Contenu du sommaire : Collaborative Spaces in the Digital Era

The advent of the 21st century is characterised by the increase of cultural interaction in relation to a widespread digital environment. Moreover, we are witnessing an ongoing movement and transformation within the use and the sharing of knowledge, and collaboration through the growth of mobile devices and their associated products. The current digital development, particularly through mobile technology, has given way to new emerging players, intermediation platforms and new human behaviour. In addition, mobile technology can increasingly play the role of catalyst for creativity. It will sometimes even become an active agent of innovative capacity and capability across peculiar spaces and time, either physically, digitally, and, via connectivity, an exchange of intangible resources outside regulated and/or established procedures. This paper examines how mobile technology enables a contemporary consideration of the Nonaka and Konno's concept of ba within organisations by using a qualitative and hermeneutic approach. JEL Codes: O3

Increasingly present in many countries, coworking spaces can become spaces for sharing and collaboration to improve the work conditions of self-employed workers, but also of entrepreneurs and salaried workers, although there has been much less study of these. Indeed, there are numerous studies on the self-employed in coworking spaces but few of them are dedicated to entrepreneurs and salaried people, in spite of this population being one of the targeted customers of these spaces. It is thus important to start studying this population of salaried workers and entrepreneurs to identify their interests and strategies in a coworking context. Our article contributes to this, all the more so since these groups are found more in small cities and villages, less in large cities, which mainly host the self-employed. As there is a gap in the literature on these groups, we thus studied the interest of coworking spaces for small firms' employees and entrepreneurs, a result which contributes to a better understanding of coworking and which can help in establishing coworking spaces in rural and peri-urban contexts, where they are less present to this day. This research thus contributes to knowledge of the benefits of coworking spaces for entrepreneurs and salaried workers. As has been observed elsewhere in Canada, this population of coworkers is especially critical for spaces located in rural or peri-urban areas where the number of self-employed does not allow the development of solid business models and ensure the viability of the coworking spaces. This research shows that there is definitely an interest in this type of business perspective. To answer this question as to the interest of salaried coworkers from small firms and entrepreneurs, we interviewed the founders, entrepreneurs and employees of companies using these spaces in Quebec. The goal is to better understand the strategies that facilitate business initiatives and their success in a coworking context. JEL Codes: M13, O31

Public and private organizations are turning to innovation labs as open spaces that provide a stimulating and collaborative environment for developing new solutions. However, sustaining an innovation lab is a challenging task that requires more than well-meant intentions. Although this issue has been of interest to scholars for some time now, little is known about how innovation labs are managed or the main factors influencing their adaptation and evolution. Building on an existing framework, this article focuses on a case study of the ViveLab Bogotá, an innovation lab in the Colombian public sector. The results reveal that having a clear and shared strategic intent, effective governance mechanisms, a defined financial model, continuous knowledge generation and a community-based approach, are factors that may enable or limit an innovation lab to experience a sustainable evolution. Finally, reflections are also shared on the use of the selected framework and possible points for improvement.
JEL Codes: O32, O35, O38, O54

Among the innovative organizations that have emerged to support a growing number of self-employed workers, an innovative form of worker cooperative has developed over the past twenty years: the Business and Employment Cooperative (BEC). Faced with changes in work and employment, BECs are experimenting with new working methods by seeking to promote the autonomy of entrepreneurs within a democratic productive space. In view of the singularity of changes in work, new analytical schemes are outlined beyond the notion of salaried employment. This research is based on a field survey conducted in three French BECs. It invites us to analyze the political centrality of work in BECs through the notion of activity, inspired by the pragmatist philosophical movement. From a socio-economic perspective, this cooperative action research proposes an analysis of self-employment in BECs by breaking down the activities carried out by members (trade, community and governance), by putting into perspective the contributions and limits of multi-activity.JEL Codes: J53, J540, M540, Z130

Innovation spaces are rapidly increasing in number around the world. Many universities are currently opting for the construction of a space of this kind on their premises. Innovation spaces offer an opportunity for the development of competences. In this work we study how innovation spaces can support collaborative learning. Several common factors between innovation spaces and collaborative learning are studied and identified. Based on these factors, a design and an action plan are defined for an innovation space within a public university. The proposed design and action plan are tested in a case study featuring the entrepreneurship and innovation laboratory of the Industrial Engineering Department of the University of Santiago (LEIND). The results are evaluated based on interviews with students, and these interviews validate the positive impact of LEIND in the development of their innovation and entrepreneurship projects. Work in collaboration with other actors at LEIND is highlighted as a positive outcome.
JEL Codes: O31, O32, O35