Use Of Data Governance To Boost Corporate Performance In Kenya's SME Market

Abstract

This study aimed to assess data governance practices and their effect on corporate performance within the SME sector in Kenya. This study used data governance decision areas based on Khatri and Brown, 2010 as a guiding model. Data was collected using questionnaires with participants derived from ten SMEs in Kenya. This research shows that data governance has an effect on corporate performance. It also shows that data quality, metadata and data lifecycle had a positive impact on data governance whereas data principles and data access did not. The study identified that customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, data quality and data security are some of the drivers for data governance with the SMEs. Consequently, barriers to data governance were identified as knowledge and experience, data ownership, culture, IT systems and unknown value of data governance. They should adopt initiatives that strengthen data governance such as clearly defining data roles and responsibilities, allocating resources to data projects and creating awareness through training. Data governance program for SMEs is necessary and proposed data governance framework can be used by practitioners to develop a data governance strategy and approach for managing data as an organizational asset. The finding of this study can be used to establish a data governance program for SMEs in Kenya. The suggested model can be tested and validated to determine its impact. Key Words: Data Governance, Information Governance, SME, Data Management, Data Quality, Corporate Performance