Navigating the logics of changing public facilities management

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how a multitude of demands and challenges faced by public facilities management organizations’ (PFMOs) particularly in relation to a large building stock in need of measures’ are acted upon and negotiated in practice. Specifically this study asks: What are the institutional logics (IL) that constitute the organizational context of PFMOs? How does an institutional worker navigate to create change in PFMOs? Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a case study of a public facility management organization and include interviews, a questionnaire, observations and organizational documents. The analytical focus is the work of a single actor, a project manager portrayed as “the navigator” and his institutional work (IW) of developing and implementing new organizational practices, to meet current challenges and develop a more “strategic” facility management. Findings The complex institutional landscape faced by officials in PFMOs enforce officials responsible for implementing and developing new practices to become navigators. Originality/value The findings offer a rich practice-based account of the day-to-day IW carried out by actors that try to navigate complex institutional landscapes, consisting of multiple and, at times, conflicting IL. Current challenges for PFMOs are to be portrayed as multi-dimensional and the actual work to transform organizational practices in this context is highly complex, unordered and messy. The findings point towards a need for new competences and roles to tackle current challenges; geared towards integrating different logics and perspectives.