Navigating the logics of changing public facilities management

Journal article, 2021

Abstract
Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to explore how a multitude of demands and challenges faced bypublic 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 organizationaldocuments. 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 actorsthat 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.