Coworking, the Sharing Economy, and the City: Which Role for the ‘Coworking Entrepreneur’?

Urban Science

Turvani, Margherita¹  Durante, Giacomo² 

[1] Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.;Dipartimento di Progettazione e pianificazione in ambienti complessi (DPPAC), Università IUAV di Venezia, Santa Croce 1957, 30135 Venezia, Italy

关键词: sharing economy;    sharing platform;    coworking;    coworking space;    coworking business;    collaborative workplaces;    urban regeneration;    entrepreneurial action;   

DOI  :  10.3390/urbansci2030083

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Sharing economy platforms enabled by information and communication technologies (ICTs) are facilitating the diffusion of collaborative workplaces. Coworking spaces are emerging as a distinctive phenomenon in this context, not only fostering knowledge transfer and facilitating innovation, but also affecting the urban and socio-economic fabric contributing to urban regeneration processes at both the local scale and the city scale. Although the positive impacts of coworking on the urban environment are documented, there is still little or no evidence of the economic viability of coworking businesses, and a “coworking bubble” has been evoked. Given the lack of data, a national survey was set up of Italian coworking businesses, aimed at assessing the relevance of internal organizational factors (size, occupancy, profitability, services provided) for the sustainability of coworking businesses. By presenting the results of the survey, we argue that the sustainability and viability of the coworking model is highly dependent on internal factors, strictly related to the entrepreneurial action of coworking managers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY