--- a/bin/startup.sh
+++ b/bin/startup.sh
@@ -66,12 +66,9 @@ fi
 
 #Find the configuration directory: GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR
 if [ -z "${GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR:-}" ]; then
-    if [ -r "${GEOSERVER_HOME}/data_dir" ]; then
-        export GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR="${GEOSERVER_HOME}/data_dir"
-    else
-        echo "No GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR found, using application defaults"
-	      GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR=""
-    fi
+  echo "GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR is not provided. Using $(pwd)/geoserver/data_dir directory"
+  mkdir -p "$(pwd)"/geoserver/data_dir
+  GEOSERVER_DATA_DIR="$(pwd)/geoserver/data_dir"
 fi
 
 cd "${GEOSERVER_HOME}" || exit 1