Social Media and Human Resources Management. An Overview from a Bibliometric Perspective

Abstract The fast-paced expansion of social media has reshaped how human resources management (HRM) functions in everyday organizational life. It has changed the way companies attract and recruit talent, interact with employees, support performance, and communicate across the organization. This paper presents a clear and accessible overview of academic research that explores the connection between social media and HRM, drawing on a bibliometric analysis of 1,927 articles published between 2016 and 2025 in the Web of Science–Clarivate database. By using bibliometric mapping tools, including citation, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence analyses, the study follows the key topics in the literature and shows how this area of research has evolved over the past ten years. The findings indicate that recruitment remains the most widely studied application of social media in HRM, while interest is steadily growing in areas such as employee performance, human capital development, and the broader organizational impact of digital platforms. The analysis also highlights the strongly interdisciplinary nature of this field, combining insights from management, social sciences, and computer and information systems research. While many studies emphasize the strategic benefits of social media for strengthening HRM practices, they also raise important concerns related to productivity, ethics, and digital governance. Overall, the study confirms the growing role of social media in modern HRM and outlines meaningful directions for future research in this dynamic and constantly evolving area.