LOCATION DECISION OF OFFICES IN THE CBD

Abstract

The introduction of new massive office space in the past half decade has brought along significant changes to the sector. With the increased supply of office space following the huge growth in the financial and business services sector, and the decentralisation policies of the Revised Concept Plan, there has been a visible trend towards surburbanisation of offices. This, and the advancement in transportation and telecommunication have contributed to the changing emphasis of locational decision of offices. As such, the considerations of firms in locating or relocating their offices have grown more diverse. This dissertation discusses the various factors that influence the locational decision of offices in the CBD, and how the emerging pattern will affect the decentralisation of commercial activities throughout the island. A survey was conducted on two hundred private firms in the CBD to discover the factors which they considered most important in selecting an office. The respondent firms were pre-classified into eight trade groups. To ensure that they were proportionately represented in the survey, the actual breakdown on the types of firms operating in the CBD was used Entrepreneurial behaviour, which attempts to explain a firm's approach to decision- making is included in the study. This is to give the study of office location more depth in contrast to the normally two-dimensional view so often perceived in the past. From in contrast to the normally two-dimensional view so often perceived in the past. From the survey conducted, it was found that the major considerations of firms have remained relatively unchanged over the years. Rental has once again retained its status as the prime consideration for office selection However, certain factors were found to be significantly different among the occupation groups implying varied focus by the types of firms. Another finding is that while there is an obvious directional shift towards the suburbs among the new office developments, the CBD is likely to remain as the centre of commercial activities in Singapore in the near future.