How do information and communication technologies reshape work? Evidence from the residential real estate industry

We are exploring how information and communication technology (ICT) use affects the work lives of real estate agents, the process of selling/buying houses, and the overall structure of the residential real estate industry. Earlier stages of our work involved intensive field research on how real estate agents use ICT. In this paper, we report on the design and analysis of a pilot survey of 868 agents intended to investigate their ICT use more generally. Analysis of the 153 responses to this survey sheds light on how ICT use supports information control, enables process support, and helps agents to extend and maintain their social capital.