Molding the Enablers of Corporate Sustainability Using Total Interpretive Structural Modeling

In the time where sustainability strategies are increasingly becoming precursors to choose business priorities, there exists a need to understand the critical factors and their interdependencies, which could possibly influence the whole process.  The aim of this paper is to build a hierarchical model with regard to the enablers of Corporate Sustainability (CS), using a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) technique such as Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TSIM). The present study identified a set of enablers with the most driving power and is visually represented with the help of a hierarchical model. Enablers of CS are extracted by critically examining the extant of available literature and through interviewing, brainstorming few experts from both industry practitioners and academia. In order to overcome the self- selection bias and respondent’s bias, field survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire, with a sample size of 60 from the select pharmaceutical companies in India. Both the means are compared and there by the study follows a mixed mode research design. From the practitioner’s lens, the study results an indicative list of enablers of CS for the pharmaceutical companies in India, at internal, external and connecting levels which enhances the organizational sustainability practices. Furthermore, the use of TISM as a methodology to perform exploratory study, to identify the variables of interest and represent their interactions using hierarchical structures envelopes the academic implications and also acts as a guide line for the industry practitioners.