Building a more sustainable society is a complex challenge that can be addressed in many different ways. In his doctoral thesis, Daniel Magnusson examines how sustainability can be incorporated into so-called co-prosumption services, where different customers are directly and physically co-present within the service space. Examples of such services include coworking spaces, makerspaces, and co-living environments, which have become increasingly widespread in recent years.
Although such services are often promoted as sustainable alternatives to traditional models, their sustainability ultimately depends on the behaviour of the people who use them. The central challenge addressed in this thesis is to better understand the role of the customer and to identify how they can be encouraged to take an active role in sustainability work within co-prosumption services. The research is situated in the context of coworking spaces, an emerging form of workspace that exemplifies co-prosumption services. Coworking spaces provide a relevant context for this research because they bring together entrepreneurs, freelancers, and remote workers who share physical resources and social infrastructure.
The dissertation addresses two research questions. The first examines which behaviours contribute to the co-creation of sustainable value in coworking spaces. The second investigates which motivational factors influence these behaviours and to what extent.
To address the research questions, the dissertation combines qualitative and quantitative research methods. Case studies in Swedish coworking spaces and multiple surveys were used to collect empirical data. Based on the collected data, a new construct named sustainable coworking behaviourwas conceptualised. It consists of three behavioural dimensions: productive behaviour, prosocial behaviour, and responsible space-sharing behaviour, corresponding to the triple bottom line. Building on this conceptualisation, the research develops and validates the Sustainable Coworking Behaviour Scale, a 40-item measurement instrument designed to assess sustainable behaviour among coworking members.
The research also examines the motivational factors that promote sustainable coworking behaviour. The findings show that such behaviour is positively associated with psychological ownership, meaning the feeling that the shared workspace is “mine” or “ours.” When members develop a sense of ownership toward their coworking space, they are more likely to engage in sustainable coworking behaviours. The findings further show that sustainable coworking behaviour is related to the fulfilment of three basic psychological needs: autonomy, relatedness, and competence. These results are correlational. To address this limitation, an experimental design based on a discrete choice experiment was developed, enabling causal testing of these relationships.
The dissertation primarily contributes to service research and the coworking literature. By revealing how sustainability arises through micro-level interactional processes among customers, the thesis opens a new conceptual pathway for understanding the co-creation of sustainable value in co-prosumption services. Furthermore, the thesis contributes to the coworking literature by foregrounding the role of customers in sustainability within coworking spaces, a perspective that has received limited attention in prior research.
From a practical perspective, the Sustainable Coworking Behaviour Scale provides practitioners with a tool for assessing such behaviour. The findings also highlight the need for behaviour-specific intervention approaches rather than one-size-fits-all sustainability strategies.
The thesis can be accessed here:
https://research.chalmers.se/publication/550449
Links to published papers:
Magnusson, D., Raharjo, H., & Bosch-Sijtsema, P. M. (2025). The relationship between psychological ownership and sustainable behavior in coworking spaces. Journal of Corporate Real Estate. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-03-2025-0022
Magnusson, D., Raharjo, H., & Bosch-Sijtsema, P. (2024). Sustainable coworking: the member perspective. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 153–175. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRE-06-2023-0020
