Content of research

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the process of cooperation and value creation in a community-type workspace. A community-type workspace is an open workspace where individuals share information and knowledge with other through communication, and create value through collaboration according to the situation. A coworking space is a typical example of such a place, and in recent years, it has been becoming more and more popular in Europe, the U.S., and the rest of the world. In the background, there is a movement of questioning the highly uniform interaction and cooperation among members in closed spaces, a system that is still dominant in organizations and local communities, and to achieve both individual autonomy and solidarity. This research is expected to provide knowledge that will contribute to the design and operation of such workspaces, as well as their organizational and social utilization, which are still largely unknown.

Potential for social implementation

• ・Planning and evaluation of related policies
• ・Formulation and evaluation of strategies for related businesses
• ・Support for and promotion of open innovation
• ・Building collaborative relationships with industry, government, academia, and the private sector

Appealing points to industry and local governments

This research is being carried out in collaboration with a related industry-government-academia cooperative project (Sapporo Coworking Supporters: the first support organization for coworking in Japan) as necessary (the author himself participates in the management organization). By maintaining and developing such a research system that closely links theory and practice, we aim to derive and apply theories that are rooted in the field.