This article examines how change as a media management phenomenon is approached and understood in the research fields of media management, media business and media economics. By means of a systematic literature review and problematising methodology, the article unpacks the ways in which change as a phenomenon is comprehended in the extant research and elaborates on the implications of various schools of thought on the development of the research area. The findings of the study illustrate how different paradigmatic, contextual and pragmatic ways of understanding change are reflecting the current thinking and discussion about transformation in the media industry. As a contribution, the article adds to media management research by reviewing, identifying and critically reflecting on the dominant views of change in the area.