Editorial

Citation

Warren, C. (2012), "Editorial", Property Management, Vol. 30 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/pm.2012.11330baa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Property Management, Volume 30, Issue 2

This second issue of Property Management for 2012 brings a range of interesting international papers. Before introducing the papers in this issue I would like to draw your attention to Emerald Publishing Built Environment series of journals’ ongoing relationship with the International Real Estate Society (IRES). Emerald has been a keen supporter of the various regional real estate society conferences for many years and 2012 will be no exception. As well as attending and providing support to the regional conferences, a best paper award will again be provided by a number of the journal titles. Property Management is an integral part of the Built Environment series and will be providing awards for the Best Property Management Paper at most of the IRES events this year, including the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society (PRRES), the Asian Real Estate Society (AsRES) and the European Real Estate Society (ERES). Researchers whose papers receive these conference awards will also be invited to submit their papers to the peer review process for publication within Property Management. If you are presenting a paper at any of these IRES conferences with content relevant to property management then please consider submitting your paper for consideration for the best paper award. I expect to attend PRRES, ERES and AsRES and look forward to the opportunity of meeting many of the researchers in our field and discussing the potential for publishing research in Property Management.

This edition of Property Management has a strong representation from research papers focused on the Asian region, with four of the five papers originating in Asia. The remaining paper reports on research undertaken in the UK. While the papers address research undertaken in specific geographic regions, they all have international implications and the results can often be applied across a broad area of professional practice.

The first paper in this edition is based on research undertaken in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and analyses the property specific criteria which prospective tenants utilise in making an office occupation decision. The paper provides an excellent insight into both the Malaysian office market and the property requirements of leading commercial building occupiers. The paper will have wider implications for developers, owners and property managers throughout the Asia region and beyond.

Our second paper, by Joanna Poon, is one which does not specifically address property management but deals with the much wider issue of education within the built environment. The paper is based on research undertaken in the UK with a focus on courses accredited by the RICS and CIOB. The research identifies the changing nature of university education and the increasing adoption of blended learning, which incorporates both traditional face to face lectures along with the use of online technology to enhance the student experience. This paper provides some fascinating results and will be of interest to those involved in delivering property education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels or administering professional standards. While the paper is based on UK university programs it will have wide reaching application on an international scale, particularly for those university courses which are also accredited by the RICS or CIOB.

The third paper in this issue of Property Management has a development and construction compliance focus addressing the compliance costs faced by developers in Hong Kong in order to meet environmental regulations for new buildings. The paper uses a structured interview methodology to identify the major barriers to speedy development. This paper has obvious application for those involved in managing large property portfolios with a need to develop new commercial property. It is interesting to reflect on the key findings of the paper which relate to the most significant impacts which appear to be due to uncertainty in negotiations with government and the timescale involved in reaching agreement to comply with “ambiguous legislative requirements”. I am sure that many readers around the world will readily identify with these findings and find application of the research in their region.

The fourth paper is also from Honk Kong but is focused at the other end of the building life cycle with a case study paper by Esther Cheung and Albert Chan looking at the challenges faced by a rapidly developing commercial hub when trying to revitalise and retain significant heritage buildings. In this case the property is the Grade I listed Mei Ho House, which is an example of an early form of public housing in the region that has been preserved utilising a partnership arrangement between the Hong Kong authorities and the private sector. The paper draws on similar schemes in the UK and Australia for comparison. It gives a fascinating insight into how public-private partnerships can be used to preserve heritage property and also serves to show how the issues faced in Hong Kong are not dissimilar to those faced in many other countries around the world, where funding for preservation of historic buildings is a pressing issue.

The final paper in this issue is a paper from Taiwan which analyses the property valuation process, specifically within the residential markets in Taiwan. The paper evaluates the traditional comparison technique with more formal statistical appraisal tools. It concludes that, in Taiwan valuers may not follow the specified legal standards, however, they do achieve a high level of valuation consistency between different markets. This paper is interesting in that it gives an insight into the valuation profession within Taiwan and enables comparisons to be drawn with other regions of the world.

I hope that you enjoy this issue of Property Management and find the research presentations interesting and stimulating. I would again urge you to provide feedback on the content and to join in the discussion forum on LinkedIn. If you are not already a member of this group, I encourage you to join us by simply searching for “Property Management – Emerald Publishing Group” at www.linkedIn.com. I look forward to discussing this and future issues with you online.

Clive Warren