Analysing the criteria for measuring the determinants of virtual reality technology adoption in real estate agency practice in Lagos: a DEMATEL method

PurposeThis study aims to analyse the criteria used in measuring the determinants of the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology in real estate agency practice in Lagos, with a view to providing information with which the practice can be enhanced.Design/methodology/approachThe data for the study were elicited using a questionnaire which was administered to eight real estate firms (REFs). The firms were those that have been operating in Lagos for at least five years, and the data collected were analysed using the DEMATEL method.FindingsThe findings revealed that perceived utility and relative advantage were the most important criteria for determining REFs' performance expectancy with VR technology. The two most important criteria to measure effort expectancy were “perceived ease of use” and complexity. “Subjective norms” was the most important criterion for measuring social influence, while “perceived behavioural control” was the most important criterion to measure facilitating conditions. Under “price value”, output quality was the only significant criterion. Finally, the frequency of use, the actual number of use and the amount of time spent utilising the technology were significant for measuring the REFs' use behaviour.Practical implicationsThe study offers insights into the criteria that can assist REFs in integrating VR technology into real estate agency practice. The results are also helpful to the Nigerian real estate professional bodies to organise workshop programmes for REFs on the use of VR technology and other disruptive technologies. The results will also serve as a guide for REFs to gain a competitive advantage in this trying time of pandemic and help them measure up to global standards and the expectations of their clients.Originality/valueBefore this study, efforts have not been made to study the criteria for measuring the determinants of VR technology adoption in the Nigerian real estate agency practice.

Variable Arrangements Between Residential and Productive Activities: Conceiving Mixed-Use for Urban Development in Brussels

Mixing productive economic activities with housing is a hot topic in academic and policy discourses on the redevelopment of large cities today. Mixed-use is proposed to reduce adverse effects of modernist planning such as single-use zoning, traffic congestion, and loss of quality in public space. Moreover, productive city discourses plead for the re-integration of industry and manufacturing in the urban tissue. Often, historical examples of successful mixed-use in urban areas serve as a guiding image, with vertical symbiosis appearing as the holy grail of the live-work mix-discourse. This article examines three recent live-work mix projects developed by a public real estate agency in Brussels. We investigate how different spatial layouts shape the links between productive, residential, and other land uses and how potential conflicts between residents and economic actors are mediated. We develop a theoretical framework based on earlier conceptualisations of mixed-use development to analyse the spatial and functional relationships within the projects. We situate them within the housing and productive city policies in Brussels. From this analysis, we conclude that mixed-use should be understood by considering spatial and functional relationships at various scales and by studying the actual spatial layout of shared spaces, logistics and nuisance mitigation. Mixed-use is highly contextual, depending on the characteristics of the area as well as policy goals. The vertical symbiosis between different land uses is but one example of valid mixed-use strategies along with good neighbourship, overlap, and tolerance. As such, future commercial and industrial areas will occur in various degrees of mixity in our cities.

DEMATEL method of analysing the factors influencing the decision to adopt virtual reality technology by real estate firms in Lagos property market

PurposeThe study analysed the factors influencing real estate firms' (REFs) decision to adopt virtual reality (VR) technology using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. This was done to enhance the practice of real estate agency in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachData were elicited from eight real estate experts. These experts were heads of the agency department of firms that had been in existence for a minimum of five years in the Lagos property market. The data analysed in this study were collected with the aid of a questionnaire.FindingsThe result revealed that use intention was influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value and UB. Also, facilitating conditions, habit and use intention did not influence use behaviour. Overall, six constructs, which include price value (Ri − Cj value = 0.1284), use behaviour (Ri − Cj value = 0.0666), social influence (Ri − Cj value = 0.0583), facilitating conditions (Ri − Cj value = 0.0323), performance expectancy (Ri − Cj value = 0.0196) and effort expectancy (Ri − Cj value = 0.0116), were significant predictors of the factors influencing the decision of REFs to adopt VR. Of these constructs, the Ri − Cj values indicated that price value had the highest causative influence.Practical implicationsThe result of this study will bring REFs to the consciousness of the factors that could affect their adoption of VR technology. This study will also assist the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in appropriately enlightening REFs on the integration of VR technology into the agency practice especially at this time when all health protocols and guidelines need to be observed to help flatten the curve of the Covid-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis study is the first to have an insight into the analysis of the factors influencing REFs' decision to adopt VR technology using the DEMATEL method.

