Ethical digital marketing strategies for sustainable development: enhancing brand equity and consumer trust in the online era

Purpose – This study aims to critically investigate how ethical digital marketing strategies systematically contribute to sustainable development by functioning as governance mechanisms of Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR), mitigating greenwashing, and translating digital transparency into resilient consumer trust and multi-dimensional brand equity. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded in an interpretivist research paradigm, this conceptual paper integrates a systematic literature synthesis across corporate ethics, information systems, and sustainability. It employs a dual methodology: causal adaptation of the ecological Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts, Responses (DPSIR) model to marketing systems, alongside cognitive mental mapping to deconstruct feedback loops between corporate accountability and sustainable consumption. Findings – Three systemic digital marketing strategies transcend transactional promotion: radical supply chain transparency anchored in blockchain validation, value co-creation for the circular economy through participatory social networks, and proactive data ethics. These mechanisms neutralize information asymmetry, converting ethical signals into enhanced brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand loyalty, while catalyzing a macro-level shift toward responsible consumption. Practical implications – The paper provides an actionable framework for business leaders to transition from invasive, volume-driven metrics to relational, ethics-first indicators. It establishes context-sensitive operational roadmaps for implementing verifiable Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and opt-in data governance across differentiated industry contexts. Originality/value – The study introduces a novel "Digital Trust and Sustainability Model," bridging Stakeholder Theory, Signaling Theory, and CDR within an adapted DPSIR architecture. It redefines digital marketing from a driver of overconsumption into a structural feedback mechanism aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.