Espaces de coworking et territoires non métropolitains : des relations paradoxales. Une comparaison internationale (Allemagne, France, Canada)

Coworking spaces have spread outside the major urban centers where they have been less studied, despite the hopes for territorial development placed in them. From a theoretical point of view, coworking spaces are understood by combining three dimensions (territorial, collaborative and individual) of entrepreneurship. The paper is based on an international survey. Our results show that entrepreneurs who attend coworking spaces outside metro areas highly appreciate primarily a working environment that combines residential amenities with access to digital resources and therefore makes it possible to find a better balance between quality of life and professional imperatives. However their links with the local business environment remain modest, as do the relationships with the local authorities. This paradoxical weak territorial embeddedness can be explained by the career path of these entrepreneurs, who rarely originate from the area where they are located and already had a network of contacts outside. As a result, the impact of their establishment on local development and the potential for territorial renewal based on the attraction of entrepreneurs by coworking spaces is significant but should not be overestimated outside the metropolis.