Sørensen, Carsten

Toivonen, Tuukka

LSE Research Online

Why	the	co-working	industry	must	take	creativityseriouslyThe	rapid,	ongoing	growth	of	the	co-working	industry	reflects	a	broader	transformation:	over	the	past	decade	or	so,work	has	not	merely	become	increasingly	flexible	and	entrepreneurial	–	it	has	also	been	reinvented	as	a	commodity.Sold	to	people	desiring	autonomy,	comfort	and	a	cure	to	entrepreneurial	loneliness	(among	other	things),	co-workingproviders	are	refashioning	work	as	a	consumer	experience	requiring	open-plan	offices,	trendy	rooftop	terraces,	on-site	gyms,	retro	furniture	and	other	eye-catching	perks.Co-working	spaces	are	half-right	to	adopt	this	way	of	thinking:	flexibility	and	choice	are	the	reality,	at	least	in	globalcities,	for	entrepreneurial	individuals	and	teams	who	can	now	freely	select	from	among	hundreds	of	trendyworkspaces.	Mobile	technologies,	virtual	(team)	work	and	flexible	co-working	contracts	mean	that	a	sizeablesegment	of	the	workforce	is	now	‘free	to	go,	free	to	stay’	when	it	comes	to	physical	work	environments	and	locations.Unfortunately,	only	very	few	co-working	spaces	go	beyond	the	gloss	to	attract	and	keep	members	by	realising	the	fullpotential	of	their	services.	For	instance,	only	a	handful	of	the	providers	we	have	met	have	evolved	a	systematic,mindful	approach	to	sparking	creative	interactions	between	their	members.Co-working	providers’	inability	to	provide	substance	is	a	serious	problem	because,	with	users	becoming	morediscerning	than	before,	operators	who	fail	to	think	more	deeply	about	value	creation	will	rapidly	lose	their	competitiveedge.	They	will	learn	the	hard	way	that	most	co-working	users,	instead	of	longing	for	creative	facades	or	vaguenotions	of	‘community’,	actually	seek	environments	that	support	creative	progress.Through	a	brand-new	report,	we	seek	to	launch	a	fresh	conversation	on	precisely	this	topic.	Distilling	key	lessonsfrom	world-leading	peer-reviewed	organisational	research,	we	position	the	creative	process	as	a	focal	point	ofintervention	for	collaborative	spaces	that	want	to	generate	more	value	for	their	users.To	inform	and	challenge	co-working	leaders,	our	report	offers	two	sets	of	insights.	First,	we	rethink	the	very	notion	ofcreativity	by	shifting	from	an	individual-level	focus	to	the	concept	of	creative	idea	journeys.	These	are	relativelystructured	trajectories	through	which	emerging	ideas	evolve	into	increasingly	well	articulated,	viable	business	modelsand	projects.	We	show	how	abundant	value	can	be	created	by	co-working	spaces	when	emerging	ideas	are	goingthrough	the	so-called	elaboration	stage.	In	this	phase,	novel	ideas	need	to	be	‘nourished’	by	high-quality	interactionswith	diverse	others;	it	is	through	such	shared	moments	of	creativity	that	member	journeys	can	be	accelerated	andenhanced.LSE Business Review: Why the co-working industry must take creativity seriously Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-06-07Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/06/07/why-the-co-working-industry-must-take-creativity-seriously/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/In	a	mobile	context	where	members	can	seek	input	through	a	wide	range	of	networks	beyond	their	main	workspace,a	crucial	question	to	ask	is:	what	value	is	your	space	generating	along	your	members’	creative	journeys?	Are	youkeeping	track	of	this	value?	Are	you	tracing	–	and	promoting	–	the	kinds	of	interactions	that	matter	the	most	to	yourmembers?The	second	set	of	insights	we	offer	in	our	report	concern	particular	aspects	of	the	creative	process	and	how	to	bestcatalyse	creative	idea	journeys.	Here	is	a	summary	of	three	of	these	aspects:Feedback-sharing.	Collaborative	organisations	can	grow	into	genuine	‘creative	communities’	not	by	gettingeveryone	to	collaborate	(as	this	is	plainly	unrealistic),	but	through	cultivating	practices	of	feedback-sharing	(Hargadon	and	Bechky	2006).	The	generous	giving	and	the	active	seeking	of	feedback	are	not	a	‘niceto	have’:	rather,	feedback	plays	an	absolutely	essential	role	in	creative	journeys	and	especially	at	theelaboration	stage.	Do	you	have	members	who	are	unsure	whether	their	value	propositions	should	emphasisecost	savings,	sustainability	or	experiential	value,	or	whether	they	should	pursue	traditional	marketingapproaches	instead	of,	or	alongside,	guerrilla	marketing	tactics?	If	you	do,	such	members	should	never	be	farfrom	a	conversation	that	can	generate	relevant	answers,	or	that	expand	your	members’	perspectives.Collaborative	spaces	are	affective	spaces.	