Navigating through information governance turbulences at an air traffic management company in South Africa

Abstract

The implementation of information governance ensures that the organisation meets legal compliance, builds institutional memory, and makes decisions based on trusted information. However, in many organisations, facets of information governance exist but are managed by different units without a coordinated effort, resulting in duplication and overlapping roles. The purpose of this study was to explore information governance practices at an air traffic management company in South Africa. This qualitative study, anchored in the interpretivist research paradigm, used purposive sampling to select participants from Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) employees at various levels within the organisation. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and document analysis. The main finding was that some information governance facets, such as records management, knowledge management, and business intelligence, are already in place within ATNS but operate in different units. It is recommended that the organisation defines the role(s) with key strategic and operational responsibilities for implementing information governance. The limitations of this study relate to the overreliance on IT personnel responses, which may have introduced a degree of bias, potentially skewing the findings towards a technology-centric perspective of information governance. This study adds value to the existing theoretical and conceptual issues that constitute the ongoing discourse on information governance at the organisational and national levels in developing countries. The study contributes empirically to the limited body of knowledge on information governance within the aviation sector. It proposes an information governance framework that, if implemented, may address organisational fragmentation, ensure that the organisation meets legislative requirements and accountability, and make information assets easily accessible for decision-making.