Job crafting as a key ingredient for higher creative performance in coworking spaces

Purpose - Coworking spaces represent a new, rapidly emerging phenomenon. Available empirical literature is sparse and mostly focused on structural elements, whereas the organizational and behavioral dynamics are still largely understudied. This study aims to explore the idea that coworking users’ proactivity (more specifically, job crafting behaviors) plays a key role in positively influencing creative performance, and that such a relationship is better understood by examining both the mediating role of work meaningfulness and the moderating role of knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach - This study is based on survey data from a relevant sample of users in Italian coworking spaces. A mediated-moderated analysis is used. Findings - The “approach” job crafting behaviors have a significant influence on creative performance, via work meaningfulness, whereas this is not true for “avoidance” job crafting behaviors. Knowledge sharing plays a significant moderating role in the former relationship. Research limitations/implications - The theoretical, practical and social implications discussed help to further the discourse surrounding the relationships between job crafting, creative performance and coworking spaces. This unique work setting enables a variety of value appropriation pathways to be promoted and supported. As such, coworking spaces are also “laboratories” where the future of work organization can be better understood. Originality/value - This study contributes to the existing coworking spaces literature as it is one of the very few that sheds light on users’ behaviors, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first one to consider job crafting as a relevant variable. It also contributes to the current job crafting literature by helping to clarify why available studies have yielded mixed results in examining the relationship between job crafting and creative performance.