UNDERSTANDING FACTORS INFLUENCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify essential factors influencing the development of Facilities Management industry within a macro economy. The factors were identified using hermeneutics and content analysis based on the attributes of an industry. A total of 43 published literature on FM, economics and industrial development were reviewed. The analysis revealed certain attributes that appear to be instrumental in influencing FM development, namely: Organisational Practice, Supply Market, Business Environment, Professional Bodies, Research and Education. Due to their ‘newness’ the factors might not be familiar to many FM stakeholders. Thus, the study discussed their contribution and analysed the distribution and consistency of the results using chi-squared. The identified factors were used to propose a framework (not part of this paper) for assessing the maturity of FM industry at a country level. The identification of the factors is opening an opportunity for dialogue and research into the formation, development and maturity of FM Industry in Tanzania where it is at a nascent stage.

Key words: Facilities Management, Organizational practice, Supply market, Business market