Based on evidence from a sample of large Italian non-financial companies, the organizational and managerial frameworks for Data Governance (DG) reveal several common features across different sectors and geographic areas. These include:

i) strategic awareness: a widespread recognition of the high strategic value of information assets in the face of operational uncertainties, digital technology challenges, and evolving regulations

ii) investment in human capital: the necessity for significant investments in communication and widespread employee training to mitigate adjustment costs related to changes brought by DG

iii) clear responsibility: the vital role of transparently assigning roles and responsibilities, including monitoring information needs across functional areas and prioritizing them based on their impact on the value of the whole organization

iv) dynamic nature: DG is a continuous process that requires constant progress to maintain a solid, integrated information base for strategic decision-making

v) security and integrity: the inseparable link between leveraging information assets -including through advanced analytics -and maintaining rigorous safeguards for integrity, confidentiality, and security.

While subject to appropriate variations based on an institution's specific internal and external contexts, these findings outline an agenda of best practices for DG that is potentially useful even beyond the corporate sectors.