Volume 16 (2026-2027)

This paper examines the evolving role of corporate real estate (CRE) strategy in an era of hybrid work, distributed teams and accelerating artificial intelligence (AI), where the workplace is no longer simply a container for work but a system through which organisations express identity, shape behaviour and influence performance. As AI automates routine work, the human contributions that remain, including judgment, collaboration, trust and identity, become more central, making the workplace’s role in shaping those contributions increasingly consequential. The paper introduces the concept of the identity-driven workplace, defined as one intentionally designed to reinforce an organisation’s shared understanding of purpose, values and ways of working, translating abstract identity into observable behaviour and lived experience. Drawing on the construct of Collective Organizational Identification (COI), a formative firm-level measure developed and validated in Coning,3 the paper argues that workplace strategy now sits at the intersection of identity, behaviour and execution. It outlines how CRE strategy can either reinforce or undermine organisational identity through environmental signals, leadership rituals and behavioural design, and proposes a shift from utilisation-based metrics toward behavioural and outcome-linked measurement. Across several industry scenarios, the paper illustrates how identity-driven workplace design supports cohesion, accountability and performance. The implications are practical and strategic: in an era where work is increasingly augmented by AI, identity is the reason people show up, and the workplace is one of the few enterprise-wide systems through which organisations can shape that identity at scale. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: identity-driven workplace; Collective Organizational Identification (COI); corporate real estate strategy; organisational identity; workplace effectiveness; workplace strategy

This paper argues that artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) most useful impact in corporate real estate (CRE) will go beyond faster workflows inside siloed functions and enable a structural shift from workflow management to decision governance: the ability to produce, evaluate and defend trade-offs with traceable assumptions and accountable owners. We propose a multidimensional decision lens with the market triggers of cost, workplace experience, risk and sustainability to define what ‘better decisions’ means in practice and to explain why optimising any single dimension in isolation creates predictable oversights. We then describe three mechanisms through which AI changes the economics of CRE decision making: (1) decision lag collapses as synthesis across leases, utilisation signals, finance and policy constraints accelerates; (2) scenario generation becomes abundant and easy to produce, shifting the constraint from producing options to finally governing acceptable assumptions and risk tolerances; and (3) judgment and accountability change, increasing the demand for transparency, and formal operating guardrails. Finally, we illustrate how this transition manifests in practice with scenario examples across core CRE domains, including lease and portfolio finance, workplace strategy and facilities operations, where AI compresses clerical labour but elevates human work toward validating inputs, managing trade-offs and documenting rationale. The concluding argument is that organisations that pair AI adoption with decision-grade data integration and explicit governance structures will reap the larger competitive advantage over organisations that use AI to simply automate existing workflow structures. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: corporate real estate; decision governance; portfolio optimisation; workplace analytics; AI risk management; AI scenario planning

This paper explores how evolving lease accounting requirements, growing regulatory complexity and rising business expectations are reshaping the relationship between corporate real estate and accounting teams. While many organisations have adopted technology to support lease administration and compliance, fragmented systems continue to create operational inefficiencies, reporting challenges and data inconsistencies. The paper outlines common barriers organisations face when managing real estate and lease data across teams, including siloed workflows, manual processes and limited collaboration between real estate, accounting and IT functions. It introduces a three-stage maturity framework for real estate technology adoption, ranging from spreadsheet-driven environments to fully integrated platforms that support shared data, workflows and governance. Drawing on real-world examples, implementation lessons and industry research, the paper highlights practical considerations for evaluating and adopting real estate technology, including stakeholder alignment, data governance, process standardisation and change management. It also examines the importance of cross-functional collaboration and shared understanding of accounting concepts such as ‘reasonable certainty’ under lease accounting standards. Readers will gain insight into how integrated real estate technology can improve operational visibility, support compliance efforts, strengthen collaboration across teams and enable more informed decision making. The paper concludes with actionable checklists and a prioritised roadmap that organisations can apply immediately. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: lease accounting; corporate real estate; real estate technology; data governance; ASC 842/ IFRS 16; financial compliance; change management

