Innovative responsiveness to exogenous shocks for sustainability is a proactive methodology for mitigating and adapting to unforeseen events and challenges that could jeopardize the sustainability of ecosystems or organizations. This research aims to examine three innovative strategies-minimizing impact, shifting approaches, and short-long term planning-for responding to exogenous shocks in two Indonesian private sector transportation firms, Gojek and Grab, and the influence of this response on sustainable development. In addition, sustainable performance and outcomes are employed as mediators between the innovative response and sustainable development. A total of 385 drivers from Gojek and Grab in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were enlisted to answer questionnaires. The survey was distributed online via social media applications, and the collected data was analyzed using SEM-PLS 4. The findings indicate that the innovative response strategies to exogenous shocks-including minimizing impact, shifting to new approaches, and short-and long-term planning-were effective and contributed to the sustainable development of both companies. The results also suggest that minimizing impact has a negative but insignificant impact on sustainable outcomes, whereas both sustainable performance and outcome positively enhance the sustainable development of both firms. These research findings contribute to the literature by addressing a gap related to sustainability during crises in the Indonesian context. They also have practical implications by raising awareness of innovative, technology-based solutions.