gather input from 40 experts in CE, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), BC, and safety-related issues from academia and practice. The Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) matrix project management tool is used to categorize and map stakeholders by their level of power and involvement. The results provide insights into five theory-based hypotheses and practical implications for BC application in this environment. The study provides a methodology to identify stakeholder roles for BC development in mitigating CE LIB safety issues using the RACI matrix. Part of the study also considers the heterogeneity in stakeholder involvement in this process. This process and methodology also provide a way to evaluate and support long-term transdisciplinary research and innovation. The application of BC technology in the supply chain has been touted as inevitable, but a significant barrier is understanding stakeholder roles ranging from development to application and improvement. This study examines a methodology to identify and map stakeholders and further provides research and practice insights to the application of BC technology to solve safety issues in the LIB circular supply chain.