Social Media Enabled Social Movements in Information Systems Research: A Lakatos Approach to Literature Review

Information Systems scholarship is increasingly focused on the role of social media in social movements. In this study, we synthesize the existing research by drawing on Boell's (2014) hermeneutic framework to conduct a literature review. We adopt the Lakatos ( 1970) model as a theoretical framework to organize the current scholarship into hard core and protective belt components, where the former represents the theoretical or conceptual lens adopted in the papers, and the latter represents empirical studies. In doing so, we assess the current state of knowledge in this research program and identify opportunities and avenues to build on this body of knowledge. Our research will assist scholars in this field to identify the core theories in the research program and the protective belt in which they can position their work and make contributions. It also suggests avenues for future development.