A taxonomy of data governance decision domains in data marketplaces

Abstract

Commercializing data and data-related services has gained in importance in recent years. Driven by digitalization and the Internet-of-Things (IoT), companies and individuals continuously generate vast amounts of data. Data marketplaces have emerged to support these data providers in selling their data to different data consumers. However, data marketplaces face challenges in different data governance decision domains that inhibit their adoption. To get a better understanding of how data marketplaces counteract these challenges, this paper develops a taxonomy of data governance decision domains in data marketplaces. We used a taxonomy development method to inspect 13 data marketplaces from eight countries. The resulting taxonomy shows an overview of mechanisms concerning data quality, data security, data architecture, metadata, data lifecycle, data storage, and data pricing. We discuss common instantiation patterns, highlight gaps, and propose possible solutions. The taxonomy sets a foundation for further research and theory-building on data marketplaces. Practitioners can use the taxonomy to develop customized data governance strategies for data marketplaces.