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Change receptivity is recognised as an important factor in successfully implementing organizational change strategies. The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of change in the initial stages of a change agenda within a public sector organization and analyze the communication of change. It traces the resultant receptivity to organizational change. The paper investigates whether organizational change communication is a crucial element in employees' receptivity to change.

A case study design is employed and the multiple methods employed include surveys, focus groups, archival data and participant observation.

The findings indicate that the initial change communication is problematic. The employees respond to a lack of instrumental change communication with a constructivist communication approach in order to manage the implications of continuous change.

This research provides an overview of the first 100 days of change in a public sector organization only, and so the limitations of single case studies apply. However, the close investigation of this phase provides further research directions to be addressed.

The findings suggest managers need to align employees' expectations of the change communication with understanding of the change goal.

The primary value of the paper is in using a communicative lens to study the change process.

The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers to the change management in the public sector of educational institutions such as public schools of the Ministry of Education in the GCC countries. The exploration of the research is based on the ADKAR change management model that consists of five key elements, which are awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement. The ADKAR model was used for many reasons, among these reasons is that it allows management to separate the change process into parts, pinpointing where change is failing and addressing that impact point.

Five public schools and employees from the educational directorate were taken as samples in this study. The unit of analysis was the employees, and data on these change drivers were collected from questionnaires and interviews.

The study findings were articulated through strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were the desire to change and networking. The weaknesses were the knowledge element such as the absence of predetermining guideline for the implementation of the system; another observed weakness was in the leader’s authority, where leaders do not have clear definition of authority and responsibility to take a decision; and finally the deficiency in performance appraisal for not being taken on regular basis and the rewarding system for not being linked to performance appraisal.

The information and feedback collected from the questionnaire may not represent all of the facts of the questionnaire subject; therefore, the researchers may have to use an unstructured interview to enhance the quality of information obtained. Due to the long bureaucratic procedures for issuance of permission from the higher research authorities (Scientific Research Directorate) to apply the questionnaire in the Ministry of Education, this took nearly three weeks, which was long considering the time available to end the research and resulted in a significant change in the project schedule.

This study provides an empirical evidence that gives a deep insight about the elements that act as barriers to change in the public sector of educational institutions, as there are certain elements that are tied to the nature and characteristics of the public sector itself that act as barriers to change.

Knowledge development is an essential part of the public sector development scheme. Effective training programs are the most important means to develop knowledge, considering that it has to be properly designed and delivered. Training programs should also be structured in a way that fills the knowledge gaps that exist between the present state and the future state. One useful technique for filling and assessing the gaps between the current state and future state requirements is by writing new job descriptions for employees, which should include details of knowledge and skills needed to perform that role during and after the transition.

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the effect of communication satisfaction (CS) on employees’ organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs), considering the role of organizational trust as a mediating variable within the Iranian cultural context.

This paper builds a conceptual model, based on literature review, to illustrate the effect of communication satisfaction on employees’ OCBs within the Iranian national context. Out of 194 questionnaires distributed among the employees of Iranian Water Resources Management Company, one of the well‐recognized companies in the Iranian water industry, 173 filled in the questionnaires completely.

The paper addresses the main components forming communication satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs referring to the role of Iranian cultural dimensions. The result of analyzing the research model by using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique shows that communication satisfaction has a positive effect on organizational trust. It also depicts that organizational trust has a positive effect on OCBs and organizational trust plays a mediating role in the relationship between communication satisfaction and OCBs in an Iranian organization.

The authors developed a new conceptual model based on the literature review and field research to present novel insights into the role of in‐group collectivism, institutional collectivism, human orientation and high‐low cultural context as important cultural dimensions in the study of communication satisfaction, organizational trust and OCBs.

The study explored the relationship between the two concepts—internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and life satisfaction. Additionally, the study analyzed the link between eight internal communication dimensions (satisfaction with feedback, satisfaction with communication with immediate superior, satisfaction with horizontal communication, satisfaction with informal communication, satisfaction with information about the organization, satisfaction with communication climate, satisfaction with the quality of communication media and satisfaction with communication in meetings) and life satisfaction.

To exclude the potential impact of contextual factors, we conducted a quantitative field research on a homogeneous sample of 507 respondents, employed in a multinational organization. For the assessment of ICS, we used the Internal Communication Satisfaction Scale (UPZIK), developed by Tkalac Vercic et al. (2009). For the assessment of life satisfaction, we used the satisfaction with life acale (SWLS) developed by Diener et al. (1985).

Results showed a very high, statistically significant correlation between ICS and life satisfaction. All dimensions of ICS are highly correlated with life satisfaction, but this relationship proved to be the strongest between life satisfaction and two dimensions of ICS (satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate).

Our study has three general limitations: (1) the dataset is of cross-sectional nature, which prevents inferring causality between variables; (2) a common source bias is present (ICS and life satisfaction are measured from the same source) and (3) we used self-reports [given the subjective nature and others’ reports of life satisfaction yield weaker but similar results (Erdogan et al., 2012)].

We identified satisfaction with internal communication, as a work domain that has not yet received attention in the management literature, to have an important role in life satisfaction. Among others, we found satisfaction with informal communication and satisfaction with communication climate to be especially relevant ICS dimensions, implying that organizations should primarily cultivate non-formalized dimensions of internal communication—a positive communication environment.

