The reaction of coworking spaces to the COVID-19 pandemic. A dynamic capabilities perspective

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many firms reassessing how to deal with their communities. In this study, we focus on a coworking space and examine how the management staff and its coworking community reacted to the pandemic. The uniqueness of coworking spaces is that the community is both the paying customer and it is an integral part of the coworking value proposition. For this paper, a case study in Amsterdam was analyzed and the symbiotic relationship between the coworking space and one of its key resources (the community) was examined. We build on dynamic capabilities theory to identify the processes of how a firm and its community maneuver through the pandemic. We propose that in vibrant times, firms and communities should work in close alignment in order to sense, seize, and transform resources and opportunities.