The increasing competitive pressures and dynamic user preferences have resulted in a fast-paced and uncertain business environment. In the face of these circumstances, organizations are looking into alternatives to incorporate flexibility to become more adaptive and responsive to change. In this line, co-working, typically associated with freelancers, entrepreneurs, and startups, has become a particularly interesting alternative in the market that has caught the attention of corporate occupiers. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to identify co-working strategies that can be implemented as part of the corporate real estate portfolio, in alignment with the flexibility demands of the organization. This nascent research topic is studied through 5 qualitative case studies including in-depth, semi-structured interviews with corporate real estate managers and related case documentation. The results evidence the different motivations that the organizations have when incorporating co-working in their property portfolio. As seen across the cases, organizations in different stages of maturity are implementing co-working as the main office location or as a temporary or complementary space solution, through six different strategies: (1) Swing Space, (2) Expansion Space, (3) Core and Flex, (4) Touchdown Space, (5) Testing Market, and (6) Temporary Projects and Staff. This research evidences that each strategy plays a specific role in the corporate real estate portfolio and implies different sources of flexibility that support the physical, functional, and financial flexibility demands of the organization ... Read more

Using a unique transactions dataset, this paper examines the determinants of lease incentives in the Amsterdam office market. The study focusses on the type of landlord involved (institutional/privately owned) and whether the tenant or landlord used an advisor to help them with the transaction. The results show that an institutional landlord, ceteris paribus, offers 11 percentage points more incentives than a private owner. In addition, a landlord who uses the services of an advisor pays 16 percentage points less incentives. An advisor at the side of the tenant increases incentives by 7 percentage points. If both parties use an advisor lease incentives are not statistically different from using no advisors at all. The results in this paper highlight the crucial role of market information, information asymmetry, and bargaining in the market for commercial real estate. ... Read more

The department of MBE was originally called Real Estate & Project Management (BMVB: ‘Bouwmanagement & Vastgoedbeheer’) covering the domains of construction management and real estate management. The “raison d’être” for this new department was based on the recognition that a fair amount of architecture graduates were more interested in managing a building’s design and construction process than in its actual design. These students, however, were not taught management theories and skills at that time. As a result, they would end up in the construction industry poorly equipped for doing the job they were required to do. This lack in education was addressed by our new department. Our graduates are multi-disciplinary schooled, not only in architectural design, computational design and management theories and skills, but very importantly also in building economics. The research domain Building Economics comprises research on the market and the value of buildings, and the relationship between quality and revenues, and costs and fi nance (Soeter et al., 2009). In the real estate market, the space market is interlinked with the asset market and the construction market. The Building Economy research programme analyses the real estate portfolios of investors. In what type of properties do they invest and what are the returns, risk profi les and outcomes? A crucial aspect in this is the expected rental income. To a large extent, the research focuses on the rent level and return on investment, in connection to location and building characteristics (quality) (see for instance Koppels et al., 2009, 2011). A guideline for studies on costs and quality is the consideration that organisations are interlinked with their location and buildings. An optimal solution for accommodation depends on the selected approach. For example, with a lowest cost approach, a minimum of investment costs, running costs and life-cycle costs are sought after, usually resulting in low values as well. Research on the relationship between cost, quality, and willingness-to-pay is important to understand and steer on costs and quality. ... Read more

Deze studie richt zich op het verklaren van de incentives op de Amsterdamse kantorenmarkt. De belangrijkste bijdrage is dat er in de analyse naast gebouw/locatie- en contractgegevens ook informatie wordt meegenomen over de actoren die betrokken zijn bij een transactie. Zo blijkt uit dit onderzoek het type verhuurder een belangrijke determinant van de hoogte van de incentive. Een institutionele verhuurder verstrekt in de regel een hogere incentive dan een private verhuurder. Daarnaast is de aanwezigheid van een commercieel adviseur aan de zijde van zowel huurder als verhuurder significant van invloed op de hoogte van de incentive. Deze resultaten dragen bij aan meer kennis over en transparantie op de markt voor commercieel vastgoed. ... Read more

