THE ROLE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION IN THE PROCESS OF CORPORATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT

The phenomenon of change is accepted as being inevitable by today's corporations. Due to the fact that constantly changing conditions of today’s business environment and its high level of competition, the institutions regarded as open systems are required to create sustainable competitive advantages to be able to achieve future objectives. It is important to strategically manage the pressures of internal and external change of institutions that seek to maintain their existence and achieve their corporate objectives. In the process of change management, communication with inner target audiences which can affect change and are also affected by the change plays a critical role. Therefore, the aim of the study is to identify the links between change management and internal communication and to explain the role of internal communication in the process of corporate change management. A research was conducted by using the method of the semi-constructed interview with Corporate Communication Department officials of prominent organizations of the private sector in Turkey to determine their approach to the subject. Turkey's leading firms' understanding of change management and its strategic link with internal communication and the value of establishing functional interior communication opportunities within this context is indicated by the research findings. It is suggested that the results of the research are important in terms of understanding the dynamics behind increasing success rate of change initiatives and establishing developable and sustainable institutional structures based on communication. Recommendations for future discussions are alsopresented