Furthermore, nearly three quarters ( 74%) of businesses are taking action on this principle. The report, Guarding and Growing Personal Data Value, was based on a survey of nearly 600 business professionals across seven countries — Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, the US and UK — as well as interviews with academic experts. 

It revealed a ‘crisis of trust in data security': customers are not only increasingly reluctant to do business with companies that they don't trust with personal data, but are acting on those concerns. It also highlighted government moves to increase regulation around data privacy, and the increased scrutiny of consumer watchdogs towards businesses’ data practices. 

The report also suggested that customers are ‘demanding a data dividend': 60% of respondents from products and manufacturing companies revealed that their customers were actively monetising their own data – by selling it to data intermediaries, for example. "As this practice becomes more commonplace, the era of universally ‘free’ data collection could end and businesses will need to rethink their data collection strategies," the report said. 

To help businesses to manage these threats, Accenture has developed five principles of corporate digital responsibility: digital stewardship, digital transparency, digital empowerment, digital equity and digital inclusion. According to the report, survey findings suggest that there are currently significant gaps between the importance businesses attach to these principles and the action they have already taken to implement them.