The rise of the creative industries as an important economic power in today’s economy, the increasing role of digital technologies, as well as the changes in structural and cultural conceptions of work redefined the way people in the creative industries interact with each other. These changes that put forward the inherent precarity present among creative workers and the relevance of network and knowledge as resources for creative industries creation process, motivate creatives industries to cluster, leading to a phenomenon emerging, the coworking spaces. The coworking spaces give the creative workers access to an environment prone to knowledge exchange and connection with fellow entrepreneurs with related skills. Because of the relevance of coworking space in fostering this exchange of knowledge has been noted, academic attention has been given to the processes happening inside coworking spaces. Different aspects of coworking spaces have been researched, such as notably the concept of community inherent to most of the spaces or the managerial strategies put in place. Nevertheless knowledge in relation to the coworking spaces is addressed relatively vaguely in research. This study argues that a more detailed framework of knowledge is needed to understand the intricacies of knowledge exchange in coworking spaces. By mixing bodies of research from the geography research, the coworking research, as well as management research, I developed my research question: What kind of knowledge is exchanged in coworking spaces and how are managers facilitating this process ? A subsequent model explaining the different knowledges shared in coworking spaces as well as their facilitators and moderator (in the form of trust), was provided. The knowledge base approach is used as main element to develop the theoretical framework of this research. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the results gathered through ethnographic research methods, namely semi-structure interviews and participant observations. This method shed light on the dual nature of knowledge share in coworking spaces. Synthetic and symbolic knowledge appear to be the dominant knowledge shared in coworking spaces. The results also emphasise the role of the manager and their interaction strategies on the successful instalment of an organisational culture of sharing. This paper contributes to the coworking debate by providing the application of a novel knowledge framework to the coworking research, and points out possible further directions of research.

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Y. Wijngaarden
hdl.handle.net/2105/49927
Media & Creative Industries
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication

U. Catala. (2019, June 24). Knowledge exchange strategies and tools for coworking spaces managers. A knowledge base approach to coworking. Media & Creative Industries. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/49927