Despite its rapid development in the last decade, facilities management (FM) stills suffers from an identity crisis as the definition and scope of FM remains a contentious issue. To this end, three fundamental issues are re‐examined in this paper: what FM constitutes; what a facility manager is; and how the FM profession can be enhanced. These issues remain critical as they represent the building blocks of the FM discipline. Without a common platform, the development of FM is likely to be fragmented. An evaluation of the definitions of FM provided in the past suggests that the focus of FM is clearly on the workplace. The key issues confronting FM are the location, type, quantity, quality, content and allocation of the workspace. A professional facilities manager is one who is formally trained and whose main responsibility is the strategic management of the workplace. Three factors are suggested to be important for the development of FM as a professional discipline. They include a clear role and scope of FM in the industry and firm, contribution to the bottom‐line of the firm, and development of specialist knowledge and toolbox for addressing the problems of strategic workplace management. Some potential areas for theoretical developments have been suggested in this paper.

The property development business is often regarded as one of high risk and return. As such, developing a competitive advantage is critical. Extant literature suggests that market orientation is a form of sustainable competitive advantage for businesses. This paper is an attempt to test this relationship with specific reference to a high risk business such as property development. A market orientation scale is developed to measure the degree of market orientation in property development firms. The results show that there exists a significant positive relationship for two specific dimensions of market orientation, i.e., profit orientation and responsiveness with business performance and marketing performance. Furthermore, empirical findings showed that the relationship between market orientation and marketing performance was stronger than with business performance. Rinkos orientacija ir nekilnojamojo turto plėtros verslas Singapūre Santrauka Nekilnojamojo turto plėtros verslas dažnai laikomas itin rizikingu ir pelningu. Todėl būtina įgyti konkurencini pranašumą. Dalykinėje literatūroje rašoma, kad rinkos orientacija ‐ tai subalansuoto konkurencinio pranašumo forma versle. Straipsnyje mėginama ši ryši patikrinti, nagrinėjant būtent itin rizikinga verslą, tokį kaip nekilnojamojo turto plėtra. Sukurta rinkos orientacijos skale, kuria remiantis matuojamas rinkos orientacijos laipsnis nekilnojamojo turto plėtros firmose. Rezultatai rodo, kad yra nemažas teigiamas ryšys tarp dviejų konkrečiu rinkos orientacijos aspektu, t. y. orientacijos į pelną ir reagavimo i verslo rezultatus bei i rinkodaros rezultatus. Be to, empirines išvados rodo, kad rinkos orientacijos ryšys su rinkodaros rezultatais yra stipresnis nei su verslo rezultatais.

Corporate real estate management (CREM) practices in Asia have been a relatively under‐researched area compared with those from Europe and North America. This paper represents an attempt to enhance the current knowledge of CREM in Asia. Part I of this study provides a snapshot of CREM practices among Singapore multi‐national companies (MNCs) and listed firms. Ninety‐seven firms were surveyed on three main business management perspectives: corporate real estate planning, corporate real estate organizational structure and corporate real estate performance. The study found that in general, corporate real estate (CRE) is under‐managed among MNCs and listed firms in Singapore. Creating awareness of the importance and relevance of good CREM practices is therefore the most pertinent task. Part II of this paper focuses specifically on CRE performance. A data‐driven analytical technique is adopted to study the direct and indirect effects of performance factors on corporate real estate. The results indicate that only corporate real estate planning and the existence of a real estate unit have a direct impact on corporate real estate performance. This finding is both theoretically expected and important. The results reinforces current literature postulations on the importance of strategic planning as the key skills that corporate real estate managers need to be equipped with to meet the challenges ahead.

This study tests marketing theory concerning market orientation in the context of the chartered surveying industry. Using data collected in a mail survey from 179 UK general practice chartered surveying firms, it is found that firms with more risk tolerant senior managers and more formalized and specialized marketing organization structures have higher levels of market orientation. The data indicate also that market orientation positively impacts firms' business and marketing performance, and that this relationship is robust across different environments.Market Orientation, Management, Organization Structure, Business Performance, Surveying,

No abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight how facilities can enhance the strategic competitive position of a business organisation.Design/methodology/approachThe methods of investigation used in this study include observation, in‐depth interviews and secondary data.FindingsThis case study has shown that both hardware, i.e. facilities and software, i.e. business philosophy of the organisation are important to enhance its competitive position.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has looked at only one case. Future research may use the same five‐force model to assess and determine the contribution of facilities to the competitive position of a business organisation.Practical implicationsThis study hopes to create more awareness among senior management of the strategic importance of facilities to a business's bottom‐line.Originality/valueUsing a strategic management model, this paper illustrates the contribution of facilities management to the broader corporate goals.

No abstract

No abstract