From sites to vibes: Technology and the spatial production of coworking spaces
Résumé
Mobile and network technologies enable new ways of working (NWW) that disrupt spatial relations and move work to spaces outside formal organizational boundaries. This article addresses this shift by examining how everyday practices of technology and space come together in the constitution of coworking spaces (CWS) as pronounced example of where NWW take place. Conceptually, the article links research on technology as sociomaterial practice with literature on the production of space. Empirically, it draws from a qualitative study of 25 CWS and offers a theorization of the co-constitutive processes with relevant insights for both technology and organization studies. First, the article adds to research on the relational and dialectic nature of technology by documenting its implication in the constitution of CWS as site, contestation, and atmosphere. Second, it contributes to existing knowledge on space by shifting the focus from physical sites to spatial atmospheres and vibes that are produced through technology use and the co-presence of bodies. It problematizes engagement with NWW by highlighting how the flexibility to work anytime, anywhere is tied to new responsibilities including spacing work (the creation of productive and social spaces of work) and spatial selfmanagement, which requires workers to aptly navigate different sites and vibes in their quest to achieve personal productivity and affective sociality.
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