The purpose of this research is to determine consumer behavior towards workspace in Bangkok. Information and data are studied and collected through literature review to find the main factors that influence the decision-making of renting workspace and interviews with both users and non-users. This type of place is considered a "co-working space". Coworking spaces have become popular around the world to provide networking opportunities for startups and have grown in recent years and its popularity will continue.
A great co-working space is a collection of minds inspired by the brand that brought them together. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the consumer's behavior towards the co-working space and what are the determining factors to rent it. In this research, qualitative methodology was used to collect all the data by interviewing 10 Thai workers who work in both regular office space and workspace.
In addition, the scope of participants will only be people working in the Bangkok area because most of the coworking space in Thailand resides in Bangkok. To share the useful information and recommendations to coworking space companies and others interested in this research.
LITERATURE REVIEW
- Factors that Influence Rental Decisions on Coworking Space
- Services offered
- Office cost reduction
- Benefits from the community
- The Growth up Trends of Coworking Space
- Generation change
- Worldwide trend
- Workspace problem
- Coworking Space Problems
- Working under distractions
- Inconvenient Hours
- Coworking space business in Thailand
- Affordability
- Thai Culture
Co-working spaces are a showcase for sharing tangible (space and equipment) and intangible (knowledge, skills, expertise and experience) resources. For that matter, since coworking space is where freelancers and entrepreneurs share a workspace and benefit from working in the presence of each other, they can build the real value network within the workspace. Fortunately, if you can find someone who has the same interest and knowledge as what you are looking for, you can find a new partner or business investor in the future.
Thus, the increasing number of business startups among millennials has a direct impact on the growth trends of coworking space. While the number of new micro-enterprises is also increasing, representing 96% of businesses in Britain and employing over 7 million people. According to Oxford Economics, self-employment will also increase by 15% over the next ten years. This estimated 15% increase over the next ten years will mean that five million people in Britain will be self-employed by 2024.
Therefore, coworking space is another option that helps new independent workers deal with limited and expensive workspace. Also, although there are also annoying people who talk loudly on the phone and clutter the area in any regular office, there is probably a greater chance of meeting these kinds of people in the common room. Although you could enter the coworking space anytime you want, but that doesn't mean you can book the room because most people book the same meeting time from
Therefore, introducing coworking space into the Thai business community is challenging and risky for the investor, especially for new entrepreneurs. In conclusion, coworking space is becoming popular in many countries because their service offering is suitable and affordable for individuals and new startups. However, working in the coworking space can also pose problems for users as they may face a lot of distractions from unknown employees.
In addition, the business of coworking spaces in Thailand is growing, but it is not as popular as in America and European countries due to the Thai culture and the affordability of the business.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- Research Design
- Data Collection Methodology
- The population
- