Strategic corporate real estate management in emergent economies: Ghanaian approach to institutional, organizational, and technological drivers

Abstract

The paper explores the implementation of Strategic Corporate Real Estate Management across key areas of Ghana’s economy, including health, tertiary education, banking, security, and services, as well as the role played by institutions, organizations, and technology in its adoption and strategic alignment. The research used an interpretivist qualitative research paradigm and collected data using semi-structured interviews with estate managers, administrators, and top executives across different sectors. Thematic analysis was performed on them with the help of NVivo based on the resource-based view, institutional theory, and the technology-organization-environment framework to gain an understanding of the contextual forces and constraints that drive the strategic corporate real estate management practice. The results show that there is a transitional perspective of strategic corporate real estate management in Ghana. Although the banking and service sectors can illustrate organized real estate policies in the decision-making, the practices in the public organizations are still reactive and maintenance-oriented. These barriers are mostly the bureaucratic regulations, the fragmented institutional structure, the lack of policy guidance, and the digital illiteracy. Conversely, awareness of managers, professional competence, and adoption of technology were found to be strong enablers. Strategic corporate real estate management is more mature in organizations that have futuristic leaders and access to technology tools. The study reveals that balancing corporate performance indicators with property portfolios is significant to enhance efficiency and competitiveness. The conclusion stresses that the Strategic Corporate Real Estate Management (SCREM) practice in Ghana is at a transitional stage, shifting from operational facility maintenance to a more strategic, performance-based model. Recommendations include the integration of SCRAM concepts into the national development program to make real estate a proactive cost center, rather than a strategic driver of socio-economic development and organizational excellence. This research is noteworthy as it is among the few attempts to apply strategic corporate real estate management to a developing economy, contextualizing various theoretical views to highlight the two-way interplay between the institutional and strategic dimensions in Africa. This study provides practical policy and management guidelines to institutionalize strategic corporate real estate management in the national development models with the help of leadership training, institutional reform, and technological transformation.