This paper explores liminality, a concept receiving increased attention in management and organization studies and gaining prominence because of its capacity to capture the interstitial and temporary elements of organizing and work. The authors present a systematic review of the literature on liminality, covering 61 published papers, and undertake a critical analysis of how the concept of liminality has been used in prior research. This review reveals associations with three main themes: process; position; and place. For each theme, the authors identify the central research questions posed, while comparing individual and collective levels of analysis. During this process, the authors revisit several ideas central to the original, anthropological research on liminality, a perspective from which they suggest a rejuvenation of liminality research in management and organization studies. This paper argues for a greater focus on the liminal experience itself – especially its ritual and temporal dimensions – and for improving the comparative analysis of liminality following the three themes identified in this paper. The authors suggest that revising the agenda for liminality research along these lines could facilitate more informed responses to the challenges of an increasingly temporary and dynamic work life.

This study focuses on individuals working under transient and mobile conditions and the specific competences that they develop to deal with such work conditions. The article examines a specific type of knowledge worker, namely, the mobile project worker who is employed by a technical consultancy but who performs work on various client projects together with members from client organizations. The overall aim of this article is to improve our understanding of the differences among people's abilities to handle fluid and flexible work conditions. We elaborate on the notion of "liminality" to denote a particular element of flexible work conditions, which consists of continuous movement among assignments and of simultaneous engagement with several organizations. Based on qualitative and interpretative research involving a combination of interviews, diaries, and workshops, this article identifies three levels of specific "liminality competence" that mobile project workers develop to deal with liminality at work.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the practices mobile project workers rely upon to deal with their liminal work situation, i.e. a work situation in which they are “in-between” and do not have a clear long-term belonging to any specific organisation or project. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a qualitative approach and draws upon in-depth interviews with 24 engineers working for one of Scandinavia's leading technical consultancies. The aim of the qualitative data analysis was to identify a set of commonalities and differences in their experiences and ways of dealing with liminality. Findings – The data indicate that mobile project workers experience their liminality in two separate dimensions; one which is primarily technical and task related, and one that is predominantly group related and social. These types of liminality are dealt with either actively, to lower or handle the ambiguity in the situation, or passively when the individual waits for the situation to be dealt with by others. Based on these two dimensions and types, the paper identifies and discusses four kinds of liminality practices. Research limitations/implications – The paper demonstrates the importance of focusing on individuals in project-based work, and specifically how they deal with work in-between. The paper shows when and how individuals make use of different liminality practices in their work, and calls for further research on the different skill sets and competencies that are needed to deal with liminality. Originality/value – By identifying four liminality practices applied in situations signified by the experience of being in-between, this study offers an important contribution to the literature on flexible and mobile work conditions. Thus, the paper contributes to the knowledge of threshold-like employment positions that denotes the everyday work situation for an increasing number of individuals engaged in knowledge-intensive and project-based work.

Project-based work constitutes an increasing part of contemporary working life. For the individual worker, project-based work does not only entail performing specific tasks -it also entails equally important aspects of dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity, to create swift trust with new team members, recurrently enter new project, and leave old projects behind. Project-based work can arguably be described as a form of boundary work. This thesis adopts the conceptual lens of liminality in order to illustrate the challenges experienced by the individual project worker, the practices used to deal with these challenges, and the competence developed by the individual to handle projectbased work. In particular, the studies reported here addresses how mobile project workers -more specifically, technical consultants performing their work in client projects -experience and deal with project-based work.The thesis consists of a compilation of five papers and an extended summary. It draws upon on three qualitative studies based on interviews, diaries, and observations. In addition, the thesis offers a systematic review of literature on liminality at work.The thesis identifies four different "liminality practices" that mobile project workers use to deal with ambiguities in their work situation. Moreover, the thesis develops the concept and framework of "liminality competence" to describe the different levels of competence mobile project workers show in relation to dealing with liminality at work. The thesis also provides insight into how high liminality competence is developed and, furthermore, how formal training programs affect mobile project workers' liminal positions and liminality competence.Keywords: mobile project workers, liminality, project-based work, contingent workers, liminality practices, liminality competence SAMMANFATTNING Dagens arbetsliv består i allt större utsträckning av projektbaserat arbete. Arbete i ett sådant sammanhang handlar inte bara om att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter, utan minst lika mycket om att hantera den osäkerhet som arbetslivet i sig medför, att knyta nya kontakter med nya kollegor och att återkommande träda in i nya grupper, samt att avsluta tidigare grupptillhörigheter. Man skulle kunna säga att detta arbete i hög grad är ett gränslandsarbete. För att fånga de krav som ställs på individen, de praktiker denne använder och den kompetens som individen utvecklar i förhållande till den projektbaserade arbetssituationen används i föreliggande avhandling begreppet liminalitet. I denna avhandling studeras hur mobila projektarbetare, mer specifikt teknikkonsulter som utför arbete i kundprojekt, upplever och hanterar projektbaserat arbete.Avhandlingen består av fem artiklar och en kappa. Den grundar sig i tre kvalitativa studier som bygger på intervjuer, dagboksanteckningar och deltagande observationer. Därutöver presenteras en systematisk genomgång av tidigare litteratur som behandlar arbetsrelaterad liminalitet.Studiernas visar att det finns fyra typer av "liminalitetspraktiker" som m...

Purpose – This paper aims to present findings from an interpretative study documenting how mobile project workers develop their conceptions of work performed in liminal (in-between) positions. The overall purpose of the paper is to elucidate how people in time-limited and ambiguous work positions develop competences to manage their dynamic work conditions. Design/methodology/approach – This research relies on two narratives of mobile project workers drawn from a larger longitudinal study. The empirical material includes diaries and multiple interviews. The analysis takes a narrative approach and identifies how and when the mobile project workers enhance their level of liminality competence. Findings – Three processes were identified as significant in developing higher liminality competence: understanding the value of in-betweenness, embracing the role as an inside-outsider and translating the liminal experience through reflexivity. Practical implications – The paper demonstrates the need for employers to support individuals in passing through the three processes and to support thoughtful mobility across different project settings to improve the liminality competence of their employees. Originality/value – In the dual ambition of offering insights based on interpretative research on competence and putting greater emphasis on people working in in-between positions, this study enhances the understanding of how individuals develop their conceptions of work in general, and their conceptions of liminality at work in particular.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how a technical consulting firm approaches the development of engineering consultants, to prepare them to deal with their liminal, i.e. mobile and transient work situation. More specifically, this paper addresses how a training program, designed for newly graduated engineers, can increase the consultants’ liminality competence. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a qualitative case study of an introductory development program in a Scandinavian technical consulting firm. The study is based on observations of training sessions and meetings, and interviews with developers, leaders and participants of the program. Findings This study identifies three processes, which develop the engineering consultants’ ability to master their mobile and transient work situation: identifying the core of an assignment, embracing “in-betweenness” and broadening the scope of action. Originality/value This paper enhances the understanding of formal training in the context of technical consulting and adds to the knowledge of how engineering consultants can master their liminal work positions; in particular, the study identifies how liminality competence can be elevated through formal training.

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