Information management in the facilities domain: investigating practitioner priorities

Purpose: Effective information management can help real estate operators improve asset performance during use, reducing environmental impact. The purpose of this exploratory study is to identify and prioritise key drivers, challenges and opportunities relating to information management, from the point of view of a diverse cohort of facilities practitioners, with the aim of guiding future research direction and contributing to a comprehensive domain understanding. Design/methodology/approach: Nine interviews are conducted across a broad sample of real estate sectors, the respondents including six facility managers and three data managers. A thematic analysis results in the identification and ranking in terms of importance of 44 emergent themes. These themes are then grouped into abstracted categories for analysis and synthesis. Findings: This study indicates that systemic rather than technical issues are the greatest barrier to effective information management for facilities practitioners, the interviews providing examples of practical measures which address these challenges, promoting lifecycle thinking. Alignment is also found between the facilities and data management cohorts regarding lifecycle thinking towards both physical assets and information. Practical implications: This study provides direction for future developments in the facilities sector, suggesting the pursuit to address systemic issues as being both worthwhile and feasible. Originality/value: The novelty of this study is the ranking and synthesis of practitioner priorities with regard to high-level information management issues which is lacking in the literature, with a focus to-date on case-specific technical integration.