Research Design Connection: Types of Coworking Spaces

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | January 29th, 2018

Kojo and Nenonen analyzed coworking spaces near Finland’s capital and categorized them into groups based on “their main characteristics.” The duo identified “six coworking space typologies… : public offices, third places, collaboration hubs, coworking hotels, incubators and shared studios. The categorization was made by using two axes: business model (for profit and non-profit) and level of user access (public, semi-private and private).” The researchers feel their findings are useful because they “provide a viewpoint on how co-working spaces can be categorized…In practise, the results can be applied by all stakeholders who are working with alternative workplace solutions to respond to the needs of new ways of working, especially via workplace services for multi-locational and flexible working.” Inka Kojo and Suvi Nenonen. 2016. “Typologies for Co-Working Spaces in Finland – What and How?” Facilities, vol. 34, no. 5/6, pp. 302-313. Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research …