The organisational structures of the CRE department: A research into five multinational firms

Although many studies have been performed into the practical aspects of Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM), other aspects are less addressed. Therefore, this research aims to contribute to the field of knowledge concerning the configuration of the CRE department and to the decision-making processes of firms regarding this configuration, by the recording and analysing of the organisational structures of CRE departments of five multinationals in the period since the turn of the century to now. The researched case firms are Ahold (Delhaize), Akzo Nobel, ING Group, Philips, and Shell. The research consists of a case analysis supplemented by an archival review and qualitative interviewing with CRE professionals of the case firms. The case analysis is performed by means of a self-developed Analysis Framework which is based on the assumption that the organizational structure of the CRE department consists of three variables: the ‘position’ of the CRE department within its firm, the ‘form’ of the CRE department and the ‘sourcing’ of CRE activities. Additionally, between the level of that of the entire firm and that of the CRE department, the variable ‘role’ is positioned. Although this variable cannot be appointed as a structural variable, it does say something about how the organizational structure of the CRE department is put into meaning. The results of the case analyses were compared in a cross-case analysis which showed that although many similarities exist between the organizational structures of the researched CRE departments, they all differ and moreover, have changed throughout the researched period.