Real Estate and the New Economy The Impact of Information and Communications Technology

by Dixon, Tim; Thompson, Bob; McAllister, Patrick; Marston, Andrew; Snow, Jon

• ISBN13: 9781405117784
• ISBN10: 1405117788
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-08
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

'The authors of this book are to be applauded. They have sought, through their 'socio-technical' approach, to look at the complex interactions between technology, society and economics. ... as someone who earns his living by advising one of the UK's largest property investors on which properties to own and where, this book is very timely...In writing this comprehensive and very fully referenced text, the authors have done us all a great service.' Paul McNamara, Prudential Property Investment ManagersPrivate sector commercial property represents some £400 bn, or 34% of total UK business assets and is a vital fabric for housing commercial enterprise. Yet social and economic forces for change, linked with new technology, are making owners and occupiers question the very nature and purpose of property and real estate.Printing, steam power; canals and railroads; mass media and, more recently, information and communications technology (ICT) have brought about major changes in both organisational and economic structures over the centuries. On the one hand, there has been much hype about the role that ICT would play in eliminating the need for physical real estate space; and on the other, some have suggested that institutional factors and fixed costs mitigate against transformative change in real estate.Building on the authors' own research and a growing body of new, international findings in the field, the book provides a balanced view between these two positions. It will demonstrate how ICT affects the shape and form of real estate in our towns and cities, with other forces in the new economy.The book:- examines how ICT and organisational change, combined with social, political and economic factors, affects real estate space demand- analyses how real estate strategies are changing to reflect these trends- shows how technology affects the geography and space of real estate and infrastructure in our towns and cities- investigates future urban shape and form.

Author Biography

Tim Dixon is Director of the Oxford Institute of Sustainable Development and Professor of Real Estate in the Department of Real Estate and Construction at Oxford Brookes University. With more than 25 years' experience of research, education and professional practice in the built environment he is a qualified fellow of the RICS and of the Higher Education Academy, a member of SEEDA's South East Excellence Advisory Board, as well as the editorial boards of five leading international real estate journals. He has worked on funded collaborative research projects with UK and overseas academics and practitioners and his personal research interests revolve around the sustainability agenda and its impact on property development, investment and occupation, and the impact of ICT on commercial property and real estate markets. The research is based on a strong interdisciplinary approach which incorporates policy and practice impacts, and futures thinking. He is also a member of the CORENET Sustainability Working Group, and a member of the Steering Group for the 'Future of Cities' Research programme, based in the James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University. In 2009 he was awarded Honorary Fellow status of the Institute of Green Professionals.

Table of Contents

The Authors	xi
Foreword	xiii
Paul McNamara
Preface	xv
Table of Responsibilities	xviii
Introduction	1	(40)
Background	1	(1)
Aim and objectives	2	(1)
Definitions	3	(2)
Technological change: alternative perspectives	5	(27)
Summary -- an overview	32	(1)
An integrative socio-technical framework for ICT and real estate	33	(2)
Examples of the socio-technical approach	35	(2)
Key themes and layout of the book	37	(1)
Notes	38	(3)
Part 1 Context and Framework	41	(156)
The Social, Economic and Political Context of ICT Transformation	43	(41)
Introduction	43	(1)
Understanding the role of technological change in society	44	(6)
Towards an information society and the new economy?	50	(6)
The role of knowledge and innovation in policy	56	(2)
Information society policy development in the UK	58	(8)
Measuring the information society	66	(3)
Implications of the development of an information society	69	(11)
Summary	80	(1)
Notes	81	(3)
Technological Change: Diffusion and Adoption of ICT by Consumers, Businesses and Government	84	(44)
Introduction	84	(1)
Technology diffusion	84	(3)
Implications of ICT diffusion for consumers, businesses and government	87	(20)
Internet-driven business activities: eBusiness, eCommerce and eWork	107	(14)
Some implications of ICT adoption for real estate	121	(4)
Summary	125	(1)
Notes	125	(3)
Business Process and Organisational Change	128	(32)
Introduction	128	(1)
Understanding corporate change	128	(3)
ICT and the design of organisations	131	(4)
Generic business processes	135	(4)
Procurement	139	(3)
Operational management	142	(1)
Marketing	143	(2)
Customer relationship management	145	(1)
Accounting	146	(1)
Recruitment	146	(1)
Stock management	146	(1)
Financial management	147	(1)
Mapping processes to property	148	(10)
Summary	158	(1)
Notes	158	(2)
The New Economy and Real Estate	160	(37)
Introduction	160	(1)
What is the new economy?	161	(4)
The evidence for a new economy	165	(13)
The role of real estate in the new economy	178	(16)
Summary	194	(1)
Notes	195	(2)
Part 2 Real Estate Spaces and the Impact of ICT	197	(132)
Real Estate Spaces	199	(27)
Introduction	199	(2)
The paradox of location in the new economy	201	(3)
Physical form and virtual reality	204	(2)
Transactions in space	206	(3)
Personal space	209	(4)
Private space	213	(11)
Summary	224	(1)
Notes	225	(1)
Real Estate Use and ICT	226	(53)
Introduction	226	(1)
Sales	226	(9)
Processing	235	(15)
Manufacturing	250	(7)
Distribution	257	(8)
Leisure and living	265	(10)
Summary	275	(1)
Notes	275	(4)
Real Estate Service Providers and ICT	279	(50)
Introduction	279	(2)
The changing context of real estate investment	281	(7)
The owner's manager	288	(13)
The occupier's manager	301	(12)
Appraisers	313	(5)
Brokers	318	(9)
Summary	327	(1)
Notes	327	(2)
Part 3 The Future	329	(43)
New Directions and Policy Implications: The Future of Real Estate in the New Economy	331	(41)
Introduction	331	(1)
The socio-technical framework	332	(10)
New types of real estate	342	(7)
Implications of ICT transformation for existing real estate	349	(2)
Policy issues	351	(7)
Future visions	358	(8)
Is there still a future for real estate in the new economy?	366	(2)
Notes	368	(4)
References	372	(40)
Index	412