Collaborative spaces as places-of-entrepreneuring: A phenomenological investigation of entrepreneurs’ place-making experiences and practices

Entrepreneurship scholars have become increasingly interested in new collaborative spaces—such as incubators, makerspaces, and coworking spaces—that support entrepreneurial ventures. However, limited attention has been paid to entrepreneurs’ embodied capacity to transform these collaborative spaces into places for entrepreneuring. In response, we propose a phenomenological perspective to advance theorizing on how entrepreneurs “do place” by experiencing and shaping the meaning, affective content, and materiality of their workplace in specific ways. Based on a longitudinal qualitative study of a coworking space in Paris, we identify three regimes of entrepreneur’s place-making: (a) collectively negotiating place-meaning, (b) manipulating place as a site of practical use, and (c) place-based identity forming. Our contribution is threefold. First, drawing on a diverse literature on phenomenology, and recent practice-based research, we argue that a dual focus on the embodied experiences and practices of entrepreneurs enables a more granular understanding of how collaborative spaces are enacted as “places-of-entrepreneuring.” Second, we show how “places-of-entrepreneuring” emerge from the skillful interweaving of different regimes of place-making. Third, we recommend that owners of collaborative spaces proactively promote place-making “by design” by encouraging entrepreneurs to become active producers, rather than passive users, of their work environments.