Social craft beer and blockchain technology: Italian consumers’ preferences

Public comprehension of blockchain technology, especially concerning its societal implications, is a relatively underexplored area. This study seeks to fill this void by investigating how such technological advancements might influence consumer purchasing decisions. Specifically, it examines whether individuals are inclined to buy “social” craft beers (produced by social farms) that offer transparent details regarding their origin, social aspects (including the involvement of women who have experienced domestic violence in production), and processing techniques. To achieve these findings, a survey based on a modified Technology Acceptance Model within the Italian context was carried out. The results demonstrate that information on the origin of craft beer, its social impacts and processing methods should provide reciprocal advantages among Italian consumers and social farms. In this sense, blockchain would be a useful tool to generate knowledge both to support the economic inclusion of female victims of domestic violence, and to improve social farms contexts. In other words, blockchain technology should offer transparent information regarding the origin of beer, its social aspects (supporting women economic inclusion) and processing techniques, thereby providing the end consumer with a high-quality product.