From Data Lakes to Decision-making: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Enterprise Governance, Risk Management, and Strategic Value Creation in the Digital Economy

The emergence of data lakes and artificial intelligence (AI) represents one of the most significant innovations at this intersection, enabling firms to translate raw, unstructured information into actionable insights that support governance, risk management, and strategic value creation. The rapid evolution of the digital economy has transformed how enterprises collect, store, and leverage data for governance, risk management, and strategic value creation. Central to this transformation is the emergence of data lakes and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which provide unprecedented opportunities for organisations to integrate vast, unstructured datasets into meaningful insights that drive decision-making. This paper employed a narrative-conceptual review design. The review was based on a structured process of identifying, selecting, analysing, and synthesising relevant literature. This paper explores the intersection of data lakes and AI, emphasising their role in enhancing enterprise governance structures, mitigating risks, and creating sustainable competitive advantage. Data lakes, by design, offer a scalable and flexible repository for heterogeneous data sources, while AI algorithms enable pattern recognition, predictive modelling, and real-time analytics. Together, they facilitate evidence-based decision-making, streamline compliance processes, and strengthen resilience against dynamic market uncertainties. The study highlights three critical dimensions. First, the governance perspective demonstrates how AI-enabled data management systems ensure accountability, transparency, and alignment with regulatory requirements. Second, the risk management perspective underscores the capacity of AI to identify vulnerabilities, forecast potential disruptions, and optimise mitigation strategies across financial, operational, and reputational domains. Third, the strategic value creation perspective explores how AI-driven insights contribute to innovation, agility, and long-term enterprise growth. By synthesising literature across management, information systems, and risk studies, this paper provides a conceptual framework that positions AI and data lakes as integral to enterprise digital transformation. The findings suggest that organisations that strategically invest in data infrastructure and AI capabilities can achieve superior decision-making, improved governance outcomes, and enhanced competitive positioning in the digital economy. Overall, the results of this study and the supporting literature converge on a central conclusion: AI, when integrated with robust governance and risk management frameworks, transcends its role as a technical tool to become a strategic enabler of organisational resilience, ethical compliance, and long-term value creation.