Data Governance and Digitalization – A Case Study in a Manufacturing Company

Digitalization poses a number of challenges for companies. In particular, enterprise and IT architectures of companies are becoming increasingly complex. Data architecture - a core element of the IT architecture - is the basic source for communication, decisions and processes. Hence, reliable data requires a homogenous data architecture controlled by guidelines and specifications (i.e., data governance). This study focuses on a requirements-based implementation of data governance. By applying a case study approach, using different data collection and evaluation methods, this study investigates a large-scale manufacturing enterprise’ approach towards data governance. Based on the data collected, recommendations for future action are provided. In particular, the relationship between corporate governance, IT governance and data governance, as well as data quality, are depicted, showing how structure and context are linked to rules, processes and policies. An important role in this context can be assigned to roles that are vital to successful data governance