2381/43936
Alessandro Gandini
Alessandro
Gandini
Alberto Cossu
Alberto
Cossu
The third wave of coworking: ‘Neo-corporate’ model versus ‘resilient’ practice
University of Leicester
2019
Coworking spaces
knowledge economy
collaborative work
creative city
social relations
2019-04-30 11:43:09
Journal contribution
https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/The_third_wave_of_coworking_Neo-corporate_model_versus_resilient_practice/10243022
Coworking spaces affirmed in recent years as a mainstream, ‘neo-corporate’
model of flexible work in post-recession, urban knowledge economies. However, there is
growing evidence of spaces that apply the discourses and practices of the coworking
movement in ways that are alternative to the ‘neo-corporate’ model, both in urban and
non-urban contexts. Exploring the ethos and practices of an urban co-operative space in
London and a rural ‘innovation hub’ in Southern Italy, the article illustrates the emergence of
coworking endeavours that set in opposition to the ‘neo-corporate’ paradigm, defining these
as ‘resilient’. We show ‘resilient’ coworking spaces are organizational actors that interact with
the surrounding context much more than their counterparts, blending entrepreneurial logics
with forms of political and social activism. We argue their emergence might be the harbinger
of a new phase in the evolution of the coworking phenomenon.