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Corporate real estate and competitive strategy

Bas P. Singer (Consultant at Re‐Creations, Heiloo, The Netherlands)
Bart A.G. Bossink (Department of Management and Organisation, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Herman J.M. Vande Putte (Department of Real Estate and Housing, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands)

Journal of Corporate Real Estate

ISSN: 1463-001X

Article publication date: 6 February 2007

10271

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisations use a corporate real estate strategy to support their competitive strategy. It provides a theoretical and empirical overview and analysis of effective combinations of firms' real estate and competitive strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper constructs a model that integrates three real estate strategies and three types of competitive strategies. Case studies in ten multinational firms in The Netherlands apply the model, and describe and analyse the combinations of the firms' real estate – and competitive strategies.

Findings

A standardisation real estate strategy supports all three competitive strategies: lowest costs, differentiation, and focus. A value‐based real estate strategy supports a competitive strategy of differentiation and differentiation‐focus, and does not contribute to a competitive strategy of lowest costs, or lowest costs‐focus. Finally, an incremental real estate strategy is ambiguous, and does not support any of the three competitive strategies.

Originality/value

The paper constructs a literature‐based model that combines real estate strategy and competitive strategy. It applies the model in a study of ten cases. Practitioners can use the model to analyse and reconsider the combination of their organisation's real estate strategy and competitive strategy. Academics can use the qualitative research results to design further research that qualifies and quantifies the relationship between various elements of real estate – and competitive strategy.

Keywords

Citation

Singer, B.P., Bossink, B.A.G. and Vande Putte, H.J.M. (2007), "Corporate real estate and competitive strategy", Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 25-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/14630010710742464

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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