Title: Empirical evidence on the causal relationships between COVID-19 and sustainability: a DEMATEL approach

Authors: Gaurav Jyoti; Himanshu; Ashu Khanna

Addresses: Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India ' Government Degree College Bisauli, UP, India ' Department of Management Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract: The study aims to find out the interrelationship between COVID-19 preventive measures and sustainability indicators. Data was collected from 300 corporate sustainability managers and consultants. The DEMATEL technique has been used. Five dimensions under the COVID-19 preventive measures and three leading sustainability indicators (environmental, social, and governance) along with fifteen sub-indicators are identified. The results reveal that COVID-19 preventive measures significantly influence the environmental and social aspects of sustainability. The interlinkages among sub-indicators of sustainability are also considered. The managers suggest that the pandemic has extended the scope and relevance of sustainability reporting in organisations. The study recommends that countries should not postpone their sustainable development goals (SDGs) due to COVID-19; instead, they should prioritise and synchronise their economic development agendas with these goals. The study also calls for long-term sustainable strategies to be implemented by the corporates so as to navigate towards SDGs.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; corporate sustainability; sustainability reporting; sustainable development; ESG performance; sustainable performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2025.148511

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2025 Vol.37 No.1, pp.128 - 146

Received: 25 Sep 2021
Accepted: 23 Oct 2021
Published online: 10 Sep 2025 *

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