Using a unique transactions dataset, this paper examines the determinants of lease incentives in the Amsterdam office market. The study focusses on the type of landlord involved (institutional/privately owned) and whether the tenant or landlord used an advisor to help them with the transaction. The results show that an institutional landlord, ceteris paribus, offers 11 percentage points more incentives than a private owner. In addition, a landlord who uses the services of an advisor pays 11 percentage points less incentives. An advisor at the side of the tenant increases incentives by 13 percentage points. The results in this paper highlight the crucial role of market information, information asymmetry, and bargaining in the market for commercial real estate. ... Read more

Rapport in opdracht van Atelier Rijksbouwmeester. ... Read more

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how international companies (can) use real estate as a means to reinforce corporate identity and to express brand values in order to evoke a positive image in today’s competitive world.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on a review of literature, seven case studies including analysis of company documents and in depth interviews with marketing experts and real estate advisors, and a cross-case analysis showing the translation of brand core values in real estate strategies of these multinationals.
Findings – The findings show that brand values are incorporated in the location strategy, building strategy, workplace strategy and at portfolio management level by all companies, but in different ways and with different focus points. Most common used brand values are “Green” values i.e. sustainability, reliability, transparency, innovation and people oriented. Branding policies take into account both internal stakeholders such as the end users, and external stakeholders such as customers and investors.
Research limitations/implications – The number of interviews is rather limited. Reliability of the findings was enforced by triangulation through connecting the interview findings to literature and strategic documents. Additional empirical research is needed to further explore which strategic choices can be made and in particular what is the actual impact on corporate image and organisational performance.
Practical implications –The different ways to translate corporate brand values in real estate and the conceptual framework that has been developed to describe the step by step approach - from defining a vision to translating the corporate culture and identity into a well-considered real estate strategy - can be used by policy makers and real estate managers in real estate decision-making on strategic, tactical and operational level.
Originality – The paper links findings from Corporate Real Estate Management with insights from marketing theory and adding value by real estate. ... Read more

Much of our industrial heritage lost its function in the transition from an industrial to a more service-based economy. Meantime, changing consumer preferences have shortened the functional and economic life cycle of buildings to such an extent that many have become vacant and obsolete. Developers tend to prefer to demolish such buildings and redevelop the entire site in an effort to solve the mismatch between supply and demand. However, from society’s point of view, conversion to new functions is much more appropriate. Industrial heritage has much to tell about the spirit and socio-economic aspects of bygone eras and architectural concepts and often contributes to the identity of the neighbourhood or the city as well. It is virtually impossible to reproduce the intrinsic qualities of industrial heritage in new developments. In addition, preservation promotes sustainability as it cuts down on materials and transport. On the other hand, many investors and developers worry about the high costs and risks of conversions to bring existing buildings into line with new user requirements and legislation. In this paper we discuss ways in which the various stakeholders in transformation projects cope with these dilemmas. We focus on seven cases, including the redevelopment of the NDSM site in Amsterdam (a former shipbuilding area), the A-factorij in Amsterdam (a former bicycle factory converted into office and business premises) and the transformation of the famous Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam - an icon of functionalism - into a ‘design factory’. Economic feasibility, a clear concept, effective marketing and PR, alignment with the local supply and demand, and the right match between the local policy of public and private partners are key factors in the success or failure of such projects. ... Read more

Transformeren en herbestemmen van industrieel vastgoed is niet zonder risico’s.
Er kunnen zich allerlei organisatorische, financiële, procedurele en technische obstakels voordoen. Niettemin zijn verschillende gebouwen met succes getransformeerd tot nieuwe functies. Andere projecten zijn in voorbereiding. Dit artikel laat zien dat het denken vanuit een helder concept van doorslaggevende betekenis kan zijn voor de financiële haalbaarheid. Slim gebruik van de cultuurhistorische waarde vergroot de kans op succes. ... Read more