“How should one harmonize the use of data in a non-harmonized business?” - A case study on the role and adoption of common data governance

Abstract

As use of data is becoming increasingly pervasive in all facets of society, many organizations and businesses are building their capabilities for better and more valuable uses for it. At the same time, infusing the use of data to various organizational practices has turned out to be a very complex task in practice. With this case study I aim to build on the understanding on how various organizational structures and processes impact the utilization of data in a large utilities company with highly autonomous business units. This study was motivated by two perspectives on data governance which as of yet have been relatively little researched. First, the literature review of this research indicates that data governance impacts the development of ordinary and dynamic organizational capabilities, even as there has been little joint research on these topics. Second, some research on data governance has suggested that decentralized, bottom-up approaches could be more suitable for large organizations than topdown approaches, which have mainly been at the focus of data governance research. In this single case study I conducted semi-structured interviews with various case company managers. Based on the findings from the interviews and synthesis with literature, I posit that data governance builds support for development of integrative capabilities, such as the ability to communicate efficiently in data related issues across the company. Additionally, dynamic integrative capabilities, such as communication practices aimed for changing the existing data processes, are a central enabler for further development of decentralized data governance. Further analysis also indicated that perception on value of data, top management support, data overview and business unit specific practices, competences and approach to collaboration also impacted the development of data governance in the case company. Based on these findings I present a framework for decentralized data governance. The goal of the framework is to help practitioners and researchers in understanding further the possible interconnections and dynamics of the various factors involved in development of common data governance practices in large, diverse organizations.