We challenge the belief that people resist change while embracing the idea that change is necessary to lead. Cultivating leaders to orchestrate conflict with deliberate intention is a skill leaders can learn. Yet, skill alone is insufficient to lead. Using three models, Communicative Intelligence, Adaptive Leadership, and Adaptive Schools, we tell the story of how we developed leaders to think adaptively and communicate authentically to collaborate across diverse communities to bring their visions to fruition. This chapter describes the models and their integration from three perspectives illustrating how we focused the cultivation of leaders. First, the personal development of their dispositions related to communication, collaboration, and systems thinking. Second we worked on developing the skills to build relationships and think politically. And third, we focused on identifying and implementing systems to address the critical issues facing their schools.

Prior research has examined the sociopolitical force as simply a part of all types of environmental pressures, yet we argue that this force calls for a unique examination of marketing's role in firm responses to sociopolitical pressures. Understanding the degree to which firms attempt to manage forces and pressures in the external business environment is key to understanding marketing's role in impeding vs aiding public policy initiatives, and is the problem this research investigates.

Using structural equation modeling, data from 71 firms demonstrate that managing the sociopolitical force is, in fact, distinct from managing the other four market-based forces – consumer demand, supplier power, competition and technological shifts. Managing the sociopolitical force is shown to require fundamentally different skills and resources.

Results suggest that firm sociopolitical receptivity drives attempts to influence this unique external business environmental force, in turn limiting marketplace sociopolitical receptivity. Furthermore, attempts to influence such a unique force relies on resource-light marketing resources, which limits resource-heavy marketing.

Managing a political force with marketplace ramifications involves strategy that utilizes marketing, but is driven by relationships with social and political agents. This is truly an environmental management concept distinct from the management of the other four market-based forces. The analysis in this study demonstrates that managing another environmental force (i.e. competition force) involves different receptivity influences and marketing tactic outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how drivers differentially speed up the change process adoption in the perspective of a technological change. More specifically, the paper aims to answer the following question: “Which factors impact the technological change adoption speed of an information system?” Based on an empirical study, our results identify three factors that have a direct influence on the speed of technological change adoption.

Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model as a point of departure, the paper analyzes the impact of eight variables grouped in four categories: the perceived attributes of change (performance expectancy and effort expectancy), social influence (peer influence and supervisor influence), facilitating conditions (initial training and helpdesk) and individual characteristics (receptivity to change and self-efficacy). To evaluate which factors accelerate or inhibit change adoption, the paper uses a statistical model of survival analysis.

Based on a 15-month longitudinal study of a workflow system implementation in a telecommunications firm, the results highlight that performance expectancy, supervisor influence and self-efficacy have a direct influence on the speed of technological change adoption.

As a case study, the research findings may only be valid in the particular organization in which it is developed. Indeed, the organizational culture, the company's internal rules, and the history of the organization are factors which significantly influence the speed of change.

The results may help project leaders to be aware of the elements that must be dealt with effectively if a change process is to succeed within the allotted time.

The statistical model of survival analysis allows analyzing change adoption from a dynamic perspective. This statistical approach is quite new and complementary with most of the studies which are qualitative in the field.

The home is the location for a substantial number of cases of food poisoning and improving consumer food safety practices is important. This paper proposes investigating how consumers perceive their own abilities and level of food safety risk, as well as attitudes to different forms of interventions which is a largely unstudied area.

Postal questionnaires were sent to a linked demographic quota of adults in South Wales. Responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Overall the majority of consumers were positively disposed to food safety education, although variation occurred within social economic groups. The majority of respondents expressed confidence in their own abilities, although were prepared to listen to food safety advice. Respondents strongly believed it was important for television chefs to implement necessary food safety practices and indicated optimistic and social desirability bias. Information on risk could be beneficial, although concerns were expressed if this was too graphic. A number of correlations between attitudes were identified which could be of importance in designing food safety interventions.

Findings from this study, which have been supported by qualitative findings from focus groups should be considered in the design of intervention strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how discourse used as a strategic resource can facilitate change in gender and corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy and practice in a global mining company.

An existing model of discourse and organizational change was applied to illuminate the contours of a particular organizational change process. This paper draws on empirical data in the form of talk and text in oral and written form.

The research highlights the challenge of finding the right balance between organizational receptivity and resistance, so that discursive boundaries around gender and CSR can be contested and challenged, but where new concepts and subjectivities are not rejected before they have an opportunity to generate shared meaning within the organization. Findings confirm that the involvement of a range of company personnel, particularly from the operational level, is important for generating knowledge and shared meaning, which can lead to enactment. This aligns with observations made in this journal that the management of meaning as opposed to management of change provides a useful analytical and practical focus.

The paper analyses one of the first attempts by a global mining company to articulate a change agenda for gender and community relations within a CSR framework. Unique insights into the internal world of a global mining company and CSR change processes are provided. The paper utilizes a well‐articulated model that facilitates a discursive analysis of organizational change to advance knowledge and understanding.

Little has been studied yet in terms of how communication nature influences change process. The purpose of this paper is to explore a case study that takes part in a broader research project, aimed to contribute in this direction.

Mix methodology has been applied to the findings, to characterize resistance to change and communication nature within one organization under a radical change process.

One main theoretical contribution is an instrumental grid to characterize dialogic communication nature.

Findings of the case study originally indicate that resistance to change reduces under dialogic communication and by revealing how communication dimensions perform in time, practitioners may enhance guidelines to effective change communication management.