Alutaibi, A (2018) The impact of facility management practices on tenant satisfaction forresidential complexes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaresidential complexes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. PhD thesis, Loughborough University, UK.
Abstract
The Saudi Ministry of the Interior has spent more than £600million over the last two decades constructing government buildings, with a considerable proportion accounting for residential complexes. Such residential housing complexes are often characterised by service delays, high costs, poor quality of services, a high number of complaints and long resolution times for complaints, resulting in poor tenant satisfaction. Enhancing Facilities Management (FM) practices for tenants remains a key concern for service management providers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and beyond. The aim of this research is to develop a model to establish the relationship between housing management, the maintenance contractor and tenant satisfaction regarding FM services in residential complexes in KSA. By exploring the impact of housing management performance and the maintenance contractor service quality performance, variables can be identified to enhance residential FM performance, which can in turn increase the level of tenant satisfaction. Whereas previous research on tenant satisfaction has explored a combination of objective and subjective attributes, such as physical characteristics of the neighbourhoods, buildings and facilities, the research on which the thesis is founded focuses on the more subjective measures of management attributes, such as repair and maintenance practices, housing management attributes, and personal characteristics. The research adopted a quantitative approach involving a questionnaire survey administered to 136 Saudi tenants living in a typical residential complex in KSA. To investigate the performance of FM services providers, a two-stage study was conducted on the Alkhafji residential complex. First, a questionnaire survey was used to measure the performance of Housing Management and the Maintenance Contractor respectively. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the significant determinants of FM practices on tenant satisfaction. The results of the modelling were validated by a survey and interviews with tenants and directors from both the Alkhafji residential complex and other residential complexes in KSA. In the tenant satisfaction model, the tenants considered the following three factors to be most important in determining their satisfaction with FM services: (1) the level of experience and qualification of the technicians, (2) the requirements for completing the rental application process, and (3) the quality of the repairs carried out. These three factors explained 70% of the variance in the combined model for tenant satisfaction. In the separate housing management model, the analysis returned the following three factors to be most important for achieving superior FM performance for the residents: (1) technicians with the appropriate experience and qualifications, (2) appropriate consumables and correct specifications, and (3) affordable unit prices. Here the factors explained a marginally lower variance of 52% in tenant satisfaction with housing management performance. In the maintenance and repair model, tenants considered the following two factors to be major contributors in explaining variance in tenant satisfaction: (1) the skills and knowledge of the technicians, and (2) the price of consumables. This model explained 64% of the variation in tenant satisfaction with service performance of the maintenance contractor. Additional residential complex problems included: the poor attitude of the maintenance staff; poor-quality repairs and consumables; the high cost of consumables from the maintenance contractor; delays by housing management in the procedures for completing the rental application; and the eviction process. The results also indicated that tenant satisfaction could be improved if the time between failures is longer than 30 months and if there are no complaints about the skills and knowledge of the technicians they employ for the works. Identifying these significant variables should help FM service providers to focus on activities that contribute most to the improvement of the performance of FM services and increase tenant satisfaction. The housing management and the maintenance contractor can use these results to monitor their own performance in these areas in order to ensure a positive impact on tenants in residential complexes within the Saudi housing sector.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | facilities management; housing management; interview; questionnaire survey; Saudi Arabia; tenant satisfaction |
| Index terms: | determinant, modelling, resolution, quality of service, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, variance, Saudi Arabia, satisfaction, qualification, eviction, management practice, variation, physical characteristic, questionnaire, service quality, accounting, repair, multiple regression analysis, facilities management, housing, maintenance contractor, interview, specification, tenant, complaint, housing management, survey, residential housing |
| Subjects: | conflict resolution, measurement and scaling, statistical analysis, performance measurement, management, public and environmental health, contractual condition, material properties and characteristics, real estate economics, project delivery, risk assessment, data collection methods, liability law, educational resources, maintenance engineering, Geography, economic analysis, analytical methods, construction type, practitioner |
| Topics: | Education, Quality Management, Legal Issues, Risk Management, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management, Health and Safety, Contract Administration, Urban Studies, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Construction Materials, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here