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This paper discusses the development of real estate industry in China in recent years. It argues that Hayek's theory of economic fluctuations can help to explain the contraction of the real estate market in 1994 in China as a whole. However, as a theory of the closed economy, Hayek's theory is found to be no longer robust when applied to cities where there is heavy foreign direct investment, such as Shanghai. We believe that it is the foreign direct investment that is making the real estate industry in Shanghai perform well, despite the government's tight monetary policy and the contraction of the industry in other parts of the country over the same period. The paper also argues that, while most foreign investment in real estate is classified as direct investment, it is very different from 'typical' foreign direct investment except in form and in fact shares most of the characteristics of portfolio investment. Foreign direct investment in real estate reflects the imperfections of China's capital markets.

This study relies on Gjølberg's (2009) national corporate social responsibility (CSR) index while its purpose is twofold. First, it seeks to extend the methodological instrument for assessing national CSR and, second, it applies the new approach to a much larger pool of countries (n=86) in an attempt to provide a global CSR outlook.The emergent picture from the study is one of deficient CSR penetration and wide variation among countries where most of the assessed countries are still lagging in the endorsement of international CSR initiatives and schemes. Findings offer fertile ground to theorists and researchers for a deeper investigation of the national specificity of CSR and to further identify the institutional determinants that shape the social responsiveness and self-regulation of business entities.

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PurposeThis paper sets out to understand the impact of the ambient environment on perceived comfort, health, wellbeing and by extension, productivity in the workplace. Design/methodology/approachThe research combined an occupant survey considering satisfaction with the ambient environment, health and wellbeing and workplace behaviour with the monitoring of ambient environmental conditions. FindingsThe paper demonstrates that the ambient environment can have a significant impact on occupant comfort, health and wellbeing, which in turn has implications for built asset performance. Within the ambient environmental factors considered a hierarchy may exist with noise being of particular importance. Occupant behaviour within the workplace was also found to be influential. Research limitationsThe research was limited to a single commercial office building and a wider range of case studies would therefore be of benefit. The research was also limited to the summer months. Practical implicationsThe findings show that an active approach to asset management is required, by continuously monitoring internal environment and engaging with occupants. This must carefully consider how ambient environmental factors and workplace behaviour impact upon occupant's comfort, health and wellbeing in order to ensure the performance of the built asset is maximised. Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates that both occupier's workplace behaviour and ambient environmental conditions can have an impact on occupant comfort, health, wellbeing and productivity. The paper strengthens the case for the active management of the workplace environment through environmental monitoring and behaviour change campaigns supported by corresponding changes to workplace culture.