Purpose

Risks resulted from asymmetric information have become crucial barriers for commercial banks to implement supply chain finance (SCF) – mainly the inventory pledge financing (IPF). At the same time, online financial service providers (OFSPs) are emerging as strong competitors in the SCF market. As a result, commercial banks need to update their traditional SCF business models and alleviate their over-dependence on OFSPs.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors employ a multi-case-study method to investigate how the Internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technologies can be jointly leveraged to mitigate SCF risks. In-depth interviews were conducted to depict the business models and their novel ecosystem to reinforce traditional banks' ability in SCF services.

Findings

From the perspective of information asymmetry, the authors categorize IPF risks into three groups based on the principal-agent theory: collateral, warehousing and liquidity risk. The findings suggest that IoT can primarily improve traditional banks' information acquisition ability, and blockchain can facilitate credible information transformation, enabling banks to acquire knowledge from collaterals. Besides, the e-platform in the new architecture increases banks' involvement in the supply chain and builds a fair network to curtail warehousing risks. The employment of smart contracts and collaborative mechanism ensure process and outcome control in mitigating liquidity risks.

Originality/value

The research contributes to the literature by confirming the role of emerging technologies in reducing information asymmetry risks. Besides, the findings provide valuable insights for practitioners to promote effective practices and approaches in IPF.

中文翻译：

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通过物联网和区块链缓解库存质押融资中的信息不对称

目的

信息不对称带来的风险已成为商业银行实施供应链金融（SCF）——主要是库存质押融资（IPF）的重要障碍。与此同时，在线金融服务提供商 (OFSP) 正在成为 SCF 市场的强大竞争对手。因此，商业银行需要更新其传统的供应链金融业务模式，缓解其对 OFSP 的过度依赖。

设计/方法/方法

作者采用多案例研究方法来研究如何共同利用物联网 (IoT) 和区块链技术来降低 SCF 风险。进行了深入访谈，以描述商业模式及其新颖的生态系统，以加强传统银行在 SCF 服务方面的能力。

发现

从信息不对称的角度，作者基于委托代理理论将IPF风险分为三类：抵押品、仓储和流动性风险。研究结果表明，物联网主要可以提高传统银行的信息获取能力，而区块链可以促进可信的信息转化，使银行能够从抵押品中获取知识。此外，新架构中的电子平台增加了银行在供应链中的参与度，并建立了一个公平的网络来降低仓储风险。采用智能合约和协作机制，确保降低流动性风险的过程和结果可控。

原创性/价值

该研究通过确认新兴技术在减少信息不对称风险方面的作用为文献做出贡献。此外，研究结果为从业者促进 IPF 的有效实践和方法提供了宝贵的见解。