Social networks in coworking spaces and individual coworker’s creativity

Abstract

Coworking spaces (CWS) are open creative labs that provide a community-like environment and the necessary surroundings for their users to build and maintain networks with different actors inside and outside the CWS. With a wide variety of knowledge and skills available in trusted surroundings as well as similar value orientations, coworkers enjoy favorable conditions to establish their network-style. However, research has not investigated the benefit of coworkers’ social networks as far as their individual creativity is concerned so far. This paper takes several network characteristics into account: structure in terms of network size and centrality in the CWS, but also trusted and reciprocal relationships, supportiveness, diversity of knowledge exchanged, and the individual openness to core coworking values. Based on the literature on social networks and small group research, we developed a research model. We tested it to get deeper insights into the phenomenon by relying on 113 coworkers in 33 private German coworking spaces. The results show that a central position in the CWS allowing for direct exchange and high individual openness to core coworking values positively affects social involvement and the diversity of knowledge exchanged, and finally, a coworker’s individual creativity. Managerial implications include the vital role of a central position in the CWS for creativity and a somewhat balanced composition of coworkers working alone or in a team.

Hatching start-ups for sustainable growth: a bibliometric review on business incubators

“…Business incubators have to be distinguished from several other entities also providing support for start-ups. First, coworking-spaces are partly similar to business incubators as they offer office and social space facilitating personal interactions (Appel-Meulenbroek et al 2020;Bouncken and Reuschl 2018;Rese et al 2021) and fostering innovative behavior (Hughes et al 2018), also to start-ups (Bouncken et al 2020;Barwinski et al 2020). However, coworkingspaces are also used by individuals not necessarily involved with start-ups, such as freelancers or employees with incumbent firms ).…”

Examining subjective career success of knowledge workers

“…Therefore, we include individual’s attitudes toward rewards and relationships in the workplace along with the career adaptability scale (Savickas and Porfeli 2012 ) in our research. Relationships in the workplace (Rese et al 2021 ; Bagdadli et al 2019 ; Gattiker et al 1986 ; Shockley et al 2016 ; Ng et al 2014 ) and rewards both serve as attributes and preconditions of career success (Arthur et al 2005 ). Relationships are considered to be social capital (Jarlstrom et al 2020 ), leader-member exchanges (Doden et al 2018 , Restubog et al 2011 ), workplace friendships (Sias et al 2004 ), being respected and accepted by one’s peers (Gattiker et al 1986 ), influence, and recognition (Shockley et al 2016 ; Dries et al 2008 ).…”

The key to happiness in collaborative workplaces. Evidence from coworking spaces

“…In wider terms, not only do contemporary coworking spaces provide a rental service of shared tools and facilities, they also put specific effort into designing a powerful “setting” (i.e., the spaces’ environment, rules, restrictions, and options) and conducting daily “curation” processes (e.g., promoting collective routines such as weekly breakfasts or ad hoc events) through their community managers to give users a fruitful, rich, and smooth coworking experience (Bouncken et al 2020b , 2022 ; Butcher 2018 ; Merkel 2015 ; Rese et al 2021 ). In other words, they set the stage for the emergence of a collaborative working experience among “peers” (Bouncken et al 2020b ; Resch et al 2020 ), who may have an explicit purpose of social belonging (Garrett et al 2017 ) or may discover it along the way.…”

“…Among the many emerging models and archetypes (Avdikos and Merkel 2020 ; Bouncken et al 2018 ; Resch and Steyaert 2020 ), independently owned coworking spaces (Appel-Meulenbroek et al 2020 ) are receiving a great deal of attention as they offer users unique opportunities to combine autonomy, self-determination, and cooperation (Waters-Lynch and Duff 2021 ) through an “orchestrated” (Brown 2017 ) interplay of formality and informality (Bouncken et al 2020a , b ). Coworking spaces portray a new concept of “organizationality” (Appel-Meulenbroek et al 2020 ; Blagoev et al 2019 ; Butcher 2018 ; Garrett et al 2017 ) based on the following key elements (Bouncken and Reuschl 2018 ; Bouncken et al 2021 ; Bouncken et al 2022 ; Brown 2017 ; Bueno et al 2018 ; Gandini 2015 ; Garrett et al 2017 ; Goermar et al 2021 ; Merkel 2015 ; Resch et al 2020 ; Rese et al 2021 ; Spinuzzi et al 2018 ). The first is “openness” since coworking spaces are usually open to all kinds of users (based on an explicit membership) and a wide range of external partners.…”