Paper Number
ECIS2026-1781
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
This paper examines how cooperative governance can provide an alternative institutional foundation for trustworthy inter-organizational data sharing and how, in doing so, data cooperatives enact governance functions typically attributed to data trusts. Drawing on two contrasting cases – a coolant management initiative and a collaborative data platform for architectural firms – it analyzes how cooperative principles foster trust, govern data access, and coordinate shared services. Using a comparative case design informed by Action Design Research, the study applies an analytical framework that integrates taxonomies of data trusts and data cooperatives. The findings show that democratic member control and participatory governance based on cooperative principles can institutionalize core governance functions commonly associated with data trusts, suggesting an alternative to infrastructure-oriented trust models. Cooperative trusteeships establish institutional parity between professional actors and service providers, making them particularly suited to SME-dominated settings. The paper contributes theoretical and practical guidance for designing trustworthy, member-driven data-sharing institutions.
Recommended Citation
Werling, Maximilian, "Data Cooperatives As Data Trusts – Learnings From Two Contrasting Case Studies" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 11.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/datasc_isresearch/datasc_isresearch/11
Data Cooperatives As Data Trusts – Learnings From Two Contrasting Case Studies
This paper examines how cooperative governance can provide an alternative institutional foundation for trustworthy inter-organizational data sharing and how, in doing so, data cooperatives enact governance functions typically attributed to data trusts. Drawing on two contrasting cases – a coolant management initiative and a collaborative data platform for architectural firms – it analyzes how cooperative principles foster trust, govern data access, and coordinate shared services. Using a comparative case design informed by Action Design Research, the study applies an analytical framework that integrates taxonomies of data trusts and data cooperatives. The findings show that democratic member control and participatory governance based on cooperative principles can institutionalize core governance functions commonly associated with data trusts, suggesting an alternative to infrastructure-oriented trust models. Cooperative trusteeships establish institutional parity between professional actors and service providers, making them particularly suited to SME-dominated settings. The paper contributes theoretical and practical guidance for designing trustworthy, member-driven data-sharing institutions.