Entrepreneurial Needs for Outer Urban Co-Working Hubs

Abstract

Workspaces and workplaces have changed significantly over the last decade. Facilitated by networking and collaboration tools, there has been a steady concentration of inner-city coworking spaces providing many opportunities for new flexible work arrangements. Driven by sustainability and creative entrepreneurship, coworking spaces are ideal hosting and meeting places to connect creative minds. Despite the growth in inner city coworking spaces, little is known of entrepreneurial needs for coworking models in outer urban city areas, particularly areas that experience rapid population growth. The authors conducted an exploratory study to identify entrepreneurs' coworking needs in a fast-growing outer urban city area in Melbourne, Australia. Drawing on activity theory (AT) as a lens to analyse the data, the study confirms that entrepreneurs in fast-growing outer urban areas have unique coworking needs compared to those in inner-city areas. The study identifies three key requirements that an outer urban coworking model needs to address to support a growing cohort of outer-urban anywhere workers.