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Up to the 1980s the corporate competitive advantage was primarily focused on adapting the corporation to the (changing) environment. In the last decades corporations have become more aware of their resources and capabilities, and of the benefits of managerial attention towards managing the corporate assets. The transition from a passive, reactive attitude towards a proactive service oriented organisation proves to be a difficult task. This paper analyses the transition and describes an effort to identify products and services contributing to the added value of corporate real estate management to the bottom line of the corporation.

One of the long-standing issues in the field of corporate real estate management is the alignment of an organisation’s real estate to its corporate strategy. To date, 14 models for corporate real estate (CRE) alignment have been made, as well as four comparative studies about CRE alignment. Some of the CRE alignment models indicate that they strive for maximum or optimum added value. However, because most models take a so-called procedural rationality approach, where the focus is not on the content of the decision but on the way that the decision is made, “how a CRE manager can select an (optimum) alternative” stays a black box. The purpose of this paper is to open the black box and offer a Preference-based Accommodation Strategy (PAS) design procedure that enables CRE managers to design a real estate portfolio, makes use of scales for direct measurement of added value/preference, and allows the aggregation of individual ratings into an overall performance rating. This procedure can be used as add-on to existing alignment models.

The objective of this paper is to test if participants are able to successfully perform the PAS procedure in practice. The PAS procedure is in essence a design methodology that aims to solve strategic portfolio design/decision-making problems. In accordance with problem-solving methodology, mathematical models are made for two pilot studies at the Delft University of Technology. This paper describes a second test of the proposed procedure for designing a real estate strategy. The application of real estate strategy design methods in practice is very context-dependent. Applying the PAS procedure to multiple context-dependent cases yields more valuable results than just applying it to one case.

The PAS design procedure enables CRE managers to select the (optimal) solution and thereby enhances CRE decision-making. The pilot study results reveal that, by completing the steps in the PAS procedure, the participants are able to express their preferences accordingly. They designed an alternative portfolio with substantially more added value, i.e. a higher overall preference score, than their current real estate portfolio. In addition, they evaluated the design method positively.

The positive results suggest that designing a strategy by using the PAS design procedure is a suitable approach to alignment.

The PAS design procedure enables CRE managers to determine the added value of a real estate strategy and quickly and iteratively design many alternatives. Moreover, the PAS design method is generic, it can be used for a wide range of real estate portfolio types.

The PAS procedure is original because it considers CRE alignment as a combined design and decision problem. The use of operational design and problem-solving methodologies along with an iterative procedure, instead of empirical/statistical methods and procedures, is a novel approach to CRE alignment. The PAS procedure is tested in a second pilot study to provide an assessment of the methodology through the study by testing it under different conditions to the first study. The novelty of this pilot is also that it allowed testing the procedure in its purest form, as the problem structure did not require the additional use of linear programming.

Since corporate real estate management (CREM) emerged in the 1990s, it has been modelled in many ways. The Delft model views the corporate real estate management function as a coordinator of four distinct accommodation perspectives. Although the model has been used in education and practice for years, there is no consensus on its interpretation and application, and various versions circulate. This paper aims to first reconstruct the history of the conceptualisation of the Delft CREM model and then seeks to develop an understanding of its nature that provides clearer interpretations of the model.

Because the developers of the Delft CREM model did not maintain archives, the reconstruction of the model’s genesis is based on the developers’ publications from 1985 to 2015 and eight semi-structured interviews conducted with these developers in 2017 and 2018. The collected information, which was by its very nature incomplete and imperfect, was triangulated, contextualised and assembled chronologically. This served as the basis for an analysis of the model’s nature, which in turn generated a list of practical implications for its future application.

The historical reconstruction revealed two parallel but distinct lines of reasoning, whose resulting models appear similar but are distinct. One line of reasoning models CRE viewpoints, while the other models CRE management activities, i.e. the first line of reasoning models CREM across the organisation, while the second models CREM within the function. These two lines of thought have converged in the research-through-design approach of the developers, which evolved against the backdrop of a growing interest in the contribution of organisational resources to organisational objectives and the emergence of the demand-supply model in management practices in general and in the built environment in particular.

