Journal of Real Estate,Construction & Management

This study investigates the key enablers for strengthening market intelligence (MI) culture within construction companies (CCs).

A sequential exploratory mixed-method approach was adopted, targeting large-scale CCs in Ghana. Initial exploratory interviews identified 12 potential enablers, which were further validated through an extensive literature review. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to uncover the latent dimensions underlying these enablers.

The EFA identified two principal enablers for enhancing MI culture within CCs: top management commitment and active internal marketing. Top management commitment encompasses the active involvement and sustained support of senior management in fostering an MI-oriented culture. Active internal marketing is the deliberate engagement and motivation of employees to internalize and advocate for the organization’s MI values.

This study fills a notable gap in the construction management literature by providing empirical insights into MI culture enablers within a developing country context. It contributes to both academic understanding and managerial practice by supporting intelligence-led growth.

The findings offer practical guidance to construction practitioners aiming to build intelligence-driven organizations. By prioritizing leadership commitment and effective internal communication, firms can enhance their responsiveness to market dynamics and improve strategic decision-making.

While the study identifies and categorizes key enablers of MI culture, it does not examine the practical challenges that CCs may encounter in implementing these enablers.

Migrant workers constitute the backbone of real estate and construction sectors, yet remain marginal within public policy frameworks that prioritize physical assets over social systems. This article advances a novel conceptual framing of migrant labour as living infrastructure, arguing that workers’ housing, mobility and welfare are integral to project delivery, alongside land, materials and finance.

The study adopts a mixed-method empirical design conducted between 2020 and 2024, covering the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery period. Data were collected from six major urban construction projects in India and the Gulf region. Methods included semi-structured interviews with 120 migrant workers, 20 contractors and 10 policymakers, supplemented by documentary analysis of labour codes, housing schemes and digital welfare platforms.

The analysis reveals three persistent dynamics. First, fragmented governance and weak enforcement undermine labour protections. Second, construction systems rely structurally on informal housing and multilayered subcontracting that externalize welfare costs. Third, selective inclusion through digital registration platforms systematically excludes highly mobile workers. Together, these dynamics generate workforce instability, heighten compliance risks for firms and disrupt project timelines.

The article contributes original theoretical value by reframing migrant workers as living infrastructure within construction management and urban policy scholarship, moving beyond narratives of precarity toward infrastructural citizenship.

The study focuses on selected projects in India and the Gulf, limiting generalizability across regions. Future research could extend the framework to other labour-intensive sectors and comparative national contexts.

Integrating worker welfare into project planning can improve workforce stability, regulatory compliance and delivery efficiency.

Recognizing migrant labour as living infrastructure supports more inclusive urban development and strengthens social sustainability in rapidly expanding cities.

Financing facilities management practices in public education facilities is a major challenge in the global south. The study assesses facilities management practice and its financing models in senior high schools in Northern Ghana.

A qualitative research approach was adopted. Given the nature of facilities management, 15 public senior high schools in Northern Ghana were selected. Structured observation and thematic analysis were employed to understand the nature of facilities management practices and the financing models adopted in these schools.

The study categorized facilities management challenges in two broad ways: the overall lack of facilities management units in senior high schools in Northern Ghana and financial constraints. The conceptualization of financing options was contextualized in terms of domestic revenue mobilization, community support and government allocations. Introducing domestic revenue approaches served the purposes of minor facilities management services. At the same time, community support in the form of contributions from old student unions and Parent–Teacher Associations preceded charitable donations as a major source of funding.

The study advocates for the establishment of facilities management units in senior high schools. This will ensure adequate facilities management practices that provide a conducive environment for teaching and learning. In terms of financing, leveraging domestic revenue mobilization will serve as short-term support for facilities management in senior high schools.

The study contributes to enriching the scope of facilities management practices financing in senior high schools. Away from conventional financing, conceptualizing financing options will serve as a blueprint to facilitate the activities of facilities management in other educational institutions, thereby enhancing teaching and learning.

As cities transition to low-carbon, rooftop solar has become a key pathway for urban growth. But the socio-economic implications of these transitions are underexplored. This study assesses the socio-economic impacts of rooftop solar adoption, identifies enablers and barriers, and provides policy recommendations for inclusive renewable energy planning, behaviourally informed governance and equitable urban sustainability.

