Design for Sustainable Outsourcing Strategies of Facilities Management Outsourcing Services: An Investigation In Educational Facilities

Strategic level support is crucial for the smooth adoption of a sustainable FM supply chain. Generally, the majority of firms are willing to acquire outsourcing success, regardless of the industry within which they operate. It is useful to establish a specific outsourcing relationship model for facility management (FM) to achieve sound performance of outsourced service providers. This study aims to investigate the design of sustainable outsourcing strategies through a discussion of five theories (i.e., the Theory of Transaction cost economics, agency cost theory, resource dependency theory, Theory of Entrepreneurial actions, and social exchange theory). Based on two types of questionnaire surveys, data were collected from 38 clients and 34 service providers. This study evaluates FM outsourcing strategies in educational facilities in Hong Kong. This is the outsourcing way forward to create a better working environment conducive for all parties that would result in better sustainability of the FM’s future in terms of economic, social, and environmental values. The design of sustainable FM outsourcing strategies has not yet been discussed in terms of sustainability. The originality of this study is to explain and analyse the impact of design on FM sustainable outsourcing strategies on four commonly outsourced FM contracts, including building maintenance, security, cleaning, and catering, from the clients’ and service providers’ points of view through a quantitative approach. This paper explains the design of FM outsourcing strategies using five theories. The discovery is that neither clients nor FM service providers thoroughly understand the impact of design on outsourcing strategies of different outsourcing contract types on FM outsourcing performance. This may be why both parties neglect the importance of the link between FM design and outsourcing strategies for different FM outsourcing services in daily operations.