The Communication-Effectiveness Model for Change (CEM-C): An Integrated Framework for Communication, Sense making, and Emotional Regulation in Organizational Change

The Communication-Effectiveness Model for Change (CEM-C): An Integrated Framework for Communication, Sense making, and Emotional Regulation in Organizational Change

Aqsa Khalid*

*Assistant Professor, KIMS, Affiliated to AKTU Lucknow

Abstract

Organizational change continues to challenge institutions due to human factors such as uncertainty, mistrust, and message inconsistency. Communication is repeatedly identified as a central determinant of change success, yet it is often conceptualized narrowly as information transfer rather than a multidimensional process. This manuscript presents a fully developed Communication-Effectiveness Model for Change (CEM-C), situating communication within broader organizational, psychological, and emotional processes. Drawing from over three decades of literature in organizational communication, change management, and behavioral science, this comprehensive framework integrates communication inputs, sensemaking, emotional regulation, feedback loops, outcomes, and sustainability processes. The expanded model demonstrates that effective communication is dialogic, interpretive, and emotional, requiring alignment between message quality, leadership credibility, employee voice, and adaptive feedback. Diagrams in multiple formats support conceptual visualization. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Keywords: Change Communication, Employee Commitment, Emotional Regulation, Leadership Communication, Organizational Change