Working Alone but Together: The Relationship Between Social Support and Radical and Incremental Creativity in Coworking Spaces

Abstract: Individuals working in coworking spaces (i. e., coworkers) benefit from a professional office and like-minded people to escape the loneliness of working from home. Social support in coworking spaces may play an important role in two forms of creativity: radical and incremental. The present study investigated whether social support by coworkers is positively related to both forms of creativity and whether this relationship is stronger for extraverted coworkers and those who spend more workdays in the coworking space. A total of 127 coworkers from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland participated via an online questionnaire. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed a positive association between social support and radical creativity. However, no such association was found with incremental creativity. The extent of coworking (i. e., number of workdays in a coworking space) moderated the relationship between social support and incremental creativity. We discuss practical implications for creativity in coworking spaces.