The new office: How coworking changes the work concept

Purpose – Recent years have witnessed the birth and rapid development of “coworking” spaces that are likely to affect classic models of work and organizations. This paper aims to identify the crucial issues raised by this phenomenon, for both practitioners and researchers, in both management and organization theory. Design/methodology/approach – To describe this growing phenomenon, the current paper presents an in-depth analysis of existing literature and identifies the social, organizational and managerial issues raised by the development of coworking. Findings – A review of how organizational research has analyzed the rapid development of coworking spaces thus far reveals a conceptual framework for grasping the origins, nature and implications of this phenomenon. Such an assessment in turn sheds light on the issues and potential questions raised by the growth of this new type of organization. Practical implications – Managers and practitioners can gain a better grasp of the phenomenon and the potential evolution of workplaces and organizations, as well as a better understanding of the extent to which developing coworking spaces might invoke evolution in organizations and management practices. Originality/value – The rise of coworking spaces is unprecedented in its speed and scale. Yet, academic research has largely ignored this phenomenon, and practitioner studies have privileged a descriptive approach. This paper thus covers a topic that has attracted scant attention in prior academic research, despite its vast and growing importance.