Keeping the High Ground: Being Ethical in Business is More Important Than Ever
May 5, 2025; Mumbai, India:
The Market Research Society of India (MRSI) held a webinar as it celebrated International Market Research Day on May 2, 2025 with a power-packed session titled, on the topic of ‘Keeping the High Ground: Being Ethical in Business is More Important Than Ever’. The session was hosted by Mitali Chowhan, Director General, MRSI along with Dr. Meena Kaushik, Chairperson, Quantum Consumer Solutions, LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, Siddhartha Nangia, Co-Founder, Smytten & Smytten Pulse as guest panellists. The session delved into the evolving complexities of staying ethically grounded in a rapidly transforming landscape.
Dr. Meena Kaushik opened the discussion by reflecting on her 1990 founding of Quantum, the first specialist qualitative agency in Southeast Asia. She emphasised the multi-disciplinary approach she pioneered—blending cultural anthropology, semiotics, and neuroscience with qualitative research. Ethics, she said, has always been core, from data privacy to client and consumer respect. However, she noted, today’s fragmented, and tech-heavy world—including the rise of AI—has moved the ‘curve’ beyond current regulatory frameworks. Her key concern were - are we, as an industry, catching up or falling behind in ethical standards?
Siddhartha Nangia brought the start-up lens, reflecting on his experience with Unilever and now Smytten. He stressed the importance of transparency and data authenticity, having built a marketplace that doubles as a data platform. Nangia emphasised that ethical research today means capturing organic consumer behaviour without overburdening them with redundant surveys. He also highlighted challenges around consumer awareness—ensuring users know how their data is used—and the need to close the loop through informed consent and incentivization.
LV Krishnan grounded the discussion in values, asserting that ethics precedes business. Since research involves people at every level, consumers, clients, and researchers—ethical conduct must be ingrained from recruitment to execution. TAM, he shared, recruits mostly fresh graduates and embeds ethics into their training. In a fast-paced, shortcut-driven environment, he said, strong values are the only compass for sustainable industry-wide success.
Amit Adarkar echoed these views, describing ethics as even more critical today due to increased complexity and shrinking attention spans. He introduced the three T's—Trust, Transparency, and Technology—as his ethical pillars. He cautioned that while technology is a powerful enabler, it must be used responsibly, with full disclosure to clients, particularly when dealing with synthetic or experimental data. He highlighted the importance of earning consumer trust, especially in an era dominated by mobile and digital research.
The conversation naturally steered toward AI, where concerns around bias, transparency, and misuse were raised. While acknowledging that AI isn't new, the panel agreed that generative AI's accessibility to the masses brings unique ethical challenges. The consensus: ethical self-regulation, transparency, and consumer respect are more vital than ever to uphold the credibility and future of market research.
The panel also emphasised that the true power lies in the combination of human intelligence and artificial intelligence. While human judgment brings empathy and context, AI enhances efficiency and insight. It’s not about choosing one over the other, but about blending both to create more ethical, impactful, and innovative market research. To watch the recorded session, click
here