AbstractPurpose – The purpose of the present review of communication approaches to organizational changeis to identify and further develop the range of perspectives available in the literature and to present aframework on communication and change that could underpin future research.Design/methodology/approach – Research on communication, narratives, stories and discourse,which have mapped new terrain in the study of organizational change, is reviewed and discussed.Findings – The authors conclude that despite the vast academic and popular change literature,communication approaches to change still remain underdeveloped and communication scholars are,with few exceptions, remarkably absent in the field. Three challenges for the future are proposed, thatresearchers of communication and organizational change need to consider.Originality/value – This paper provides a comprehensive literature review in the field ofcommunication during organizational change. By integrating these studies in a new framework ofcommunication as tool, process and social transformation, the authors offer a new foundation fortheory building in this area. Further development and integration of these three differentcommunication approaches is suggested, which would offer better conditions for research and practiceto embrace the complex processes of organizational change.Keywords Organizational change, Communication, Change management, Emergent strategyPaper type Literature review