Ensuring Institutional Accountability through Information Governance: Conceptualising the Role of Social Media Records Management and Records Reliability

The sudden rise of social media usage within institutions presents new challenges in sustaining accountability and assuring the reliability of records. Institutions now face massive social media content that can be treated as official records. Still, with no clear governance models and records management procedures established, there is a question regarding compliance, data integrity, and institutional transparency. The study further confirms that social media records management is critical in amplifying the interaction between governance and institutional performance. Using a narrative review method, data were collected using the Scopus database with a broad search string focused on social media, records management, governance practices, and compliance. Integrative thematic analysis was used to identify key concepts, theories, and relationships between these variables. The findings demonstrate that effective information governance is vital in record reliability and institutional accountability, particularly in conjunction with appropriate social media records management practices. The theoretical contribution provides a lucid conceptual framework for future empirical research, and practical implications emphasize strong institutional policies and standardized social media recordkeeping procedures. This study's limitations are that it is conceptual and has not been empirically tested; therefore, it is recommended that future research prove the given framework and further examine its use in various institutional settings and platforms.