IT Infrastructure and Data Privacy Practices in Manufacturing Companies

This study assessed the perceived IT infrastructure and data privacy practices of manufacturing companies in Batangas, and examined the association between IT infrastructure assessment and data privacy practices. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was employed, using a purposive sample of 200 owners, managers, or designated Data Protection Officers from Batangas-based manufacturing companies involved in personal data processing and in the application process for the National Privacy Commission Seal of Registration. A self-made questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale measured IT infrastructure in terms of scalability and performance, security and compliance, and cost and efficiency, and measured data privacy practices in terms of scope of application, rights of data subjects, and accountabilities of controllers. Reliability testing yielded acceptable to excellent internal consistency across subscales (Cronbach’s alpha range: 0.714–0.923). Descriptive statistics (weighted mean and rank) indicated strong agreement across IT infrastructure dimensions (overall mean = 3.57) and across data privacy practices dimensions (overall mean = 3.62). Normality testing (Shapiro–Wilk) indicated non-normal distributions; thus, Spearman rho was used to test relationships. Results showed statistically significant positive associations between IT infrastructure dimensions and data privacy practices (rho = .531 to .821), indicating that higher IT infrastructure assessments were associated with stronger data privacy practice assessments. Findings support a focused action plan emphasizing scalable capacity, strengthened security controls, and cost-efficient optimization aligned with sustained privacy practice implementation.