Ethics of field research for evaluating brand competitiveness in digital conditions

The article is devoted to the ethical problems of collecting field information for assessing the competitiveness of brands, which has become especially relevant in the context of the widespread dissemination of digital modes of information storage and processing. The problems of relationships and interactions between the researcher and the respondent of the marketing research relevant to the digital economy are examined from the standpoint of observing information ethics and the customer’s right to analytic results, from the point of view of using innovative technologies for collecting information in marketing research without the consent of the respondent, and enhancing the information transparency of the personal space of citizens. Special attention is paid to the collection and processing of results on assessing the competitiveness of brands, which for the most part are psychological surveys in the format of in-depth interviews and focus groups of respondents on individual elements of the brand signature of the brand or holistic perception of the brand in the eyes of consumers. Overcoming consumer resistance and the ethics of wording of topic guide questions, subsequent transcribing and summarizing questionnaires in the context of preserving information and options for its use by the researcher and the customer are the most important component of marketing research ethics