Abstract
Do transnational economic activities necessarily coincide with intensified spatial mobility, as debates about ‘job nomads’ or ‘footloose capital’ would suggest? Drawing on the results of a sociological research project on software programming in Indo-German project teams, it will be argued that this picture is far too simplistic. On the one hand, corporate strategies of labour utilisation vary markedly even within the software sector, partly implying a spatial mobilisation, but more often an immobilisation of labour. On the other hand, spatial mobility in its transnational, everyday and biographical dimensions is not determined by corporate strategies unilaterally, but closely interrelated with national standards of economic, social, and political regulation, in this case, in Germany and India respectively.
Highlights
Discussions about the increase of transnational economic activities since the late 20th century often involve implicit assumptions with regard to standards of spatial mobility, both among companies and workers
On the one hand, ‘job nomads’ are supposed to fluctuate between jobs and locations especially in the field of high-skill service work; on the other hand, ‘footloose’ capital is perceived as moving around the globe freely in its search for an optimisation of profits
At least three dimensions of spatial mobility need to be discerned: a) transnational mobility; b) everyday mobility; and c) biographical mobility. All all of these three dimensions are shaped by complex interrelations between corporate strateg ies of labour utilisation and localised standards of regulation
Summary
Discussions about the increase of transnational economic activities since the late 20th century often involve implicit assumptions with regard to standards of spatial mobility, both among companies and workers. The re-articulation of standards of spatial mobility will be analysed, focusing on transnational IT work in the software industry This phenomenon is likely to inspire discussions about ‘space’ for two main reasons. At least three dimensions of spatial mobility need to be discerned: a) transnational mobility (the regular or permanent movement across country borders); b) everyday mobility (the daily movement between home and work or between different sites of work); and c) biographical mobility (relocation for private or professional reasons) All all of these three dimensions are shaped by complex interrelations between corporate strateg ies of labour utilisation and localised standards of regulation. The specific modalities of movement across spatial distance point to a wide range of regulatory structures and processes
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