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Follow the labour process: Constructing explanations and making a difference through multi-sited ethnographic methods

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Warren

    (University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia)

  • Chris Gibson

    (University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia)

Abstract

This Exchanges commentary adds to recent dialogue in economic geography on how methodological approaches, explanatory goals and political standpoints intersect. Drawing lessons from collaborative projects that have sought to understand the concrete, place-based experiences of labouring in industries amidst capitalist and environmentally induced restructuring, we describe and advocate for a multi-sited ethnographic approach that we call ‘following the labour process’. We highlight three recurring challenges for researchers adopting such an approach to building explanations that purposefully centre labour: (1) developing and maintaining different relationships, (2) making sense of difference and (3) making a difference. Multi-sited following illuminates moral and political aspects of commodity relations, prompting reflection on the ethics of research engagement and knowledge production. While requiring engagement in/across different, interconnected sites, multi-sited ethnographic following can help yield rich empirical insights capable of deepening scholarly explanations, engaging diverse audiences and articulating normative viewpoints.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Warren & Chris Gibson, 2026. "Follow the labour process: Constructing explanations and making a difference through multi-sited ethnographic methods," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 58(2), pages 322-332, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:58:y:2026:i:2:p:322-332
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X251326393
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrew Warren & Chris Gibson, 2023. "Struggles over Skills: Lived Experiences of Evolving Technologies and Gendered Hierarchies at Work," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 113(5), pages 1071-1091, May.
    2. Andrew Warren & Chris Gibson, 2024. "The Place-based Work of Global Circulation: Maritime Workers, Collaboration, and Labor Agency at the Seaport," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 100(1), pages 31-56, January.
    3. Gertler, Meric S., 2004. "Manufacturing Culture: The Institutional Geography of Industrial Practice," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198233824.
    4. Chris Gibson & Andrew Warren, 2025. "Marine pilots and the choreographic work of seaport mobilities," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 48-66, January.
    5. Andrew Warren & Chris Gibson, 2021. "The Commodity and Its Aftermarkets: Products as Unfinished Business," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(4), pages 338-365, August.
    6. Frances Brill & Sara Özogul, 2021. "Follow the Firm: Analyzing the International Ascendance of Build to Rent," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(3), pages 235-256, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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