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Coworking spaces (CWS) are a globally increasing phenomenon of new shared work environments used by freelancers, entrepreneurs and small companies that often work in information technology and creative industries. The purpose of this study is to examine coworkers’ knowledge sharing (KS), focusing on attitude, behavior and individual creativity. Several theoretical perspectives are deployed for factors influencing KS.

A research model is developed and tested, relying on a sample of 95 German coworkers using a structural equation modeling approach.

The attitude towards knowledge sharing and actual sharing behavior in CWS improve coworkers’ creativity. Behavior and attitude differ in positive impact depending on the level of collaboration orientation. Despite the presence of an agreeable atmosphere, lower collaborative orientation results in KS being rated lower.

Community commitment showed the highest positive impact on KS behavior. For community development, CWS will have to take differences in the KS behavior of their coworker client base into account to foster creativity.

The authors provide initial empirical insights into the relationship between KS and creativity in CWS. Core coworking values are shown not to form a uniform block but rather “collaboration” is acting as a discriminator.

Building on the existing literature and on a series of interviews conducted in very diverse coworking spaces, this article attempts at analyzing coworking by focusing on the historical evolution and heterogeneity of its interpretations, as well as the plurality of its realization in practice and prospective developments.

The theoretical framework adopted is Cultural Historical Activity Theory – a dialectical approach which allows the study of human activities as historically evolving and complex systems which change under the impulse of their inner contradictions. The analysis presented here starts with an overview of the history of the theoretical elaborations and discussions of coworking. The authors then focus on the experiences and interpretations of this phenomenon as conveyed by coworkers and coworking managers in the north of Italy – one of the most active coworking areas in Europe.

Coworking first emerged as a way of promoting forms of work and organization that require simultaneous, multidirectional, and reciprocal work, as understood in contrast to forms that incorporate an established division of labor, demarcated communities, and formal and informal sets of rules. However, with time, coworking has evolved toward novel directions, giving rise to heterogeneous interpretations of it. Inquiry constitutes a deeper investigation of the heterogeneity of coworking. The take-away message here is that the prefix co- in coworking can be interpreted, through a play of words, to evoke multiple positions and views conveying internal contradictions.

The historical overview of coworking shows a strong differentiation and multisided interpretation of this phenomenon along two dimensions of historical development, namely, social and business, and outward and inward. The qualitative analysis of the interviews traces the different lived interpretations and conceptions of coworking. The analysis confirms, on the one hand, the complexity and heterogeneity described in the literature, and on the other hand, it enriches the literature by depicting the contradictory nature of the phenomenon, including how the historical and inner tensions of coworking are dynamically evolving in the concrete experiences reported by the managers and users in the coworking spaces.

The objective of this study is to explore the concept of rural coworking in the scientific literature and examine how it generates community narratives based on the value of space and business practices. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of rural coworking as a driver of participation and relationships among diverse stakeholders.

To identify and analyse trends and categories in rural coworking studies, understand the concept of rural coworking and how community narratives have been focused, the authors carried out a systematic literature review following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) tool. The review was performed using Scopus, obtaining 22 papers.

The findings reveal that rural coworking is on definition, but it emphasises the role of community as a main actor in its consolidation. On the other hand, rural coworking is seen as an opportunity to create impactful new business strategies through space regeneration and revitalisation. Management perspectives prevail in this research field, highlighting the role of public administrations, entrepreneurs and policymakers, and their capacities to build a business environment to enhance coworking activity.

The paper establishes conceptual categories and research trends in the rural coworking literature, and how its actors have a strategic importance in defining their own practices and narratives. The interrelationship between coworking activity and local business development is continually seen as an opportunity for growth, so this paper will have value for rural coworking planners and consultants in non-urban areas.

The purpose of this paper is to cross-reference the defining perspectives of coworking as an emerging integral model of conscious business.

The methodological framework is built on transdisciplinary research of spatial scale of existence by using the qualitative approach of participant observations and interviews.

The empirical data suggest that independently organized and self-financed coworking spaces can be categorized as conscious businesses.

Coworking spaces are evolving and hybridizing. While a conscious business model can be cross-referenced with independently run coworking spaces that target the self-employed as their user group, this is not certain for larger, franchise-based coworking centers as a larger sample would need to be researched and analyzed.

No attempts have been made previously for identifying cross-references between the concept of conscious business and the coworking model.

The paper aims to analyse a specific configuration of coworking space that emphasises the production of social value in the territory (resilient/welfare-oriented coworking). This kind of space represents the current evolution of coworking that recovers the original meaning of coworking space to promote social changes, questions the role of the physical space and brings to the fore its connections between the internal (space) and the external (territory).

The paper presents an action research on a rising network of coworking spaces. The action research was based on qualitative interviews of the founders and main stakeholders of the network and monthly meetings discussions with the steering committee of the coworking spaces.

The paper provides some key elements that highlight different meanings related to the value produced by the coworking spaces and related interpretations of the material and immaterial characteristics of the spaces. The results also highlight different managerial challenges connected with these interpretations.

The main results of the study shed light on the fact that it is not enough to focus on material aspects of the coworking space, such as the design and the dispositions of furniture and the curatorship of the relationships among coworkers, if the desired outcome is a reinterpretation of work against the consolidated individualistic paradigm. Rather, the boundary work is the condition that permits to sustain and maintain the evolutionary trajectory of coworking in the most innovative direction. Inside a network of different stakeholders, aimed at integrating individual and collective needs, the constant crossing of boundaries between people, relationships and contexts is the process that permits to generate new meanings and possibilities of action (affordance), holding a transformative potential.

