Blockchain in logistics in the context of sustainable development

Purpose: The aim of the research conducted was to identify the main research areas in scientific articles addressing blockchain in logistics in the context of sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted between April and August 2024. A review of Scopus database data was conducted. Scientific articles, extracted according to bibliometric query Q1, were submitted for analysis. Based on the adopted criteria, 74 scientific articles were identified and further analyzed according to the author's keywords using the VOSviewer software. A systematic literature review of scientific publications that referred to blockchain issues in logistics and sustainability was also used. Findings: Nine author keywords most frequently used in the analyzed publications were identified, which were followed by references to the words contained in the title of this study, namely blockchain in logistics and sustainability. The analysis made it possible to see that the word blockchain did not co-occur only with the word blockchain technology, which is considered reasonable. Research limitations/implications: The limiting factor of the present study is the choice of database, which was limited to the Scopus database and the bibliometric query Q1 constructed as part of the first stage of the research considerations undertaken. Nevertheless, as the analyses conducted in this article indicated, this procedure was justified since the few studies indicated were only concerned with the Scopus database itself. In addition, it allows and enables expert planning of future studies, which will be aimed at repeating these studies in the future to check the results or verify new research areas. Originality/value: The study conducted is unique compared to those conducted so far, which is confirmed by the constructed bibliometric query Q1. Within the framework of the analysis performed, future relevant research directions were identified, such as addressing the issue of green blockchain. According to the authors, the article can inspire other researchers and those interested in blockchain, logistics and sustainability issues.