Incorporating Corporate Real Estate Management with Organizational Strategy: A Multi-Sector Analysis in Ghana.

Abstract

In Ghana, Corporate Real Estate Management has not been aligned with organizational strategy, resulting in missed opportunities to create value and competitive advantage, even though it has significant potential to enhance performance. This paper seeks to explore the alignment between Corporate Real Estate Management and organizational strategy in Ghana, and to evaluate the impact of strategic integration on performance, competitiveness, and value creation across sectors. The semi-structured interviews with twelve (12) senior managers and professionals in the banking, telecommunications, manufacturing, higher education, and public institutions were conducted using an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative design. NVivo was used to thematically analyze data to investigate cognitive, cultural, and institutional issues that influence the practice of Corporate Real Estate Management. Corporate Real Estate Management is becoming a strategic enabler and not a cost center in Ghanaian organizations. Results indicate an increasing incorporation of Corporate Real Estate Management into corporate strategy through governance, data-driven performance systems, and life-cycle planning. Nevertheless, institutional barriers, procurement inertia, fragmented governance, and skill gaps inhibit full strategic alignment, particularly in government institutions. It is interesting to note that this research situates the global theories of Corporate Real Estate Management, namely the Resource-Based View, Contingency Theory, and Transaction Cost Economics, in a developing-economy context, thereby extending the strategic management discourse to the specifics of African institutions.