This paper examines the evolving nature of workplace collaboration across China,1 India2 and Southeast Asia,3 challenging the widespread application of Western-centric design frameworks. Drawing on a large body of post-2021 workplace design and build projects,4 along with post-occupancy evaluations, the study presents a detailed and regionally grounded view of how collaboration manifests across industries, office typologies and geographies.5 The research distinguishes between two primary forms of collaboration: structured, task-oriented collaboration and informal, innovation-driven collaboration. Through a granular analysis of spatial design strategies, utilisation patterns and workplace performance data, the paper evaluates how these collaboration types are supported or hindered by current design approaches. Findings reveal that while collaboration is widely prioritised in workplace narratives, individual work continues to dominate both time allocation and spatial planning.6 The study highlights that misalignment between workplace design and actual workstyles often leads to underutilised collaboration spaces. It further underscores the importance of contextual factors such as geography, workforce demographics, cultural norms and business function in shaping effective workplace environments. By combining detailed metrics with applied workplace insights, the paper offers a unique perspective that bridges theory and real-world practice, highlighting the influence of workplace culture. It provides practical guidance for organisations operating across regions, enabling them to align workplace design with actual patterns of work and interaction. Readers can expect to gain a clearer understanding of when and how different types of collaboration are most effective, and how to design spaces that support them meaningfully within the diverse and rapidly evolving Asia Pacific workplace landscape. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: workplace design and utilisation; workplace collaboration; workplace strategy; real estate efficiency; innovation and productivity; emerging markets office design; activity-based working; future of work

The shift to remote and hybrid work following COVID-19 has questioned traditional views on the role of the physical office. While organisations initially prioritised flexibility, space utilisation and digital tools, many continue to face challenges with employee engagement, trust, cohesion and culture. These issues go beyond office design or attendance policies. This paper argues that the core issue is gaps in workplace governance, organisational alignment, communication as well as a failure to see the office as more than a collection of square feet. Based on interdisciplinary research and industry experience, the workplace is examined as a visible expression of company culture, reflecting organisational values even in hybrid environments. A workplace governance framework is introduced that integrates HR, IT, real estate and corporate communications. By prioritising governance over space or policy alone, this paper offers a new perspective on post-pandemic work environments; one that frames the workplace as a narrator of visually persistent culture and provides practical guidance for leaders seeking to steward meaningful, human-centred environments in an era of locational independence. A successful workplace requires leadership responsibility to be reframed. The workplace is no longer something organisations ‘manage’. It is something they steward. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: hybrid work; workplace governance; organisational culture; employee experience; corporate real estate; new ways of working; workplace strategy

This paper introduces a practical model in which corporate offices, which are usually underused outside standard business hours, are made available to external organisations in the evenings and at weekends. In the context of scarcity and high real estate prices in Amsterdam the model redefines temporal underutilisation as a social resource and incorporates the ‘S’ in environmental, social and governance (ESG) into corporate real estate decision-making processes. While traditional corporate real estate strategies prioritise efficiency, cost control and workplace experience, there is an increasing interest in developing a strategy that can deliver broader ESG value. This paper will first focus on why is it is necessary to open up corporate office space for social good. The definition and clarification of urban scarcity will be explained against the back of a larger (political) discussion on how to optimise space in a heavily populated and dense country as the Netherlands. Before stepping into how the model actually works, first the conceptual framework of shared space and social value will be laid down. This perspective is based on the idea that built environments do not have to be mono-functional or subject to private governance. Instead, shared access increases the social value of space. After explaining the model in practice, the main question is how the future will look, and moreover how we can extrapolate the current local business model into a global way or rethink the concept of using (office) space. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: shared space; urban scarcity; temporal utilisation; office sharing; community engagement; social infrastructure

Community opposition to development has become a defining constraint on project delivery across the US. NIMBYism (‘not in my backyard’) is no longer confined to dense urban markets or politically sensitive land uses. It now affects industrial facilities, data centres, energy infrastructure and affordable housing in markets that were once considered reliably pro-development. For corporate real estate professionals, developers and economic development practitioners, understanding and managing that opposition has become a core competency. This paper examines NIMBYism as a material business risk and provides a practical framework for identifying, measuring and mitigating it. It explores the historical roots of community opposition, the forces accelerating it today, and the distinct forms it takes across different project types and geographies. Readers will leave with a working typology of opposition, tools for assessing community sentiment before a project is announced, targeted strategies for each type of NIMBY resistance, and criteria for deciding when to engage and when to walk away. The paper also examines the emerging YIMBY (‘yes in my backyard’) movement, with particular attention to how advocates in California converted persistent local opposition into structural policy change, and what that model means for industrial development practice. The goal is practical: equip real estate and economic development professionals with the judgment and tools to protect project feasibility, reduce timeline risk and build the community alignment that capital-intensive projects increasingly require to succeed. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
Keywords: NIMBYism; YIMBY; development opposition; community risk; project entitlement; economic development