Organizational Space and Place beyond Container or Construction: Exploring Workspace in the Communicative Constitution of Organizations

Abstract

Space (measurable, objective) and place (meaningful space) are foundational elements of all organizations and organizing. However, extant literature on organizational space has focused on material space as a container for organizations or socially constructed places within organizations. Such an understanding contrasts research from critical geography that has demonstrated the centrality of space to all social life. Using geography and a constitutive approach to organizing, I propose that space and place be understood as both constitutive of, and constituted by, organizational communication. I conclude by proposing several areas for organizational communication research on space and general communication research.