Drivers of facility management strategies used in multi-tenanted office buildings in Ghana

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to assess the facilities management (FM) strategies used in multi-tenanted purpose-built office buildings (Mt-POBs) in Ghana and the drivers that influence the decision to use such strategies. Design/methodology/approach This study was conducted via a survey and key informant interviews. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire targeted at 65 multi-tenanted office building owners in the Greater Accra region. The data from the survey revealed the views of building owners on FM strategy and the extent to which 20 facility management decision drivers influenced their decisions to use a particular strategy and the responses were descriptively analysed. The key informant interviews were conducted among six leaders of the property owners’ association who use in-house FM to further understand their perspectives and decisions on using such strategy. The interviews were conducted over telephone using an interview guide and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The results showed that 88% of Mt-POBs in Ghana are managed in-house. The results also showed that the decision to use the in-house strategy was driven by the innovative, strategic and cost-saving advantages associated with the in-house strategy. Originality/value This study shows the factors that drive the decision of multi-tenanted office building owners in Ghana to use the in-house strategy. The findings of this study will be useful for prospective owners of office buildings in Ghana.

A post-occupancy evaluation of in-house facilities management service quality and user satisfaction in multi-tenanted office buildings in Ghana

“…According to Amos and Gadzekpo (2016) study on why most technical universities in Ghana use in-house FM for most services, control over staff, processes and procedures was important and the in-house strategy offered a better opportunity to achieve this with flexibility than the outsourcing approach. Another advantage associated with the in-house FM approach is that it promotes innovation within the organisation and helps avoid technological redundancies that may arise when there is overdependence on external service providers (Tannor et al , 2022b; Holmén et al , 2017).…”

“…A number of studies relating to in-house FM and office buildings have been conducted but these studies have not done much to measure the level of satisfaction that the in-house FM strategy brings to the user (Haynes et al, 2017;Hwang and Kim, 2013). In recent years, the two key commercial buildings of interest to investors in Ghana are shopping malls and multi-tenanted office buildings (Tannor et al, 2022b) and the FM in about 88% of the multi-tenanted office buildings is done in-house (Tannor et al, 2022b). There is a paucity of knowledge on the satisfaction of users with the use of in-house F 41,13/14 FM in these buildings.…”

Agency problems in facility management (FM) outsourcing in the Ghanaian retail sector

“…The letters sought the consent of the respondents. As an emerging market, the retail property sector is quite new in Ghana with 12 multi-tenanted shopping malls owned by a few investors (Tannor et al, 2022a(Tannor et al, , 2022c(Tannor et al, , 2022b. For a property to be included in the study, it must be multitenanted, and its FM should be outsourced.…”

“…The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) define facilities management as "the organizational Agency problems in facility management 57 function which integrates people, place and process within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the productivity of the core business" (ISO 41011). Though often a non-core activity, FM in buildings has been very important because it has an overall impact on how an organization is able to deliver its core activities to make the best possible returns (Tannor et al, 2022a(Tannor et al, , 2022cAhmed and Hassanain, 2020). According to Palm (2021), the role of FM in the functioning of a building is important but how it is performed is often a classic organizational problem that requires attention.…”

“…Although there is empirical evidence that agency relationships are shrouded with problems in various industries, such problems have been understudied in the FM sector for the built environment. While it has been established that some multi-tenanted retail property owners in Ghana outsource FM and others manage in-house (Tannor et al, 2022a(Tannor et al, , 2022c, there is a paucity of knowledge on the agency problems that arise between the FM service providers and their principals (property owners). This study seeks to examine the agency problems that arise between multi-tenanted retail property owners and their FM service providers in Ghana.…”