Strategies in real estate management: two strategic pathways

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify different strategic pathways for structuring the real estate management organization. Different strategic pathways regarding commercial real estate organizations, and the alignment of their business models with the environment are studied and outlined. Design/methodology/approach - This research is based on an analysis of 15 interviews with top-level managers in the Swedish commercial real estate sector. Findings - When making strategic plans for a company, the commercial real estate industry has two strategic pathways to consider regarding real estate management. The first is to choose whether to have its own frontline personnel or to outsource this function. The second is to decide how the leasing task should be treated: Should it be treated as a real estate manager's task or should it be a function of its own in the organization? The conclusion of the study is that the organizations studied can be structured using both pathways, and the firm can still be successful. Furthermore, the argument by the top-level managers are the same regardless of how their organization is structured. They all base their strategic plans on the view that their structure of the organization is the best way to take care of the customer. In other words, they have the same arguments but haves chosen different strategic pathways to achieve strategic fit. Research limitations/implications - The research in this paper is limited to the Swedish commercial real estate industry. Originality/value - This paper outlines the strategic pathways for real estate management from a top-level management view.