Editorial

Citation

Warren, C.M.J. (2017), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 234-235. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-04-2017-0024

In the third issue of Property Management for 2017, we present six more research papers drawn from Asia, Africa and Europe, and include some papers from regions which are not widely represented in the research literature. In particular, we have two papers from Thailand and one from the Czech Republic. As an Editor, I always find it interesting to read papers from the less well-represented countries as these provide us with a good insight into property management practices in those regions. It also serves to encourage the production of more research papers from these regions and opens up opportunities perhaps for collaborative research across world regions. In addition to the regions above, there are also papers from Botswana, Malaysia and Portugal. This issue has a stronger focus on commercial property and sustainable practices with papers looking at sustainable ratings in offices together with papers focussed on facilities and maintenance planning in commercial buildings.

The first paper in this issue comes from Sarich Chotipanich and Sittiporn Issarasak from the Department of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Their paper is entitled: “A study of facility management operation strategy in shopping malls: insights from 4 top-class shopping malls in Bangkok”. The paper explores the management of retail malls in Bangkok and identifies the strategic objectives of facilities managers in four large malls. The results provide an interesting perspective on retail management in Thailand.

The second paper is written by Kittipong Suweero, Wutthipong Moungnoi and Chotchai Charoenngam from the Department of Civil Engineering, King Mongkuts University of Technology, Thonburi, Thailand. The paper reports on a survey of 105 large companies in Bangkok operating commercial buildings including retail, hotels and private hospitals. The survey analyses the factors which influence the outsourcing decision for the provision of maintenance services. The paper title is: “Outsourcing decision factors of building operation and maintenance services in the commercial sector”. This paper, like the first paper, provides a valuable insight into the property management process in Thailand and contributes to our understanding of the strategic decision-making process in commercial building management.

The third paper is written by Johnson Kampamba, Emmanuel Tembo and Boipuso Nkwae from the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Botswana. Their paper is entitled: “An evaluation of the relevance of real estate curricula in Botswana”. The purpose of the study is to establish the relevance of the real estate curricula being offered by the two universities in Botswana. Using a survey of valuers and past students of two universities, the authors conclude that there is good industry support for the current curriculum and further that both universities receive similar rankings. This study while limited to just two universities provides some analysis of programme content and may be of interest to those seeking to redesign property programs at other institutions. It would also be interesting to build on this study and evaluate a wider range of universities globally to identify the differences between regions and the employer expectations in those regions.

The fourth paper was written by a team of researchers working at the Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor, Malaysia and led by Yasmin Mohd Adnan. The paper: “The implementation of green lease practices for office buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia” explores the potential impact of green leases within the Malaysian office market. Sustainable building practices as measured against the Malaysian Green Building Index are growing in relevance and the number of occupiers seeking green leases is growing as a result. The survey of building managers of larger office buildings revealed that most green leases seem to mirror the practice in other world regions with a focus on energy, water and waste recycling. In addition, the paper identifies the major barrier to greater adoption of green leases as the associated cost implications. This paper seems to reinforce the experience in many countries that sustainable building is perceived as positive but must also be underpinned by sound financial outcomes.

The fifth paper is based on research undertaken in the Czech Republic and is an unusual paper for Property Management as it explores the increase in farmland prices within the Czech Republic. While the paper focusses on farmland it also highlights the role of the investment community in speculating on price fluctuations which brings with it an element of property management in maximising income from the investments. This paper is written by Lucie Severová, Roman Svoboda and Lenka Kopecká from Department of Economic Theories, Ceska Zemedelska Univerzita v Praze, Czech Republic. The paper is entitled “Increase in prices of farmland in the Czech Republic”.

The final paper is written by a team of researchers led by João Morgado at the Universidade de Lisboa Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa, Portugal. Their paper is entitled: “Maintenance programs for flat roofs in existing buildings”. The research reports on a case study of 26 flat roofs located in Lisbon, Portugal. It proposes a maintenance protocol based on the identified condition of roofs within the study and the expected life of each roof type. The research while restricted to a limited geographical region will have maintenance application in other regions utilising similar forms of construction with similar environmental conditions.

I trust that you find the research presented in this issue of Property Management interesting and thought provoking. As always I look forward to receiving your research papers for publication in future issues of the journal.