An exploration of the leadership strategies of Facebook community leaders
ISSN: 1468-4527
Article publication date: 9 October 2020
Issue publication date: 27 January 2021
Abstract
Purpose
Understanding leadership in newly created online social spaces, such Facebook communities, is an important new area of study within leadership research. This study explores an existing leadership model in offline environments by analyzing leadership strategies used by Facebook community leaders.
Design/methodology/approach
By using both quantitative and qualitative methods, data were collected through a survey from 94 Facebook community leaders about their leadership strategies.
Findings
Findings show that the framework of leadership behavior in offline groups can also be observed in Facebook communities. The content analysis of the open-ended questions reveals new categories reflecting unique leadership strategies in online environments. Leaders that participated in the study focused on strategies of content and team management, provided their groups with relevant content and personal stories to engage their members and strived to lead both offline and online-related social spaces to build a sense of community.
Originality/value
The growing number of Facebook community leaders and their key role in social media communities raise new questions about their position in light of what is already known about traditional leadership. Since social media occupies a central place in almost every aspect in everyday life, understanding the way that leaders manage these online communities is ever more important, and it can lead to an advancement in online communications.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-01-2020-0034.
Keywords
Citation
Gazit, T. and Bronstein, J. (2021), "An exploration of the leadership strategies of Facebook community leaders", Online Information Review, Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 99-117. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-01-2020-0034
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited