Priorities of Coworking Space Operation Based on Comparison of the Hosts and Users’ Perspectives

Jongseok Seo, Lidziya Lysiankova, Young-Seok Ock and Dongphil Chun
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Jongseok Seo: Graduate School of Management of Technology, Pukyong National University, 365, Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48547, Korea
Lidziya Lysiankova: Faculty of Economics, Vilnius University, Universiteto str. 3, Vilnius 01513, Lithuania
Young-Seok Ock: Graduate School of Management of Technology, Pukyong National University, 365, Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48547, Korea
Dongphil Chun: Graduate School of Management of Technology, Pukyong National University, 365, Sinseon-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48547, Korea

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-10

Abstract: More than 1,180,000 people use several thousand coworking spaces these days, but the running of coworking spaces is a rather fragile business model. Coworking spaces need entrepreneurial sustainability as well. Therefore, this study identifies success factors for sustainable business through analysis of users and hosts’ demands and priorities about coworking spaces. To identify the priorities, we conducted a questionnaire survey with 60 hosts and 56 users by using the analytic hierarchy process method. We found that hosts thought community and communication most important, followed by space and interior, service diversity, and price plan, and users considered relationship facilitation the most important, followed by service diversity, price plan, and networking event and party. After discussions with coworking space hosts and users to understand the differences in viewpoints, we combined the results to find the highest priorities. Finally, we identified relationship facilitation, service diversity, and price plan as having the highest priorities for sustainable coworking space operation for both sides. This study has major implications for research into improving management of coworking spaces as it asks users and hosts to select and focus on elements of priority in their decision making for entrepreneurial sustainability and management innovation.

Keywords: coworking; coworking space; coworking space management; entrepreneurial sustainability; management innovation; decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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