Organisational	creativity	research	has	broadly	establishedthat	positive	affect	lubricates	problem-solving	and	idea	generation	activity	(Isen	et	al.	1987).	Maintaining	apositive	social	atmosphere	is	therefore	a	good	thing	from	the	perspective	of	creativity;	however,	a	broad-brushapproach	is	not	enough.	This	is	because	minority	members	(in	the	start-up	world,	this	can	include	rather	largegroups	such	as	women!)	often	feel	that	they	are	not	given	the	same	regard	as	others.	This	is	detrimental	when,as	a	result,	value-adding	conversations	fail	to	take	place.	Indeed,	a	sense	of	respect	and	equality	is	aprerequisite	for	most	types	of	creative	exchanges.	(This	is	precisely	why	female-oriented	co-working	spacesand	networks	are	on	the	rise).Building	on	more	critical	research	we	argue	that	the	role	of	physical	space	in	catalysing	creativity	is	oftengrossly	overstated	(De	Paoli	et	al.	2017).	Strictly	speaking,	there	is	no	such	thing	as	‘creative	space’	–	whatdoes	exist	is	assemblages	of	physical,	digital	and	social	elements	that	combine	to	shape	creativeenvironments.	The	concept	of	‘social	affordances’	–	that	brings	attention	to	these	intertwined	forms	of	shaping	–can	help	co-working	leaders	to	overcome	binary	thinking	in	this	realm	(Fayard	and	Weeks	2007).	In	general,leaders	should	perform	a	reality	check	by	lowering	their	expectations	vis-à-vis	physical	space	and	heighteningtheir	interest	in	experimenting	with	how	new	combinations	of	spatial,	social	and	digital	features	can	transformtheir	member	experience.In	order	to	successfully	contribute	to	the	creative	journeys	of	their	members,	co-working	leaders,	managers	as	wellas	designers	must	therefore	focus	on	promoting	their	members’	creative	journeys	while	continuing	to	learn	moreabout	their	complex	dynamics.	Those	who	engage	in	serious	thinking	and	discussion	around	these	topics	willdevelop	a	significant	advantage	as	co-working	markets	edge	ever	closer	to	a	saturation	point.*			Stay	tuned	for	a	forthcoming	post	on	‘co-working	failures	and	ways	to	fix	them’.	The	authors	welcome	inquiriesrelating	to	consulting	and	research	opportunities.♣♣♣Notes:This	blog	post	is	based	on	the	authors’	report	The	Creative	Process	in	Co-working	and	Collaborative	Work.London:	Creative	Friction,	2018.The	post	gives	the	views	of	its	authors,	not	the	position	of	LSE	Business	Review	or	the	London	School	ofEconomics.Featured	image	credit:	Photo	by	home	thods,	under	a	CC-BY-2.0	licenceWhen	you	leave	a	comment,	you’re	agreeing	to	our	Comment	PolicyLSE Business Review: Why the co-working industry must take creativity seriously Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-06-07Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/06/07/why-the-co-working-industry-must-take-creativity-seriously/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/Tuukka	Toivonen	is	the	director	of	Creative	Friction	Ltd.	He	specialises	in	the	creative	process	inentrepreneurship,	co-working	and	social	innovation.	After	serving	as	a	full-time	senior	lecturer	in	thearea	of	social	and	economic	innovation	at	UCL,	he	set	up	Creative	Friction	to	bring	creativity	researchinto	a	practical	conversation	with	new	spaces	of	work.	He	holds	a	PhD	in	social	policy	from	OxfordUniversity	and	is	currently	an	honorary	senior	lecturer	at	STEaPP,	University	College	London.Carsten	Sørensen	is	a	reader	(associate	professor)	in	digital	innovation	at	LSE’sdepartment	of	management	(carstensorensen.com).	Since	the	1980s	he	hasresearched	the	digital	transformation	of	work,	for	example	through	mobile	technologyand	digital	infrastructures.	Carsten	has	published	a	number	of	papers	on	InformationSystems	(scholar.carstensorensen.com)	and	has	been	affiliated	with	a	number	ofDanish,	Swedish	and	British	institutions.	He	has	for	a	number	of	years	assisted	andassessed	digital	start-ups,	and	has	actively	engaged	for	25	years	in	academicconsultancy	and	executive	education	with	a	broad	range	of	organisations	–	IMF,	Microsoft,	Google,	Huawei,	PAConsulting,	Samsung,	Orange,	Vodafone,	Intel,	GEMS,	to	name	a	few.LSE Business Review: Why the co-working industry must take creativity seriously Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-06-07Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/06/07/why-the-co-working-industry-must-take-creativity-seriously/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/

Why the co-working industry must take creativity seriously

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Why the co-working industry must take creativity seriously

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