Is the real estate profession under threat? Assessing the effect of the involvement of non-professionals in Nigeria real estate agency service provision

PurposeThis paper examines the effects of non-professionals' involvements in real estate service provision on real estate agency practice in Ibadan Nigeria, in order to provide information that could enhance real estate agency practice in the country.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered through questionnaire administration on a total sample of 232 respondents comprising 82 estate surveyors and valuers, 100 non-professional estate agents and 25 real estate agency service consumers each from the respective clients of the two groups. A respondent-driven sampling (RDS) technique was adopted for data collection and was particularly useful in accessing non-professionals with characteristically less identifiable organizational structure. Data were analysed using mean scores on a Likert type scale while Spearman rank correlation was used to compare and establish if significant differences exist between the perceptions of clients of professionals and non-professionals on the services provided.FindingsThis study revealed that while the involvement of non-professionals in real estate agency practice deprives professionals of opportunities for legitimate earnings and is attributed to incidences of fraudulent transactions in the market, non-professionals often also serve as facilitators of transactions for the professionals. Hence, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship between the two groups and also a tacit validation of the involvement of the former by the latter.Originality/valueThis work contributes to and extends the body of knowledge on non-professionals' involvement in real estate professional practice by providing insights into the effects of activities of individuals who are not members of the real estate profession on real estate agency professional practice, particularly in the context of an emergent and less transparent market.

MODERN INFORMATION CHANNELS AS A MEANS TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF COMMUNICATION IN A REAL ESTATE AGENCY

The article analyzes the modern information channels in real estate agencies and their role in increasing the efficiency of communications between stakeholders. Good organization and coordination of all elements of the communication mix (advertising, sales promotion, public relations, personal sales) is also needed to increase the effectiveness of the communication policy in a real estate agency.

Ethics in real estate: agency practices in Istanbul

Purpose This paper aims to discuss unethical behaviors that small real estate agencies encounter in real estate brokerage practices, the factors that give rise to a trust issue and the potential of legal arrangements for offering a solution. Small real estate agencies, almost the only actor in the real estate brokerage industry until the late twentieth century, still strive to survive despite the globalized market, large corporations increasingly dominating the market, the increasing informality and the real estate portals offering certain brokerage services online. While all these developments put pressure on small real estate agencies, the industry’s unethical behaviors diminish their reliability. Despite the efforts to overcome this issue through legal arrangements, the extent to which these regulations will be successful is still a matter of intense debate. Design/methodology/approach In total, 85 small real estate agencies operating in Istanbul, Turkey, were posed semi-structured open-ended questions and asked to provide an opinion about the unethical behaviors they face and the potential of a legal arrangement to solve those problems. In the second stage, three focus group interviews were held with representatives from large real estate brokerage companies to make a comparison and they were also posed similar questions. The answers were evaluated using content analysis. Findings It was found that the unethical behaviors in the real estate industry could mainly be evaluated in two categories, i.e. those stemming from structural problems of the industry and those stemming from problems related to service delivery and that a legal arrangement could only solve the first category. Research limitations/implications The research is limited to small real estate agencies that operate in Istanbul, the heart of the Turkish economy and the biggest city of the country where intensive efforts are spent to integrate into the global order. Originality/value It is considered that categorization of the causes of problems encountered by the numerous small real estate agencies that struggle to survive in the market and an analysis of the root causes of unethical behaviors in the industry and a discussion on potential solutions that may be brought bylaws will contribute to the literature.

Group Cohesiveness and Organizational Commitment: Moderated by Transformational Leadership

This study investigated to what extent group cohesiveness is related to organizational commitment and transformational leadership. In the advent of generational transformation, it is impossible to achieve organizational goals and create win-win partnerships between supervisors and subordinates merely by resorting to organizational discipline or role behavior. This study, based on a quality interview survey, explored the influence of team cohesiveness on organizational commitment with transformational leadership as a moderating variable. Literature related to the real estate agency industry was firstly reviewed and compiled for overall understanding. In-depth onsite expert interviews were conducted for inducing internal and external affecting factors. Actual cases were analyzed. The influence of team behavior and group cohesiveness on organizational commitment was verified. It was found. Additionally, supervisors' positive transformational leadership and supportive behavior could lead to positive organizational cohesiveness. This is regarded as one of the key success factors of management. Transformational leadership behaviors that can boost positive group cohesiveness should be encouraged. Such behaviors can not only boost group cohesiveness but also enable the team to achieve the team goal efficiently.

USING THE HIERARCHY ANALYSIS METHOD FOR INCREASING REAL ESTATE SALES

В данной статье рассматривается вопрос применения метода анализа иерархий в качестве алгоритма интеллектуального анализа данных для увеличения продаж жилья агентством недвижимости. This article discusses the application of the hierarchy analysis method as a data-mining algorithm for increasing home sales by a real estate agency.