To read this content please select one of the options below:

Office relocation management in Finland – challenges and service opportunities

Peggie Rothe (Aalto University School of Engineering)
Chris Heywood (Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia)
Matti Christersson (Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland)
Anna-Liisa Sarasoja (Department of Real Estate, Planning and Geoinformatics, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland)

Property Management

ISSN: 0263-7472

Article publication date: 17 August 2015

941

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the management of office relocations in Finnish organisations with a focus on the use of, and need for, external advisory services.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a sequential mixed method approach. First, the use of relocation-related services, and organisations’ perception of the need for them, was assessed through a questionnaire sent to all organisations with more than 50 employees in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA). The data includes 83 responses. Subsequently, service experiences, perceived service needs, and the challenges that organisations face in relocation are studied through thematic interviews with 15 organisations that have recently relocated.

Findings

The findings show that, despite facing many challenges when relocating, many organisations do not consider using external service providers. Most organisations do not acknowledge the complexity of the process until afterwards, and they also lack knowledge of the availability of relocation-related services.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation is the population size of the questionnaire. A larger population would have allowed for more generalisations, but the results do provide insight into the organisations’ issues in managing their relocations.

Practical implications

In order to facilitate the better organisational relocation experiences, and to develop the market for relocation-related services, service providers need to begin educating organisations of the challenges and opportunities of relocation, and successively increase the awareness of the availability of services.

Originality/value

Relocation, when it is considered in the literature, is most often construed as being about location, or site selection. This study approaches the phenomenon from the organisations’ perspective and considers relocation a process that needs to be managed.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge Tekes – The Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation and the other sponsors of the Repbu-project for their support.

Citation

Rothe, P., Heywood, C., Christersson, M. and Sarasoja, A.-L. (2015), "Office relocation management in Finland – challenges and service opportunities", Property Management, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 348-366. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-04-2014-0019

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Related articles