Affective, cognitive, behavioural and situational outcomes of social procurement: a case study of social value creation in a major facilities management firm

Abstract

While there is an emerging body of research on social procurement in construction, there is little empirical research from a facilities management perspective. This is despite the enormous untapped potential of the facilities management sector to create social value in the communities in which they operate. To address this gap in research, this paper presents an in-depth case study of an innovative social procurement initiative developed by a major Australian facilities management organisation. Integrating research in the fields of employment studies, facilities management and social value, it provides new empirical evidence of the significant affective, cognitive, behavioural and situational social value outcomes which can be generated through facilities management. These are best achieved through new hybrid partnerships between business, government, not-for-profit, community and educational organisations which create shared value, underpinned by a common interest in maximising social value for the communities involved. More research is needed into the types of attributes, skills and resources that facilitate such outcomes, the attributes of organisations most likely to be able to collaborate and the types of cross-sector partnerships which work.

Keywords:

• Built environment
• corporate social responsibility
• facilities management
• social impact
• social procurement
• social value

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).