Guest editorial: Corporate real estate in Africa

Citation

Ramantswana, T. (2024), "Guest editorial: Corporate real estate in Africa", Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 201-203. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-09-2024-080

Corporations all over the world need corporate real estate (CRE) or space for their operation. Such CRE is also most significant assets in a company’s balance sheet, and in terms of operating costs; it comes second to payroll. CRE is an asset or a strategic resource that appreciates over time and, therefore, requires proper management. CRE research in the past tended to focus on the value, strategic management, alignment and realignment of CRE with corporate strategies/objectives/outcomes, new space acquisition, surplus space disposal, leasing, development, location choice and how CRE management add value to the corporation. Although there has been extensive research on CRE, companies must continually adapt, considering the continual shifts in operations and working patterns. Therefore, companies find themselves having to create efficient and productive work environments with the physical, functional and financial flexibility to meet the organization’s changing needs.

Even though there has been extensive research on CRE, only a little has been reported from the African continent. This is despite the positive movement in Africa’s CRE, which has been branded as “Africa rising” because of the growing interest in Africa as a new frontier for global real estate investment (Côté-Roy and Moser, 2019; Watson, 2014). Investors are looking beyond traditional developed markets to explore real estate opportunities in Africa, aiming for higher returns, risk diversification and access to new investment markets. This has resulted in significant investment in Africa with a particular focus on the construction sector (Pitcher, 2017). As a result, many prominent African cities are experiencing an increase in new construction projects and the development of entirely new satellite cities (Watson, 2014; Gillespie, 2020; Goodfellow, 2017; Pitcher, 2017; van Noorloos and Kloosterboer, 2018; Côté-Roy and Moser, 2019). These developments indicate ongoing improvements in African jurisdictions to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of their real estate markets.

Considering the diverse cultures across the globe and within the African continent, it is essential to explore the development and management of CRE. This involves examining factors such as the use of technology in design and facility management as well as ecological considerations. Additionally, it is important to consider how the layout of CRE impacts employee satisfaction and well-being. With limited published information available on these evolving trends, it is essential to analyze the changing landscape and the value of CRE for diverse organizational outcomes within the African context. This special issue is significant because CRE is a key resource for enhancing organizational outcomes, and a deeper understanding of the various strategies employed by organizations across different African countries is necessary.

Several themes have been identified, including the influence of CRE on organizational outcomes, the evolving landscape of CRE in Africa, reimagining workspace designs to enhance productivity and employee satisfaction, CRE strategies and their impact on organizational success, property and asset management, effects of digitization on facilities management, performance management and, finally, leasing, development, acquisitions and disposal. Following the selection process, four articles were accepted for presentation in this special issue.

This special issue reflects on the changing landscape and the value of CRE for different organizational outcomes within the African context. There are four articles in this special issue. The first article by Gadafi, Tudzi and Alhassan is entitled, “The Alignment of Corporate Estate Strategy with Corporate Strategy: Experiences from selected Higher Education Institutions in Ghana”. They article examines the relationship between CRE strategy and corporate strategy (CS) in selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ghana. Their focus was on the availability, usage, alignment and effects of CRE strategy on CS in universities. The findings show that all selected HEI purported to have CRE strategies but lacked a holistic approach. They were just maintenance policies developed based on their CSs to support the institutions' service delivery. All CRE management decisions were aligned with the CRE strategy.

The second article on “COVID-19 outcomes: exploring the footprints of the pandemic on the office sector in Johannesburg, South Africa” was written by Akinsomi, Oladiran and Kaseka. In their paper, the authors explore the effects of COVID-19 on office space in Johannesburg and the role of changing work practices in South Africa’s office sector due to the pandemic. They also explore the implications for future office space planning and management. COVID-19 brought about so many changes within the office space and this article helps us to understand the impact that COVID-19 has on the office space market footprint in Johannesburg. They used semi-structured interviews administered to corporate office users, and a thematic analysis was adopted to understand the views, perspectives and expectations of office users. The study’s findings show that due to COVID-19, more employees are choosing roles that allow remote work, leading to a shift in office space utilization. This newfound flexibility makes working from home more appealing than traditional office environments.

The third article is written by Alireza, Kathy, Bankole and Jonathan titled “A Comprehensive Analysis of the Implications of Artificial Intelligence Adoption on Employee Social Well-being in South African Facility Management Organizations” The article examines the essential factors affecting employee social well-being as a result of the implementation of AI in South African facility management organizations. This is crucial due to the growing use of AI technology by these organizations to improve efficiency and gain a competitive edge. The study used a four-stage approach, including a comprehensive literature review, expert interviews and data collection through questionnaires and focus group discussions with facility management organizations. The findings revealed 16 employee social well-being factors, categorized under job satisfaction, social relationships and knowledge development. It was noted that job security, job autonomy and professional status, which fall under the job satisfaction category, were the most affected by the adoption of AI according to facility management employees.

The fourth article is written by Ramantswana, Mmamabolo and Appel-Meulebroek titled “Open-plan office employees’ perceived mental and social well-being”. This article explores the well-being of employees in open-plan offices in the public sector in South Africa. A structured online interview form with open-ended questions was used to collect data from selected employees in the five governmental departments. The findings suggests that open-plan offices can enhance teamwork, communication, accessibility and inclusivity. However, they may negatively affect employees’ privacy, attention spans, productivity and stress levels. Surprisingly, absenteeism was not reported, contradicting previous research and requiring further investigation.

The special issue covers various topics on CRE in Africa and provides an overview of CRE in the region. From the four papers received, three focused on the users of space, which is employees. Hopefully, this special issue will stimulate more research in CRE across Africa.

I want to express my gratitude to all the contributors. We appreciate the commitment of the reviewers who agreed to take part in the double-blind peer review process. We hope you find this special issue enjoyable to read.