Digital Transformation (DT) and The Future of Work in Real Estate: an exploratory case of the Dutch market

Abstract

Real Estate (RE) is traditionally slow in the adoption of new technologies for a number of reasons. However, the ongoing implementation of digital technologies in property development and management (the so called PropTechs) is digitalising this industry, changing the way it operates. In this research I examine the state of digitalisation of the Dutch RE industry, its drivers and barriers, in order to gain an understanding about how digital technologies add value to the future of work of RE professionals. With a qualitative approach I conduct an empirical study composed of multiple case studies, focused on four of the largest Dutch RE developers, active in the residential sales market, besides three developers active in commercial and hospitality properties, and one of the Big Four accounting companies involved in Digital Transformation (DT), as complementary data sources. The main findings of this research can be summarized as: (i) the ongoing digitalisation of the Dutch RE has accelerated and optimized the work, made it more interesting for employees, and added a number of jobs, (ii) virtual reality, market place, and artificial intelligence are emerging technologies that are changing the customer and employees experience, making it more digital, and have the potential to disintermediate the work of RE agents, (iii) the conservative mindset of C-level leaders is the main barrier that prevents a faster and disruptive DT of the Dutch RE industry.

Date of Award	29 Jun 2022
Original language	English
Supervisor	Rachelle Bosua (Examiner) & Vanessa Dirksen (Co-assessor)