Determinants of the implementation of facility management in German communes

Abstract

Purpose

This paper sets out to assess the extent of application of two important facets of facility management – building management and the principle of public‐private partnership (PPP).

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a survey of German communes, the primary interest in this regard being the question of the determinants of this application. The theory of planned behaviour forms the theoretical basis of the investigation. A total of 282 mayors, 217 treasurers and 168 heads of real estate offices ultimately participated in the survey.

Findings

Professional building management, understood to be a package of facility management services during the building use phase, and in particular PPP, have so far only been realised in German communes to a very limited extent, despite consistently positive attitudes on the part of the decision‐makers. The investigation sheds light on the differential reasons: in the case of PPP, normative pressure for co‐operation between communes and business proves to be the most influential determinant, while in the case of building management subjectively perceived control is of greatest importance.

Research limitations/implications

The results reflect just processes in communes, but they give an example of the usability of the theory of planned behaviour as the explanation of the FM‐implementation process.

Practical implications

The results give ideas for pushing the FM‐implementation in communes.

Originality/value

There has been no previous research on this topic.

Citation

Kanning, U.P., Vogler, S., Bernhold, T., Gellenbeck, K. and Schlockermann, B. (2008), "Determinants of the implementation of facility management in German communes", Facilities, Vol. 26 No. 9/10, pp. 418-425. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770810885760