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The world of work is constantly changing. The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced working from home, and there is an increasing demand for flexibility regarding the workplace. There is little empirical evidence on the mechanisms and factors that influence employee outcomes, such as productivity and turnover intention, at the workplace and at home. In addition, it is unclear whether the workplace characteristics that influence employee outcomes vary between different nations due to country-specific circumstances. The paper aims to address these two issues.

The research model applied in this study is based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) and environmental demands-resources models using German (n = 429) and USA (n = 507) survey samples. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is used to analyse the influence of workplace characteristics (isolation, family–work interference, equipment/facilities and skill variety) on employee outcomes (satisfaction, burnout, productivity and turnover intention). Additionally, a multi-group analysis is used to explore group differences in the factors influencing satisfaction, burnout, productivity and turnover intention between employees in Germany and the USA.

The results reveal that significant determinants of productivity and turnover intention include isolation, family–work interference, equipment/facilities and skill variety. Isolation and equipment/facilities are identified as the most important demands and resources of the home workplace. Some significant differences are found between Germany and the USA. The positive effect of isolation on burnout is significantly stronger in the USA than in Germany, whereas the positive effect of family–work inference on burnout is stronger in Germany than in the USA. The negative effects visible for the relations between burnout and satisfaction, and satisfaction and turnover intention are stronger in Germany than in the USA. The positive effect of burnout on turnover intention is stronger in the USA compared to Germany.

The study adds empirical evidence to the JD-R theory by analysing the influence of the home workplace characteristics on employee outcomes in different countries for the first time using a multi-group analysis. In addition, the study reveals new insights into the differences between the knowledge workforces in Germany and the USA by uncovering how key factors influence employee outcomes such as productivity and turnover intention, partially carried by varying length of experience in work from home between both of these countries. Insights from this study can support corporate real estate managers to make better decisions on the design of employees’ home workplaces and the integration of work from home into the company’s workspace concept.

The purpose of this study is to find answers to the question whether a fully-integrated real estate (RE) solution within an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) landscape delivers a visible and measurable contribution to organizational efficiency in corporate real estate management (CREM), a field still dominated by specialized, but stand-alone software packages.

The authors set up a model of CREM with the enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems being the hinge between the RE strategies and organizational efficiency. The model was tested by a written questionnaire to respond on the benefit expectations on ERP benefits.

In many cases, the results show a negative gap between expectations and realized benefits. The authors identified benefit stars and dogs within the sample. Stars realizing high benefit ratios on average have more often chosen the form of a shared service center for their CREM department, have reengineered the business processes more intensively, had more often a legacy system as a predecessor of the SAP ERP, trained employees more intensively and showed a higher degree of customization of the RE module than the benefit dogs of the sample.

Newly formed CREM departments looking for optimal IT solutions find decision support regarding the best fit for their IT landscape. Already institutionalized CREM units running an ERP system will find concrete evidence for improvement.

This is the first study of benefits and critical success factors of ERP implementation and operation for modern CREM. It is the attempt to bridge the gap between business and IT, showing the enabler role of ERP systems for efficient business processes, satisfied corporate users and motivated employees.

This study aims at understanding academic practice in the field of physical office environment research and providing recommendations for further enhancement of the field. It shows which effects of the physical office environment on employee outcomes are studied by which disciplines, and which methodologies are used by whom and on which variables. Existing gaps in research that are confirmed by these analyses are discussed and “assigned” to obvious, best suited combinations of future multi-disciplinary research projects to call for studies that would help practice in better decision-making.

After a systematic search and selection of studies, an exploratory analysis of 134 empirical studies from 50 different journals (and other sources) was performed. The selected studies were entered into a database with information on the empirical parameters of the study, the methodology and author information. From this database, cross-tables were built and tested with Canonical Correspondence analyses.

Results of the analyses showed that each discipline has its preferred topics and methods of research. In general, questionnaires are preferred over hard data from physical and physiological recordings. Still many important gaps exist in fully clarifying workplace effectiveness. This paper suggests which disciplines would be capable of taking up which challenges in future studies through interdisciplinary cooperation to further advance the field and corporate real estate management/FM in practice.

The Correspondence analyses not only confirmed important gaps for future research but also identified which disciplines would be best suited to take up these challenges.

With the continuing transition to hybrid working models, companies are confronted with new challenges. Location- and time-flexible working offers employees considerable advantages regarding work success and, in particular, personal well-being and health. The separate effects of remote work and work autonomy on the degree of perceived burnout have already been sufficiently investigated. The influence of hybrid work, the combination of remote and in-office work together with work autonomy, on perceived burnout has yet to be investigated. Against this background, the present study examines the impact of hybrid work on perceived burnout.

