Data Stewardship Leadership Impact on Vertical Integration in Governance Program

The study examines the impact of data stewardship leadership on vertical integrationin data governance programs. There is an ongoing challenge of insufficient involvement ofbusiness users in data governance workflows and vertically integrate stakeholders froma systems level and functions level. This impacts the success of the program. Design/methodology/approach: To test the hypotheses, a quantitative method with StructuralEquation Modelling and Partial Least Squares (PLS) in SmartPLS is used. The empirical dataare collected from 56 data management professionals involved in recent General DataProtection Regulation projects associated with customers' data in larger organizations acrossEurope. The data collection took place during December 2018. Findings: Research findings show that there is an effect of Data Stewardship Leadership onVertical Integration. Research/practical implications: Effective data governance provides a means to obtain utilityfrom controlled data use, which is crucial in the data economy underway. In order to providevalues to traditional information management, governance demands success with itsmechanisms for involvement and alignment with business stakeholders. Originality/value: This work attempts to contribute to filling the gap in the scientific body ofknowledge on data governance with empirical evidence of organizational practice needed forsuccessful implementation of the program.