Virtually Extended Coworking Spaces? – The Reinforcement of Social Proximity, Motivation and Knowledge Sharing Through ICT

Coworking is characterized by different people sharing a workspace to benefit from the inspiring working atmosphere. Even before Covid-19, many positive effects and dynamics were not fully exploited by their users. One reason is a lack of trust among the users that leads to social isolation, although a coworking space should increase knowledge and idea exchange. As most people in coworking spaces use information and communication technologies (ICT) for their collaboration with their clients or employers, we examined if and how ICT can be used to support the positive effects and dynamics of coworking spaces. For this, we conducted eight interviews with freelancers and entrepreneurs who have already worked in coworking spaces in order to identify requirements for a complementary virtual coworking platform. We found that social proximity, motivation and knowledge sharing could be increased by such a platform. Based on the process virtualization theory, we derived six design principles

The Financial Consequences of Servitization in Manufacturing Firms: An Empirical Analysis

Prior body of servitization research falls short to fully capture the financial consequences of servitization. This paper aims at investigating the financial consequences of servitization in listed manufacturing companies in four countries, namely UK, USA, Germany and China. By means of secondary data obtained from Worldscope database, regression models will be developed to compare servitized and non-servitized manufacturing firms in the aforementioned countries. This study contributes to the current understanding of the financial consequences in the transition towards service provision and aims to enhance managerial decision-making processes regarding servitization by comparing different contexts and countries

The collaborative relationship between transport and tourism in Scottish islands: from policy to practice

Despite a ubiquitous interest, the concept of collaboration remains elusive. Regardless, the pervasiveness of discourse pertaining to it continues to infiltrate policy as public sector reform advocates for behaviour and practice driven by an ethos of “joining-up”. The interdependency of the transport-tourism relationship provides an opportunity to consider collaboration in a context where the benefits of integration can be substantial. Within island domains the reliance of tourism economies on efficient transport systems is intensified. Consequently this research presents an analysis of the scope, role and nature of collaboration between industries whose sustainability is to a large extent symbiotic and critical to local prosperity. A review of the literature demonstrates a lack of focus on research pertaining to a stakeholder perspective of the transport-tourism relationship. Within the island environment, studies on this scenario of cross-industry engagement further diminish although the argument expressing the significance of transport in tourism is vociferous. Gaps were also identified in the conceptualisation of collaboration inhibiting a universal definition and thus a comprehensive understanding. The primary research adopted a qualitative approach. Data was collected through a series of semi-structured interviews from stakeholders across transport and tourism who fulfilled pre-considered criteria. The key findings identify constraints to collaboration in the form of structural disparity while divergent industry objectives further impede practical integration. Despite this, the role of “islandness” neutralises barriers to engagement. The propensity to cultivate social capital within these boundaried geographies provides an environment naturally conducive to the creation of collaborative capacity. Consensual development of shared goals between collaborating parties manifested as intrinsic for the purpose of buy-in and commitment throughout the collaborative process. Similarly, an absence of leadership in practice resulted in highlighting the fundamental role it delivers within collaboration. The empirical findings provide both practical and theoretical contribution. Further they present policy-makers with evidence-informed suggestions to address impediments which prevent the practice of collaboration.sub_behunpub1931_ethesesunpu