Networking practices and social gathering in Coworking Spaces – Working between Digitalization and Re-Localization

Abstract

The following paper is concerned with the idea of “Coworking Spaces”. This is a new concept of very flexible leasing of desks in an office space which has spread widely in the last few years. The idea of Coworking is based on a ‘culture of sharing’: not only office space is shared, but also knowledge and ideas with other people from heterogeneous backgrounds and professions. The article focusses on self-employed people who are the main users of Coworking and who work in very dynamic labour markets, especially in digital-based segments of the creative industries. With reference to the theory of structuration (Giddens 1988) and concepts of personal knowledge networks (Grabher/Ibert 2006, Wittel 2001), Coworking Spaces are described as “market places” for networking practices and as a new form of contextualization of working situations. The results presented in this paper are based on a participatory observation and qualitative interviews.