Sustainable facilities management: a sociotechnical system perspective and a review of the literature
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable facilities management (SFM) research necessitates a sociotechnical system perspective as core organizations and facilities management (FM) suppliers are subject to multiple pressures while participating in buildings’ use, operation, and maintenance. The purpose of this study is to examine the SFM literature and improve understanding of factors that influence SFM practices using a sociotechnical transitions approach.
Design/methodology/approach
This study, first, examines facility management and sociotechnical system approaches to develop a framework that conceptualizes pressures and management processes that may impact the transition of FM practices to more sustainable ones. In a second step, the framework is combined with a systematic literature review of studies published between 2000 and 2023 to examine pressures applied to FM firms, explore responses and management processes and the evolution of FM practices, and identify research gaps.
Findings
The review findings indicate that the factors proposed by a sociotechnical system framework are examined in the SFM literature and that FM regimes acknowledged the applied pressures and responded by adapting their strategies, updating technical knowledge and capabilities, establishing new governance mechanisms, and modifying the industry identity and mindset.
Research limitations/implications
The review is limited to SFM literature between 2000 and 2023. An evolutionary sociotechnical system perspective of SFM practices necessitates context-specific research.
Originality/value
The study responds to the call for a sociotechnical system view of SFM and adds a sociotechnical transitions perspective to the development and evolution of SFM research. It organizes the current SFM literature, points to the need for context-specific research, and allows for the identification of future SFM research directions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Jacob Mondello and Eunice Gomez Martinez for input on the literature review, and Ronald Bean, Jim Bechard and Colin McGugan for ongoing support and fruitful discussions. The insights of two anonymous reviewers are greatlyappreciated.
The author is grateful for this support. The author, however, remains solely responsible for the contents of this article.
Funding: Funding for this work was provided by Conestoga College and the Conestoga New and Emerging Researcher Grant (CNERG).
Citation
Karanasios, K. (2025), "Sustainable facilities management: a sociotechnical system perspective and a review of the literature", Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFM-04-2024-0046
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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