TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Abstract

This study evaluates social sustainability in facilities management (FM) organisations against the backdrop of advancement of technological innovations. Past studies have revealed that the practice of sustainability in FM is not holistic. A greater emphasis is placed on the economic and environmental pillars of sustainability to the exclusion of the social pillar. This exclusion is attributed to the inability to reach a consensus on what constitutes a social sustainability construct in light of the diverse elements of social sustainability. The study is explorative and relied on available literature on social sustainability integrated with FM literature. The author argues for the promotion of social sustainability in FM through the integration of three constructs of social sustainability, namely: social relationship, job satisfaction; knowledge development; and several other sub-indices. These constructs are seen as a starting point towards evaluating social sustainability practice in FM. The study proposed a social sustainability framework towards enhancing the understanding of social sustainability in FM practice. The framework suggests that an organisation’s commitment to the promotion of social sustainability practice could result in optimal delivery of the core business objectives of the organisation. The framework provides useful direction for further studies in this research area.