Digital Business Sustainability: Integration of Technological Innovation and Sharia Economic Ethics

Abstract

Digital business transformation creates opportunities to improve efficiency, expand access, and generate value, yet it also introduces tensions between economic growth, social justice, and environmental responsibility. Islamic economic ethics offers a normative foundation for directing technology toward stakeholder well-being. This study aims to examine the conditions under which technological innovation supports digital business sustainability, clarify the role of Islamic ethics in governance, and develop an operational integrative framework. A qualitative conceptual approach is employed through critical examination and synthesis of literature on digital business models, sustainability, and Islamic economic ethics. The analysis compares arguments and findings, distinguishes normative claims from empirical evidence, and identifies relationships among concepts. The synthesis indicates that technology’s contribution to sustainability depends on alignment among digital capabilities, business model configurations, and oversight mechanisms. Formal Sharia compliance alone is insufficient to demonstrate the achievement of ethical objectives without evaluating the distribution of benefits and social and environmental impacts. The study proposes a framework linking digital innovation capabilities, governance grounded in justice, trustworthiness, and public welfare, and multidimensional sustainability outcomes. Proposed indicators include service transparency, user protection, inclusive access, and environmental responsibility. This framework advances an understanding of sustainability as value creation requiring ethical direction and provides a basis for evaluating digital business practices. However, the relationships among its components remain conceptual propositions requiring empirical validation across sectors and institutional contexts.