Configurational Perspectives in Social Media Research: A Systematic Literature Review

Social media sites collectively foster a rich social structure that facilitates relationship-building between users with diverse backgrounds at different levels of analysis. Given the complexity and richness of social media research, traditional approaches and methods may fall short of representing the interconnectedness of the studied context. We argue that adopting configurational perspectives is a promising remedy. This literature review highlights the findings of a systematic investigation of 56 studies on social media and social networking sites (SNSs) with a configurational lens. Specifically, we find that prior studies have focused on the behavioral aspect of social media with positive and negative effects. Other research interests include content creation, collaboration, firm performance, software or platform performance, or a combination of multiple contexts. Furthermore, we identify commonalities and gaps in the literature and set potential directions to shape future research in this emerging research area.