Analyzing the determinants of sustainability of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects: an interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a game changer initiative of South Asian Pacific Rim. It has great importance for almost all Asian countries. Its success is expected to dictate the economic development of the stakeholders. The aim of this study is to evaluate the essential determinants deriving the sustainability of CPEC projects. The design of the study comprises of the review of literature, data collection, and analysis. Population under study is the folk of stakeholders of CPEC. Sampling envisages on purposive sampling design, i.e., 14 experts from within the stakeholders. Primary data is collected in the field setting through a survey questionnaire appropriate for the study. ISM is used for modelling and MICMAC for analysis and classification using inductive approach. The findings of the literature survey show that there are 23 prime determinants of sustainability of CPEC projects. The results of ISM show that 13 determinants are at Level-I, nine at Level-II, and one determinant namely “economic globalization” is at Level-III being the most critical and driving determinant. The findings of MICMAC show that only one determinant is classified in independent quadrant, and all the remaining determinants are in linkage quadrant, whereas, no determinant is shown in autonomous and/or dependence quadrant. But most of the determinants have potential to be classified in dependent and independent quadrants. It is intimately evident that the results of MICMAC corroborate the results of ISM. It is useful for folk of the stakeholders by way of developing an understanding about the multitude of determinants, intra-determinant relations, prioritizing the determinants for policy decisions, and/or for building future studies. This study has some limitations, e.g., the study uses qualitative approach and answers what and how questions that do not quantify the relations or tell the cause of indicated relations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-22813-3.