The research is limited to reconstructing the genesis and analysing the nature of the Delft CREM model. It is not intended to provide a conclusive narrative, update the model or compare it to other CREM models. As is typical in oral history, it is based on imperfect documentary evidence and imperfect recollections. The reconstruction and analysis are stepping stones towards a more precise interpretation and application of the model in both research and practice, and may eventually contribute to its evolution. When using the model, it is recommended to (1) be clear about whether the model applies to the CREM department, the entire organisation or the organisation’s environment; (2) be clear about what is being modelled (activities, viewpoints or something else); and (3) use labels that reflect the selections made in (1) and (2).

The value of this paper lies in the historical reconstruction of the intentions of the developers of the four-view scheme, including the detailed analysis of its consecutive graphical representations and the investigation of its relationship with the seminal strategic alignment model.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse 12 assessment tools of sustainability in universities and develop the structure and the contents of these tools to be more intelligible. The configuration of the tools reviewed highlight indicators that clearly communicate only the essential information. This paper explores how the theoretical concept of a sustainable university is translated into more measurable variables to support practitioners and academics in assessing sustainability in universities.

The main method for this paper was a desk study approach, which incorporated reviewing research papers, graduate theses, academic books, network platforms and websites.

The tools reviewed share similar traits in terms of criteria, sub-criteria and indicators. Five benchmarks are essential for a holistic framework: management; academia; environment; engagement and innovation.

This research can not only be used to improve existing assessment tools but also as a means to develop new tools tailored for universities that face a variety of challenges and lack the ability to measure their sustainability policies.

Making higher education more sustainable through all the criteria mentioned influences students, as well as staff, to maintain a culture of sustainability.

This study contributes to the literature by simplifying and detailing the structure and contents of the tools in a way which indicators are shown, giving a full picture of these tools to enable universities to be more aware of the sustainability issues that affect them.

This paper aims to model the relationship between innovation and real estate, providing campus managers with a tool that illustrates how campus development stimulates innovation and that guides them to add value to their organisations.

The authors review previous research and build theory from the study of two cases. They shape a hypothesis by linking various theoretical concepts and by verifying it with empirical data to finally model how campus development stimulates innovation.

Findings suggest that campus development facilitates five conditions required to stimulate innovation through decisions and interventions over long-term periods. These findings acknowledge that location is key to explain campus development as a catalyst for innovation. In addition, this paper identifies potential issues in decision-making processes that can inhibit the facilitating role of real estate in innovation.

A framework clarifying the path to stimulate innovation through real estate will allow campus managers to steer their real estate strategies in line with this specific organisational goal and to better communicate how their decisions add value to their organisations.

Findings advocate a more effective and efficient resource allocation for campus development in and around cities.

Until now, studies on stimulating innovation through real estate have focussed on workplace level. A core theoretical contribution of this paper is enlarging the application scope of CREM theories to the urban level involving multiple organisations.

Managing corporate real estate is confronted with more problems than just the changing characteristics of real estate. While operating companies strive for more autonomy, corporate headquarters are increasingly struggling for a synergetic approach to corporate resources and capabilities. The authors argue that the impact of the corporate setting on the role and position of corporate real estate management is underestimated. This paper describes the effects of transisions in corporate structure and strategies and provides insight in a new perspective on managing corporate real estate.

This paper aims to describe the different locations of campuses developed to stimulate innovation. The paper aims at supporting strategic decisions in the development of new and existing campuses and similar innovation-driven areas. Additionally, it aims to outline the key role of location for urban and regional competitiveness in the knowledge economy.

This paper tests an existing planning tool that proposes location and connectivity as key aspects to stimulate innovation in campus development. This tool is used to analyse and compare 39 campuses with different locations characteristics worldwide.

Findings describe five types of location characteristics in existing campuses developed to stimulate innovation. These characteristics are dynamic, and exhibit differences in connectivity aspects enabling more or less efficient access to amenities and knowledge networks.

Empirical findings were used to revise and improve the planning tool. Further research exploring the relation between connectivity aspects and innovation processes is recommended.

This paper supports decision-makers of new and existing campuses struggling with location decisions, by outlining that campus’ connectivity is crucial regardless of whether the campus is in an inner-city or a peripheral setting. Improving campus connectivity may be an efficient way to spend the many public and private resources invested on campus development to stimulate innovation.

