TY - CHAP

T1 - Govern Like You Mean It

T2 - AMCIS 2025

AU - Richter, Kenneth

AU - Zimmer, Markus Philipp

AU - Drews, Paul

N1 - Track: Data ecosystems in information systems (DATAECO)

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - As organizations increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, the integration of data ethics (DE) within data governance (DG) remains insufficiently understood. Existing DG prioritizes compliance, data quality, and efficiency, but lacks guidance on how DE can be systematically enacted. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by examining how organizations embed DE within governance mechanisms. Using a qualitative research approach, we conducted and analyzed interviews with DG professionals to identify and categorize DE practices. Our findings reveal that DE is not a separate governance function but is embedded within existing governance mechanisms, materializing through structural, procedural, and relational mechanisms. By mapping DE practices onto these mechanisms, this study advances the theoretical understanding of the interplay between DG and DE and refines existing DG frameworks to integrate ethical considerations better. These insights provide organizations with a structured approach to institutionalizing DE, ensuring that ethical commitments are not merely aspirational but operationalized within DG.

AB - As organizations increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, the integration of data ethics (DE) within data governance (DG) remains insufficiently understood. Existing DG prioritizes compliance, data quality, and efficiency, but lacks guidance on how DE can be systematically enacted. Therefore, this study addresses this gap by examining how organizations embed DE within governance mechanisms. Using a qualitative research approach, we conducted and analyzed interviews with DG professionals to identify and categorize DE practices. Our findings reveal that DE is not a separate governance function but is embedded within existing governance mechanisms, materializing through structural, procedural, and relational mechanisms. By mapping DE practices onto these mechanisms, this study advances the theoretical understanding of the interplay between DG and DE and refines existing DG frameworks to integrate ethical considerations better. These insights provide organizations with a structured approach to institutionalizing DE, ensuring that ethical commitments are not merely aspirational but operationalized within DG.

KW - Business informatics

KW - Data governance

KW - data ethics

KW - Governance mechanisms

KW - data ethics practices

UR - https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2025/data_eco/

M3 - Article in conference proceedings

T3 - The AMCIS proceedings series

BT - AMCIS 2025 Proceedings

PB - AIS eLibrary

CY - Atlanta

Y2 - 14 August 2025 through 16 August 2025

ER -