The empirical study uses data from N = 779 German office employees. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the data is evaluated using regression and mediation analysis.

The results indicate a negative impact of remote work and work autonomy on perceived burnout. In addition, the effect of remote work on perceived burnout is partially mediated by work autonomy. This shows that hybrid work overall has a burnout-reducing effect.

Considering the workforce’s health, the results suggest that organisations should focus on hybrid working. Thus, employees should continuously be allowed to work remotely. In addition, workflows and processes should be designed to provide employees work autonomy. If organisational constraints require office presence, then the results underline the need for stress-reducing adaptation of offices.

The study offers first empirical results on the combined impact of remote work and work autonomy on perceived burnout. Furthermore, it provides implications for designing hybrid working environments and orientation in the ongoing return to office debate.

The purpose of this paper is to apply a numerical simulation of stochastic processes to the problem of real estate investment appraisal.

These uncertain operating costs are integrated into an enhanced dynamic simulation. To model the dynamics in the uncertainty of the cost schedule, a range of different types of stochastic processes is used. The operating costs are classified by cost drivers and an appropriate stochastic process is determined for each of the derived cost clusters. To optimise the capital structure in this application, heuristic optimisation with genetic algorithms is used.

The application of the model to real world investment situations shows that linear and deterministic modelling underestimates the risk‐generating effect of uncertain operating expenses, which often can lead to inefficient investment decisions.

In a further application of the model, the authors demonstrate the effect of uncertain operating costs on the optimal capital structure of real estate investments.

In contrast to models in the literature that are usually focussed on the income side, here the focus is on the uncertain dynamics of real estate operating costs as a key factor affecting return.

The purpose of this study is to team broadly accepted general management frameworks with the specific situation of corporate real estate and suggest a holistic configurations framework for CREM that takes into account the highly diverse context parameters.

Based on general management frameworks and research on CREM issues, a CRE management framework – the “CREM map” – is suggested that guides a study on which parameters drive CREM and how they are integrated. A qualitative approach is used that collects data from large European corporates. The analyses are performed through computer-assisted qualitative data analysis.

Multiple parameters form heterogeneous context constellations that make it necessary to individually configure a CREM system. While some “general principles” regarding CREM targets, strategy, organization, and controlling systems and their relationships can be identified as “best practices”, the key finding is that a holistic concept for CREM needs to be guided by “best fit” considerations, resulting in at least several, context-specific designs of CREM.

The CREM-map and CREM principles provide orientation in the process of design, implementation, and running of the CRE management system and its alignment to corporates' context and business needs. Connected line diagrams illustrate how “best fit” CREMs can look like.

First study takes a holistic view on the organization of the CREM function regarding its alignment with the business strategy and including why different designs are chosen. This can assist to improve the performance of CREM and sets the stage for further research on CREM configurations.

The purpose of this paper is to identify different organizational models concerning both the functions and responsibilities assigned to corporate real estate (CRE) professionals in European and North American companies, as well as to determine the factors that influence the occurrence of these different management models.

An empirical survey between 74 major European and 38 North American companies from the banking, energy, telecommunication, and transportation and logistics industries is conducted.

Five typical models describing the allocation of responsibility of real estate functions within a company and the performance of those responsibilities are identified. Only weak statistical associations are found between these models and certain contextual factors that may influence the choice for a specific model, as well as between the models and certain achievements in CRE. From this, the paper infers that there does not exist one “best practice” CRE management model in a specific situation as often is stated, but instead, various promising organizational models seem to exist.

This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the organizational variables “responsibility” and “performance” of real estate functions and presents a differentiated view compared to existing research. Specifically, this is the first paper that analyzes and attempts to categorize the various existing approaches to the allocation of responsibility for CRE functions, as well as accountability of the corresponding performance. As such, this paper can therefore serve as an initial point for further research on this topic.

In addition to financial returns, German housing companies are expected to achieve social and ecological outcomes. This achievement is challenging for management, as expectations from different stakeholders are only partly apparent and often conflicting. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper presents a process model that supports the management of housing companies to systematically explore, evaluate, and integrate stakeholders’ interests into the company’s strategic targets.

The integrated process model improves sustainable value creation, as stakeholders’ interests are transparent and can thus be better satisfied.

Due to the action research design, further research cycles and empirical testing with other companies are needed before findings can be generalised.

The process enables housing companies to focus on value-generating activities, to react timely to changing needs, and to improve their relationships with stakeholders. Management benefits from increased clarity and legitimacy for strategic decisions as stakeholder demands are made transparent and integrated into the strategic targets.

Compared to common participation approaches, all stakeholder groups are consulted, and their expectations are documented transparently within the suggested process model. This results in a better foundation for sustainable management planning and decisions.