Scopes of Governance in Data Spaces

Cross-organizational data sharing has emerged as a significant driver in the data economy. Data spaces are one approach for data sharing due to the integrated possibility of achieving data sovereignty. In this regard, the importance of data space governance increases in line with the resulting rise in data space adoption. However, to date data space governance is scarcely researched. This study addresses this gap by employing a systematic mapping approach analyzing 59 studies of the existing literature to clarify governance in data spaces. The findings of this study reveal three primary scopes of governance: ecosystem, technology, and operational governance, which also reflect a tendency to federated settings. Thus, the potential of federated governance approaches to facilitate the autonomy and sovereignty of data owners within data spaces seems to be the future development in this area.