Editorial

Citation

Warren, C.M.J. (2015), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 33 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/PM-03-2015-0013

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Property Management, Volume 33, Issue 3.

Having reached the halfway mark for 2015 we are already at issue three for the year. Once again we have five research papers in this edition. The papers for this issue are drawn from researchers mostly in Europe with contributions from Germany, Finland and the UK covering aspects of both residential and retail property management. There is also a paper on the educational standards of the valuation profession in South Africa.

The first paper in this issue comes from Xianhai Meng, from School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Queen’s University, Belfast in the UK. The paper is titled: “Facilities management: tracing its development trajectory”. The stated purpose of this paper is to provide facilities management practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of the facilities management industry by analysing the trends in its development. The author states that both backward looking and forward looking are crucial to the development of an industry sector, but that existing studies in facilities management development focus on one particular management area or one particular industry sector. This research is based on 30 expert interviews, and attempts to bridge the knowledge gap by analysing the trends of facilities management development. A better understanding of the trends in development of the industry provides a guide for facilities management organisations and practitioners to pursue best practice.

The second is by Stephanie Heitel, Annette Kämpf-Dern and Andreas Pfnür from Department of Real Estate and Construction Management, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. Their paper is entitled “Integration of stakeholder interests in housing companies’ strategic management: a process model for more sustainable value creation”. Their research examines the relationship in German housing companies between the goals of providing financial returns while also achieving social and ecological outcomes. The paper presents a process model that supports the management of housing companies to systematically explore, evaluate, and integrate stakeholders’ interests into the company’s strategic targets. The process model has been developed using theoretically based management approaches with an action research design used to check the process for suitability. The authors present a better model for sustainable housing management.

Paper three in this issue is written by Manya Mainza Mooya from Department of Construction Economics and Management, University of Cape Town in South Africa. The paper title is “The education and professional practice of valuers in South Africa: a critical review”. The paper points to the fact that until recently the valuation profession did not require a university degree to enter with most valuers holding a national diploma. The research seeks to identify if this has a material effect on the quality of valuations. The results indicate a significant level of dissatisfaction with the level of competence of valuers in South Africa and highlight the need for curriculum development to meet the needs of industry.

The fourth paper is written by Sami Kajalo and Arto Lindblom, from Aalto University School of Business, Helsinki, Finland. The paper: “Creating a safe and pleasant shopping environment: a retailer’s view” incorporates elements of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) theory to evaluate the effect of retail centre security surveillance systems on the sense of security felt by consumers and retailers. The paper examines the link between investment in security surveillance systems and positive outcomes for retailers and their customers. The paper provides a valuable insight into the retail management industry in Finland.

The final paper comes from a team at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, UK led by Simon Huston with Arvydas Jadevicius and Negin Minaei. Their paper is “Talent and student private rented sector bottlenecks: a preliminary UK investigation” provides insight into the plight of student housing in the UK and the considerable hurdles faced in securing suitable rental accommodation. This is a preliminary study, but it does address the pressing issue of housing affordability which is a challenge faced by many young students and professionals entering the housing market for the first time.

Once again I hope that you enjoy this issue of Property Management and find the research presented interesting I thank you for your support and urge you to provide feedback on the content by joining in the discussion forum on LinkedIn. If you are not already a member of this group, I encourage you to join us at www.linkedin.com/grp/home?gid=3793796. You are also able to twitter at @EmeraldBuiltEnv or @CliveMJWarren.

I look forward to discussing this and future issues with you online.

Clive M.J. Warren