2022, Prater, Ryan, Eisenbart, Barbara, Hinkelmann, Knut, Gerber, Aurona

Purpose – Multiple water accounting techniques exist and suffer from data gaps and misaligned stakeholders which creates standardization and consolidation problems in the data of the industry. This study identifies domain-based stakeholders and defines stakeholder data relationships to improve inter-stakeholder data efficiency. Design/methodology/approach – The research design follows an inductive data collection of qualitative cross-sectional data through semi-structured expert interviews. The recorded interviews were transcribed, thematically coded, and the findings summarized. Findings – The result is an improved specificity of water accounting data stakeholders which have different data input and output requirements. Our research found that these stakeholders can be chained together based on their data relationships which enables identifying inter-stakeholder relationships and improved data efficiency. Social Implications – Water is a vital resource for humans and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. More precise description of stakeholders and data factors enable more efficient data flow which can improve the efficacy of terminal impact. Originality/value – The awareness of problem is refined by increasing stakeholder specificity and identifying data input/output requirements. This enables chaining of stakeholders and data to clarify stakeholder data requirements and improve data efficiency for purposes such as collaboration and policy guidance.