GEMExpert – What if the workspace shaped the entrepreneur (and vice versa)? – News

Why and how do entrepreneurs choose the spaces in which to build their businesses? What roles do these workspaces play in innovation processes? Together with her colleagues, a researcher from Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) observed these dynamics of interconnection between work environments and entrepreneurial processes at Le Square, a collaborative space in Paris.

Interview with Pauline Fatien, Associate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM)

Why is the place where an entrepreneur develops their project so important?

Pauline Fatien: The idea of a "disconnected individual" is a myth. Entrepreneurs’ ideas and projects emerge in relation to human, material, and spatial environments. A workspace is never neutral—it can either support or hinder a creative innovation process. Depending on the situation, the space where an entrepreneur sets up shop—and the people they interact with—can become a source of safety and inspiration, or, on the contrary, of stress and alienation.

What makes Le Square, the Parisian coworking space you studied, so unique?

It’s a former car dealership that Renault, the owner, decided to turn into a collaborative space without any formal internal rules. The company trusted its occupants—entrepreneurs in new mobility solutions—to “make something happen” there. This organizational vacuum gave them full freedom to appropriate the space, reshape it, even reinvent it. The only structure in place was a time frame: the experiment was set to last two years. This time-bound setup was reassuring for entrepreneurs, as it provided a clear horizon while launching their ventures.

What phenomena did you observe?

The entrepreneurs spontaneously formed a collective to bring structure and meaning to this rule-free environment. But they did so in a deliberately vague and ambiguous way—flexible by design, so to speak. And it worked! There was a strong sense of ownership. For instance, one person’s product—a nap pod—was repurposed as a rest area between meetings; the kitchen gradually evolved into a space for structured discussions; and a fablab eventually emerged!

Did the entrepreneurs shape the environment in their own image?

Absolutely. The mix of ambiguity and clarity perfectly matched their needs at the time. The tensions within the space mirrored their own internal contradictions. But this model cannot be applied universally. These entrepreneurs largely identified with a “bohemian-bourgeois” style, which doesn’t resonate with everyone.
What key insights did you gain from your study?

Incubators, business hubs, and innovation spaces need to be much more aware of the political dimension of their environments. These spaces encourage power dynamics, personal appropriation, and empowerment. It’s crucial to trust future entrepreneurs to inhabit and shape these environments according to their identities and needs. Enforcing a strict framework, a rigid hierarchy, or assigning a fixed function to each room goes against the grain of what project developers need. Conversely, symbolically giving them the keys to the place helps them step more fully into their entrepreneurial roles.

The Publication
Dey, P., Lô, A., & Fatien, P. (2025). Collaborative spaces as places-of-entrepreneuring: A phenomenological investigation of entrepreneurs’ place-making experiences and practices. Human Relations, 0(0).

Bio snapshot
Pauline Fatien is an Associate Professor in the "Re-Imagining Work" research team at Grenoble Ecole de Management. Her research explores the ethical, spatial, and political dimensions of organizational phenomena, including leadership development (such as coaching) and collaborative spaces.