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MATERIALS 51
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and polling process around five core pillars: digitalisation, Quantitative survey data regarding the perceived usefulness
sustainability, legal issues, certification frameworks, and of blockchain reflected high polarisation among industry actors.
tracking/tracing capabilities. Within the structured qualitative coding of open-ended survey
In the first round, guided group discussions were conducted text fields, the subcategories "blockchain provides a distinct
to gather qualitative perspectives on technological entry operational advantage" (n=15) and "blockchain provides no
barriers and governance configurations, with collaborative discernible advantage" (n=14) received statistically equivalent
inputs captured in real time on a shared digital whiteboard frequencies, underscoring divergent paradigm expectations
and subsequently subjected to thematic matrix coding. within the sector.
In the second round, participants anonymously evaluated the Respondents rated the current level of digitalisation in
specific socio-technical potential and feasibility of blockchain their work environment as satisfactory, with digitalisation seen
within each core pillar using digital polling software via a as a significant driver of efficiency. However, the active field
five-point Likert scale. application of digital data collection protocols remains variable,
The quantitative workshop data were exported and evaluated and pervasive deficits in baseline digital literacy across the
using descriptive statistics, defining group consensus as an workforce were identified as a major concern.
interquartile range of IQR ≤ 1.0. Respondents evaluated the contemporary sustainability
Divergent positions and polarised rankings were intentionally performance of the Central European forestry sector across
preserved in the final analysis to transparently reflect conflicting economic, environmental, and social dimensions using a
stakeholder interests and structural asymmetries across the standardised five-point Likert scale.
supply chain. The economic dimension was evaluated most favourably
Ultimately, the workshop functioned as an integrative layer (mean 2.13), followed by the environmental (mean 2.22) and
of analysis, serving to validate, challenge, and contextualise social dimensions (mean 2.40).
the empirical datasets derived from the prior research phases. Skill shortages and the extent to which digitalisation can
Multi-Dimensional Assessment of Blockchain Readiness address them received a more moderate evaluation (mean
Expert consensus strongly characterised advanced digital 2.92). Regarding forest ecosystem services, most respondents
maturity as a non-negotiable socio-technical prerequisite for supported the idea of a platform spanning forest types.
the operational deployment of blockchain-supported traceability In ranking tasks, the top priorities were identified as
architectures. water protection and provisioning, fresh air provisioning, and
However, empirical triangulation between the qualitative optimisation of forests as carbon sequestration sinks.
interviews and quantitative survey metrics revealed an asymmetric A substantial divergence was observed regarding the
distribution of digital readiness across the Central European operational integration of carbon footprint tracking and
forest-wood value chain, with analogue routines persisting in formalised life cycle assessments.
upstream forestry operations. While 61 percent of the sample acknowledged the strategic
This technological friction represents a critical operational
rawintanpin
constraint: the theoretical benefits of blockchain, such as tamper-
evident logging event registration and immutable cross-party
verification, are strictly contingent upon the primary availability
of high-fidelity digital data and standardised, interoperable
machine-to-machine interfaces.