With increasingly precarious work contracts, more remote work, and additional flexibility in the timing of the workday, the new world of work is creating both relational opportunities and relational challenges for modern workers. In this chapter, we pair recent research on human thriving with trends we observe in organizations' efforts to create and maintain a sense of community. Key in these efforts is a new kind of built environment – the coworking space – which brings together remote and independent workers and, increasingly, traditional employees as well. We show that in curating community, or perhaps even the possibility of community, coworking spaces may support the interpersonal learning and vitality that help workers to thrive.

The purpose of this paper is to take an explanatory role and analyse the development of workspace ambiences in coworking spaces which optimise the chance of interactivity between individual users and leading towards cooperation. The paper thus offers a discussion on how the ambience that is tailored to a particular coworking space enhances the possibility of collaboration between two or more users of a selected workspace.

Ethnographically guided observations of six coworking spaces and qualitative interviews with their managers were used to gain an understanding of the workspace ambiences in coworking spaces. As direct measurement of the frequency of collaboration would be logistically profound, this paper rather explores the conditions for spontaneous or moderated interactivity between workspace users, which may be regulated by the creation of an optimal coworking space ambience.

The following paper defines the coworking space ambience as the look and the feel of a work environment which can arouse certain moods towards a particular place and its users. Coworking spaces may impose various approaches that not only attract potential workspace users and form initial ties between them but also produce a certain ambience that leads to collaborative action between users. The factors of spatial design need to be adapted, and engagement strategies need to be constructed to maximise the preferential output. The research behind the following paper concludes that the factors of spatial comfortability are an essential predisposition for workspace users to engage in cooperation with each other. Various mechanisms are needed to customise these engagements into cooperative action.

While the outcomes of sharing these environments have been periodically explored, no attempts have been made to investigate how coworking ambience is being created and implemented to optimise collaborative efforts of individuals who are sharing the workspace. For that reason, the audience of this paper should not only be limited to academics but may also be suitable for managers and office-space operators seeking to understand dynamics of collaboration within new types of shared office spaces.

Coworking (shared flexible working spaces) grew exponentially before the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis led to spaces closing but demand is likely to increase as homeworking/remote working levels remain permanently higher post-pandemic. Previous studies largely focused on ‘satisfied customers’ – freelancers and entrepreneurs in the urban core; but these are a poor guide to future preferences given an increasingly diverse set of potential users. Understanding these preferences is of significant value to future providers, investors and real estate operators.

The authors employ a mixed-methods approach, observing self-organised coworking sessions and online platforms, and a questionnaire of the coworking networks/groups. The authors address the research questions: i) how do individuals' make decisions about how and where to engage in shared working and ii) do they consider locational characteristics (beyond accessibility) and social and physical (environmental) aspects of coworking?

Proximity to home is a key result. Participants are mostly local and seek community, with a strong emphasis on effective work routines. Results stress the importance placed on social factors and in-space amenities, but affordability is also important. Coworkers experiencing both informal groups and organised spaces rate the informal experience as significantly more beneficial.

There are implications for the real estate element of future provision and funding models.

The authors contribute to the understanding of coworking preferences/motivations through addressing methodological limitations of previous studies. Rather than surveying individuals in coworking spaces, the authors study individuals who engage in coworking in various forms which will reflect the diverse (users, spaces, locations) demands for future coworking.

This paper aims to review the concept and characteristics of coworking space, especially physical and operational characteristics and its objectives. The authors propose three models of coworking spaces, such as revenue, synergistic and customer contact, which organizations can use as a part of their corporate real estate strategies to build workplace flexibility and resiliency. This paper also addresses research gaps and a research agenda for future research.

This paper is a literature review of academic research focusing on coworking spaces. Because of the relatively limited existing academic literature on the topic, industry sources and white papers are also reviewed.

The authors categorized common threads of the existing literature on coworking spaces to emergence and growth trends, the types of users, the type of work to be completed in these spaces, characteristics of coworking spaces and the desired outcomes of coworking space models. Coworking spaces are expected to grow worldwide because of the increase in knowledge-based economy, the “digital nomad” lifestyle and mobile technologies, however, there is limited research on the relationship between spatial and operational characteristics of coworking spaces and users’ collaboration, social well-being and creativity. No research identified fully articulated the nuanced differences between the types of coworking spaces now found in the real estate ecosystem.

There is limited academic, empirical research focusing on coworking spaces. Thus, the search for literature itself is limited to a small number of papers. Although the authors extended the search to non-academic sources, the conclusion of this study is tentative because of the prematurity of the topic.

This paper urges the identification of research questions, considering the fast growth of coworking spaces and suggests future research directions based on newly proposed models. Industry practitioners, including building owners, managers, coworking space providers and corporate real estate practitioners, can consider using variations of coworking space concepts and characteristics, as they understand the importance of social needs and connectivity among users. By addressing the history of the coworking space as a concept and business model, and updating the types of models to include new coworking spaces, the authors provide further options to industry practitioners as to how to integrate coworking into their real estate.

Coworking-spaces are considered as a new formula to facilitate autonomy, creativity, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and innovation, yet they also might overburden their users who in that course intend to limit social interaction and collaboration in the workspace. Thus, the question is how coworking-spaces shape entrepreneurial ventures.

This study used an inductive research methodology based on data from three different data sources, including observations, archives and interviews from managers and entrepreneurs.

The findings suggest that the materiality in the form of spatial architectures (working, socialization and support structures) shared facilities and infrastructures (utilities, luxuries and specialties), and integrated digital technologies (applications and platforms) influence the flow of communication, internal and external linkages, as well as functional uniformity and distinctiveness. However, there exists an inherent dualism in sociomaterial assemblage in coworking-spaces, which can lead to instrumental and detrimental outcomes for entrepreneurs.

This study explains the role of sociomaterial assemblage on the working of entrepreneurs in shared workspaces.