You rarely sees the words "interesting" and "academic paper" in the same sentence.
But despite its title, Coworking: A Transdisciplinary Overview is one of the best and most interesting articles I've read on coworking.
Key quote from the paper's abstract on what it covers:
... It argues that coworking is a complex social phenomenon that can be differentiated from other spatial concepts that relate to work, learning and social interactions. The paper provides an historical account of the origins of coworking and reviews the existing scholarly and popular literature, offering a theoretical distinction between coworking spaces and serviced offices that hinges upon the degree of social collaboration versus the importance of location and facilities of the office environment. An overview of recent data on the number and location of coworking spaces across the world is provided ...
I particularly liked the section on "coworking's origin stories" and, of course, the various data presented in the paper.
We read lots of academic papers here at Small Business Labs. Most are written in a manner that makes them very hard to wade through.
This paper is an exception and well worth reading for anyone interested coworking or the the broader shared workspace industry.
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