6.7. Limitations and future research
Appel et al. [2] critiqued the Williams [87] measures as not valid indicators of the structural aspects of social capital. This study did not have network measures (as we surveyed individuals from different agencies), but future research on associations of real estate agents’ use of new media, their social capital, and employee outcomes should include structural indicators. The scope of generalizing research findings often is limited due to sample characteristics and research design. In particular, current findings may be generalizable only to organizations with work routines and interactions similar to real estate companies. Although this study provides empirical support for the theoretical relationships between MIM use and social capital and relationships between social capital and employee outcomes, the close-ended research design did not probe how MIM use contributed to social capital and employee outcomes, particularly as features and affordances did not play much of a role statistically. Follow-up studies can add a more qualitative approach to examine how MIM interaction fosters social capital and how social capital facilitates certain employee outcomes. For example, communication themes, topic initiation and responding, and differentiation in interaction with strong ties versus weak ties could be three interrelated research areas. Future research is also needed to explore why social capital so far was associated with psychological outcomes but not with more tangible employee outcomes.
