The Real Reason Data Quality Culture Doesn’t Change

Espoo, Finland - 22.01.2026 During many discussions with our customers, the topic of Data Quality culture keeps coming up. Often, the starting point is familiar: 

People and processes come first - the right way to improve Data Quality is to embed responsibility in the organisation by defining Data Owners and Data Stewards and getting a handle on what the actual processes are.

I completely agree.

But then comes the question I hear time and time again:

“We’ve defined Data Owners and Data Stewards. So why doesn’t the business really feel responsible for data quality?”

My observation is this: In many organizations, the business is accountable in theory, but powerless in practice.

Business teams are told they own the data. But when something actually needs to happen, responsibility quietly shifts elsewhere:

• A mass data change? → sent to IT

• New validation rules? → IT defines and implements them

• A process change, like adding an approval step? → IT again

Over time, the message becomes very clear—though never stated explicitly: You’re responsible, but you’re not in control.

And ownership without control doesn’t feel like ownership at all.

This is where many Data Quality initiatives stall. Not because people don’t care, but because they can’t act. Decisions are made in governance forums, but execution lives elsewhere. The data stops feeling “owned” by the business and starts feeling like “someone else’s problem.”

IT then becomes the de facto owner of data and processes—often against their will—while business engagement slowly fades.

If we truly want to improve Data Quality culture, we need to stop asking: “Why doesn’t the business take responsibility?”

And start asking: “Have we actually empowered them to act on that responsibility?”

Culture doesn’t change through policies or role descriptions. It changes when people can directly influence outcomes.

Curious to hear how others are tackling this in their organisations.

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