Coworking: assessing the role of proximity in knowledge exchange

Abstract

This article contextualises the rising phenomenon of coworking in the theoretical framework of proximity and knowledge exchange. We present an empirical study through which we were able to assess if the physical co-presence of coworkers in these shared environments stimulates knowledge exchange among them. After identifying two different configurations of coworking spaces from the perspective of the forms of proximity that they involve, we designed a research project aimed at isolating geographical proximity and studying its role in facilitating the transmission of knowledge. The qualitative study of these two configurations of spaces underlined the importance of elements of organisational and social proximity in stimulating collaboration among coworkers and in promoting exchange of other forms of knowledge.

Keywords:

• coworking
• proximity
• organisational platform
• knowledge exchange
• knowledge flows

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Serena Vicari Haddock, Marianna d’Ovidio, Marisol García Cabeza and Marc Pradel Miquel for their support and advice during the research process. Thanks also to the reviewers and the Editor for their constructive comments and to James Brady for the precious help in the language review of the manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lucia Parrino

About the author

Lucia Parrino graduated in Economics and Management of Cultural Heritage and received a Master in Tourism, Territory and Local Development, with a thesis on coworking in Milan and Barcelona. She has been and is currently involved in research concerning different aspects of culture and creativity, such as the European projects ‘ACRE – Accommodating Creative Knowledge’ and ‘MeLa* – European Museums in an age of migrations’. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Design at Politecnico di Milano.