Perceptions on Application of Internal Corporate Communication Strategies Used in Implementation of Organizational Programmes: a Study of One State Corporation in Kenya

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the application of Internal Corporate Communication (ICC) in organizations to implement corporate programmes, specifically performance contracting in one large state corporation in Kenya. The paper is a product of a postgraduate study by one of us (Okong’o, 2015), which was motivated by the fact that performance contracting was heavily resisted by many organizations in the country, yet the corporation under review successfully, implemented it, citing the effective use of Corporate communication strategies. The literature reviewed also revealed that that there is relatively scanty research on this subject, especially in developing countries. The qualitative approach to was applied in this research, taking the case study method in the Western region of Kenya involving 42 participants. Data was generated using interviews and document analysis and was analysed thematically. Some of the perceptions highlighted in the paper are: perceptions on the merits of the ICC strategies used, perceptions on the demerits of the strategies and the perceptions on what can be done differently. The paper highlights the need to educate the internal publics of organizations on the meaning and significance of ICC in deciding the nature of strategies to be used in implementing performance contracts. Keywords: Corporate Communication, Internal Corporate Communication, Communication strategies, Performance Contracting.