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The multidimensional decision-making framework of sustainable entrepreneurship affects student behavior in higher education institutions. Thus, the sustainable entrepreneurship environment has long attracted scholars and policymakers. Based on “Stimulus Organism Response (SOR),” this study examines serial mediation of sustainable entrepreneurial education and entrepreneurial motivation to link sustainable entrepreneurial environment and intentions. Further, it also explored the moderating role of a sustainable entrepreneurial environment.

A quantitative study was conducted with a sample of 408 students of Indian higher education institutes in NCR using a purposive sampling technique. Smart PLS-SEM was utilized for assessing the structural model, and a goodness-of-fit assessment was done with Amos 22.

The findings revealed the significant impact of a sustainable entrepreneurial environment on sustainable entrepreneurial education, motivation and sustainable entrepreneurial intentions. Furthermore, sustained entrepreneurial education has the most important influence on student motivation and considerable serial mediation. Also, the moderating role of a sustainable entrepreneurial environment was found to be significant for linkages of entrepreneurial motivation and sustainable entrepreneurial education with sustainable entrepreneurial intentions.

The study will assist HEIs and scholars in understanding the role of sustainability in entrepreneurial courses to increase student intentions to start sustainable businesses.

This study helps policymakers and HEIs understand what motivates students to pursue sustainable entrepreneurship. This research might improve the well-being of education stakeholders and the community in achieving sustainable development goals.

The study is the first to analyze how sustainable entrepreneurial education and motivation serially mediate the link between a sustainable entrepreneurial environment and aspirations to establish a sustainable business and contribute to the existing literature of SOR from a new perspective.

The successive waves of the Covid-19 SARS-II pandemic and the attendant lockdown imposed by the governments worldwide drove the economic activities to a halt. Offices and factories closed, production of goods and services declined and supply chains got severely disrupted. Many companies were embattled with the grim reality of shrinkage of aggregate demand, first due to supply shock and later due to loss of jobs and wages. Amidst all this, the handling and shipping of commodities became extremely complex. As the pandemic shifted consumer preference in favour of digital platforms, more and more fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies were confronted with multiple strategies and choices of an appropriate distribution channel to ensure smooth delivery of raw materials and products. The present study aims to study this shift and its implications in the Indian context.

A mix-method approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis, is employed to investigate the factors influencing the selection of distribution channels amongst general trade, modern trade, e-commerce and hyperlocal for FMCG companies in India. The first phase of the study uses exploratory factor analysis (EFA), followed by the application of analytical hierarchy process (AHP) approach in a fuzzy environment to realise the priority weights and ranking of the identified factors. Finally, sensitivity analysis is performed to confirm the robustness of the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) outcomes.

The study revealed that modern trade has emerged as the most favoured channel in the post-pandemic Indian economy. It has the potential to disrupt general trade. The study also revealed that the hyperlocal delivery model is not economically viable, and the partnership of FMCG companies with these applications is at best a short-term solution. However, it must be submitted that due to its sheer capability to ensure quick deliveries within a confined geographic area, hyperlocal delivery will gain momentum with the advancement of technology.

This study can be seen as the first attempt to investigate the issues related to the selection of the distribution channels in the FMCG sector of India using multi-criteria decision-making technique (MCDM).