Risk evaluation in the implementation of sustainable measures in the supply chain operations: A Fuzzy Delphi-DEMATEL approach

Sustainable supply chain operations in developing countries like India face significant challenges due to fragmented risk management frameworks, regulatory uncertainty, infrastructural bottlenecks, and resource limitations, these issues hinder the effective implementation of sustainable measures. A critical problem is the lack of a systematic understanding and clearly defined causal relationships among the risks that impact sustainability initiatives. This study aims to holistically evaluate the causal relationships between these risks associated with the implementation of sustainable measures in supply chain operations. Key Risk Factors (KRFs) were identified through a thorough systematic literature review and validated using the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM). Further, to examine the causal relationship among KRFs used the Fuzzy DEMATEL method. This study result was confirmed that difficulty in importing technology and process, market competition, and changes customer in expectations are major risks. The management and operational, and logistics and infrastructural were determined as minor risks. This study contributes by identifying KRFs and evaluating their causal relationships in the implementation of sustainable measures within supply chain operations, through a combined Fuzzy Delphi–DEMATEL approach. By modelling the structural influence among KRFs, the study provides practical insights for service supply chain operators to design targeted risk mitigation strategies. These insights are vital for supporting the adoption of sustainable practices in the unique context of India’s supply chains. This research adds to the existing literature by comprehensively identifying and classifying stakeholder-driven causal relationships among KRFs in service-oriented supply chains using Fuzzy Delphi–DEMATEL approach.