Using Social Media in Projects: Information Management Challenges and Recommendations

ABSTRACT

We report the results of a survey of 167 responses from managerial/senior-level staff to an open-ended question about the challenges of using social media (SM) in project management (PM). The results show that such challenges stem from three aspects: 1) external; 2) internal; and 3) a combination of internal/external to the project organization. While prior findings have shown some concerns about using SM, we not only provide novel insights about three distinct sets of challenges but also reveal that the nature of internal and external challenges may be similar at times. The distinction between their sources must be understood to overcome them. Academically, the study advances the literature on information management by providing a more nuanced classification of SM-related challenges specific to projects and discussing their effects. The study also develops six theoretical propositions for empirical testing. The findings will aid managers in developing strategies for leveraging SM for PM.

KEYWORDS:

• Project organizations
• social media
• information management
• Nvivo

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and insightful suggestions on an earlier version of the article. The author would also like to express gratitude to Roamn Titarenko for his support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Data availability statement

Data will be made available on request from the corresponding author, JR.

Ethics approval

Due to low-risk nature of research project with voluntary participation in an online survey, no ethics approval was required by the institution.