Data governance activities: an analysis of the literature

TLDR

Data governance is an emerging subject in information systems, driven by the dramatic increase in organizational data volumes that play a critical role in business operations. This paper systematically reviews the literature to provide a comprehensive analysis of the activities involved in data governance. The authors searched six major IS databases, identified 31 papers, and used open coding to content‑analyze 110 data‑governance activities across five decision domains. The analysis reveals a predominance of activities related to the defining action across governance areas, with few reports on implementing or monitoring actions.

Abstract

Data governance is an emerging subject in the information system (IS) field. In recent years, the volume of data used within organisations has increased dramatically, playing a critical role in business operations. This paper explores the current literature on data governance and is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of the activities involved in data governance. Six major academic databases in the IS domain were searched using key terms to identify and analyse material reflecting the current state of knowledge. A systematic procedure was developed to identify 31 papers that explicitly mention data governance activities. Open coding techniques were applied to conduct content analysis, resulting in 110 data governance activities across five decision domains of the data governance framework. These data governance activities are understood as: 'action' plus 'area of governance' plus 'decision domain' e.g. (define data policies for data quality). Our analysis shows a high volume of data governance activities associated with the 'defining' action of the areas of governance across the decision domains with a lack of reported on the 'implementing' and 'monitoring' actions.