This paper provides a unique comparison of cases that can be useful to planners of existing campuses to benchmark their current locations in relation to their ambitions on innovation.

Real estate is increasingly used as a “fifth” resource to improve the performance of organisations by a positive image, cost reduction, increased employee satisfaction and increased labour productivity. A clear conceptual framework and standardised key performance indicators (KPIs) are needed to understand and monitor the effects of real estate interventions. This paper aims to explore the added value of real estate interventions to organisational performance, theoretically and empirically, including unforeseen positive and negative side‐effects.

The conceptual framework was based on an extensive literature survey and has been empirically used in a survey among 47 Institues of Higher Professional Education in The Netherlands and additional in‐depth interviews at nine institutes. The effects of real estate interventions were studied by conducting time series analyses of changing organisational performance using several KPIs.

The research has shown that real estate interventions actually improve organisational performance. However, the effects are not always as positive as expected, nor are they always clearly visible when using the present KPIs for organisational performance. And in addition, some effects are temporary.

The conceptual framework and the suggested KPIs can be used to support managers in effectively steering on organisational performance by means of real estate interventions, formulating targets in a SMART way, setting priorities with regard to their organisation's main objectives, and monitoring the effects.

The conceptual framework integrates know‐how from various studies and fields and was empirically used in educational settings.

This paper aims to describe the development and test of such a design method to achieve alignment, which utilises the preference-based accommodation strategy (PAS) design procedure. One of the long-standing issues in the field of corporate real estate management is the alignment of an organisation’s real estate to its corporate strategy. A classification of alignment models shows that no model yet exists that is able to design a real estate portfolio and makes use of scales for direct measurement of added value/preference, and allows the aggregation of individual ratings into an overall performance rating.

To perform the steps in the PAS design procedure, a mathematical model is designed and tested according to formal design principles. The PAS design procedure is iteratively repeated with the participants in a series of interviews and workshops. In the interviews, the participants determine their preferences and constraints as prescribed in the procedure; in the workshops, they design alternative portfolios using the mathematical model. The objective of the research is to formulate, test and evaluate if participants are able to perform the PAS design procedure.

A methodology is developed for designing a real estate strategy that uses explicit scales for measuring value/preference and enables aggregating individual preference ratings into an overall rating taking into account both quantitative and qualitative portfolio properties. The tests of this design method with the participants reveal that by completing the steps in the PAS design procedure, users are able to determine their preferences accordingly. They were also able to design an alternative portfolio with a higher overall preference score than the current real estate portfolio. In addition, the design method is evaluated positively by the participants based on their experiences, the attractiveness of the method and perception of effectiveness of the method.

The positive results suggest that designing a strategy by using the PAS design procedure is a suitable approach to alignment.

The PAS design procedure enables corporate real estate (CRE) managers to determine the added value of a real estate strategy. Because the PAS design method is generic, it can be used for a wide range of real estate portfolios.

The first CRE alignment model uses stakeholders preferences to design a more optimal real estate strategy.

This paper aims to report an analysis of the graphical representations of 14 corporate real estate (CRE) models. It does this to establish the systematic, metatheoretical requirements for modelling CRE alignment which to date have been disguised in a multitude of models.

This meta study of CRE alignment models used a qualitative hermeneutic method to inductively develop understanding of the models’ constituent parts. Several iterations of graphical and textual analysis were required to do this. Further deductive analysis sought to understand the individual models relative to this new understanding.

The analysis showed that a total of 12 components have been used to model CRE alignment. These are divided into four Building Blocks: understanding corporate strategy; understanding real estate performance; making real estate strategy; and implementing real estate strategy. While every model’s representation contained the four Building Blocks, few models contained all 12 components, though all contained at least seven. Completeness of representation in this study should not be inferred as equating to effectiveness as an alignment process. Various feedback mechanisms were also evident between the components.

The analysis provides the most complete map of the modelling requirements for CRE alignment. It differs from previous theoretical work on alignment by synthesising a metatheory of alignment representation. By providing a more coherent theory by which to model CRE alignment the metatheory provides a consistent basis on which to investigate and theorise aspects of CRE alignment.