Why Co-working Spaces in an Analogical Context Exhibit Different Recovery Abilities after COVID-19?

Abstract

Despite co-working spaces as a typical type of platform organizations have attracted much attention in the era of sharing economy, little is known about why these spaces faced with an analogical environment showcase obvious differences in recovery ability when sudden shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic occur. To better understand this novel phenomenon, we collect data from Chengdu high-tech zone and employ fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify causal configurations that are likely to lead to a high level of organizational resilience. Our findings reveal that: (1) there are five antecedent configurations multi-morphologically lead to the same outcome; (2) compared with other antecedent conditions, networking ability and diverse value co-creation with customers play more important roles in the formation of a high level of organizational resilience; (3) under certain circumstances, there is a substitutional relationship between industrial experience and communication ability. This study mainly contributes to organizational resilience literature and co-working space research. Some practical suggestions for pursuing co-working spaces’ sustainable development are also provided. This paper is extremely useful for researchers and practitioners to understand organizational resilience in an unpredictable business environment.