Information management: towards a proposal for a current and consensual definition for the term

ABSTRACT Information Management (IM) is a necessity in several organizational contexts and this requirement extends to processes and their respective information flows. However, from literature consulted, it is noted that there is no practical and practical consensus on what IM is and what are its characteristics. Under this argument, the proposition of this study is justified. This article aims to raise the theoretical and conceptual aspects of IM by proposing a current and consensual definition for this term. Methodologically, at first, a bibliographic research on the principles and foundations of IM was carried out. In a second moment, based on Dahlberg's Theory of Concept and on the UNISIST indexing principles, a current and consensual definition for IM was proposed. The following question was answered: considering the theoretical and conceptual panorama, what are the essential characteristics to propose a definition for IM term? As a result, it was found that IM is related to the information life cycle management, information flows, organizational management and information and communication technology. It is hoped that the advances provided by this study bring light and be used by professionals and the academic community, whether in the improvement of theory or in organizational practice related to IM.