Mixed-methods approach with bibliometric analysis, household surveys, expert interviews and Relative to an Identified Distribution (RIDIT) analysis. 534 household surveys across different income groups and multiple expert interviews to capture institutional and policy-level perspectives. Bibliometric analysis to establish theoretical grounding and research gaps in solar adoption studies, and thematic interviews to capture stakeholder narratives around behavioural and institutional challenges. RIDIT analysis to rank enablers and barriers and to highlight perceptual divides and adoption dynamics across socio-economic groups in the Chandigarh city region.

Community perception of solar technology and the availability of solar resource potential are the top enablers. Behavioural barriers like dependency on existing energy demand structures and reluctance to switch to new energy sources are the key constraints. Procedural delays, inefficiencies in subsidy delivery and socio-spatial inequalities are additional barriers. Despite high awareness across households, low-income and rental groups face access barriers. RIDIT values show perceptual divides across socio-economic categories and unequal opportunities in benefiting from renewable energy transitions.

This study integrates RIDIT analysis with thematic stakeholder evaluation, providing a novel methodological framework for assessing the socio-economic dimensions of rooftop solar adoption. It provides region-specific insights into behavioural dynamics, social equity and institutional effectiveness in the Indian city-regional context and a replicable framework for other cities to achieve just and inclusive energy transitions.

The study is limited to the Chandigarh city region and has a small sample size of expert interviews, which limits its generalizability. Future research should broaden demographic scope, include institutional audits and expand the comparative framework to increase transferability and robustness of findings.

By showing inefficiencies in subsidy mechanisms and procedural delays, the study gives policymakers actionable recommendations to design interventions that increase adoption and reduce socio-spatial inequalities in renewable energy.

The study shows that perceptual divides and socio-economic inequalities need to be addressed in renewable energy adoption. Equitable transitions require behavioural awareness, community engagement and institutional changes to build a foundation for inclusive urban sustainability.

Energy sustainability and occupant satisfaction in commercial real estate remain a challenge worldwide. In the era of Technology, scholars have focused primarily on technological solutions to address this challenge. However, there is a limited gap in examining the contribution of occupant behaviour (OB) in energy flexibility (EF), especially in shopping malls. This study examines the contributions of occupants’ behaviour and thermal comfort (TC) to EF in shopping malls across Ghana.

Using a quantitative, cross sectional approach, the study combines Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with Agent-Based Simulation (ABS) to examine behavioural patterns across retail categories. Data were collected from 219 occupants in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana.

The ABS showed that 25% of the agents fall within the high flexibility range (scores between 5.1 and 10). Further, 65% within the moderate range (scores between 2.1 and 5), and 10% within the low flexibility range (scores between 0 and 2). Furthermore, the PLS-SEM showed that occupants’ behaviour indirectly influences EF through TC, with a greater and significant indirect impact than the direct effect. Grocery and fashion stores showed the highest levels of behaviour-driven EF.

These findings underscore the need to build strategies that account for behavioural patterns, and introduce systems that incorporate comfort-focused design and awareness programmes. Furthermore, there is the need to implement behaviour responsive energy dashboards in malls, model seasonal behavioural trends, and enable energy strategies that shift throughout the year in response to changing habits and comfort needs

This study examined the moderating impact of information technology (IT) on the relationship between facilities management (FM) practices and the performance of public higher education institutions in Ghana.

The study used a survey design, collecting quantitative data through a questionnaire. A sample size of 51 employees involved in FM in public higher education institutions (HEIs) within the Ashanti Region of Ghana was used for the study. The data collected were analysed using inferential and descriptive statistics.

FM practices had a positive impact on the performance of public HEIs. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between the integration of IT and the performance of public HIEs. However, there was an insignificant relationship between the moderator (IT integration) and FM practices, and between these and the performance of public HEIs. Consequently, the study revealed that IT integration had no impact on the relationship between FM and the performance of public HEIs in the Ashanti Region.

This study provides a critical counterpoint to the dominant narrative that IT integration inherently transforms FM. In the case of public HEIs in a lower-middle-income country, we find measurable evidence for IT and FM as parallel, rather than synergistic, performance drivers. This new result implies that the hypothesized moderating effect of IT may not always exist and is dependent on a higher level of technological and organizational maturity.

The findings of the study are limited by its focus on HEIs in the Ashanti Region and a relatively small sample size, which restricts generalisability. Future research should use larger samples, incorporate qualitative approaches to better understand IT use in FM, and examine other organisations with more extensive IT adoption.