<![CDATA[Purpose: Digital transformation and rising internet penetration in Indonesia have positioned social media as a strategic instrument in shaping the image of educational institutions, including Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). This study analyzes the literature on pesantren branding through social media using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and formulates a contextual conceptual framework for pesantren in West Kalimantan, a province with distinctive geosocial and digital characteristics that remains underrepresented in the branding literature. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) with a qualitative-interpretative approach, following the SPAR-4-SLR protocol and PRISMA 2020 reporting guidelines. Literature was retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar and analyzed using semi-deductive thematic analysis anchored in the core TAM constructs of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). Findings: The synthesis identifies four major themes: technology acceptance, social media utilization, institutional branding, and organizational/pesantren-value factors. Social media operates through informative, representational, and relational functions, while digital da'wah functions as a mechanism of institutional identity formation. A conceptual model is proposed linking technology acceptance, social media utilization, institutional communication/digital da'wah, identity representation, and pesantren branding, while accounting for the tension between platform algorithmic logic and pesantren values. Research limitations/implications: As an SLR, the study relies on secondary literature rather than primary data and does not empirically test the proposed model; West Kalimantan is treated as a conceptual rather than an empirical locus, so the model's validity requires further field testing. Practical implications: The synthesis offers pesantren administrators an evidence-based reference for designing social media strategies that are effective yet remain authentic to pesantren values, and offers regional policymakers a basis for digital-literacy support programs. Originality/value: The study extends TAM into an underexplored religious-education setting and bridges two previously disconnected literatures technology acceptance and Islamic/pesantren branding while contextualizing the synthesis within an underrepresented sub-national region. ]]>
