Purpose Different stakeholders with varying degrees of influences pressure companies to adopt more sustainable practices. The aim of this paper is to investigate and analyse how stakeholder influences and risks may impact the sustainability of supply chains (SCs). Social, environmental, and economic concerns are addressed by a company's engagement with different players in the supply chain. Respectively, companies become more vulnerable from exposure in their SCs and need to balance the pressures from stakeholders and sustainable practices to develop suitable risk mitigation practices. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a qualitative approach by means of a systematic literature review to examine the empirical data on the way managing stakeholder influences and risks impacts sustainability for supply chains (SCs) from dependable databases: Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. Findings The findings of the analysis show that knowledge management, collaboration, and top management commitment is a prerequisite for effectively managing various stakeholder influences and risks for sustainable supply chains. Consequently, further research could identify conflict stakeholder interests and analyse distinct stakeholder influences in various industries and the negative effects these influences in themselves may pose. Originality/value This paper provides insight into the relevance of bridging the gap for Sustainable Supply Chain Management in terms of value creation and sustainable development.