Congratulations to Dr. Johannes Owsianowski!
He successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas in January 2025. His dissertation, titled “The Use of Blockchain in the Fair Trade Supply Chain: A Case Study of Quinoa” (translated from French), was completed under the supervision of Prof. Pierre Féniès. In his research, Dr. Owsianowski explored the potential of blockchain technology in supply chain management, with a particular focus on fair trade.

Although blockchain technology initially gained prominence following the 2008 financial crisis, its application in agricultural supply chains has been a growing area of research since 2018. However, the specific topic of fair trade—primarily associated with agricultural products—has largely been overlooked in business research.

Dr. Owsianowski’s work specifically examined the initial and final stages of the fair trade supply chain. Based on a review of scientific literature on end consumers, he identified both motivations and barriers to purchasing fair trade products. He then conducted a case study involving fair trade quinoa producers in Bolivia, including focus group discussions, to better understand the information flows and expectations at the beginning of the supply chain.

The findings were used to develop a model of a “long-short” supply chain. This model combines the characteristics of a long supply chain with those of a short supply chain, such as enhanced transparency and closer connections between producers and consumers.

The model was subsequently evaluated through expert interviews with professionals in the fields of blockchain and fair trade. The qualitative analysis revealed that the concept of a “long-short” supply chain offers both opportunities and challenges. Some findings were novel and provided avenues for future research, particularly within the context of fair trade.

A special thank you goes to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Vera Bitsch for her invaluable support. Her insights and advice played a significant role in the success of Dr. Owsianowski’s dissertation project.

For more information about Dr. Owsianowski, please visit: https://www.msl.mgt.tum.de/en/oegl/team/dr-johannes-owsianowski/