Roles of online spaces in management research data collection

Abstract

Management researchers nowadays use digital data and online spaces in their investigations to understand various managerial phenomena. However, the terms “digital” and “online spaces” subsume various applications and features, which make their meaning and use in management research very diverse and often ambiguous. We clarify this ambiguity by content analyzing qualitative management research articles published over two decades (2000-2019). Based on our qualitative content analysis, we develop a categorization of online spaces, focusing mainly on the roles played by the spaces in management research data collection. In addition, we explore the overlaps between the roles of these online spaces in individual studies. The roles played by researchers in these online spaces are also investigated peripherally. Lastly, based on our findings, we provide a four-step road map for guiding management researchers who are interested in using online spaces in their data collection. Our categorization and the resultant road map will help management researchers in understanding and adapting the use of online spaces in their research.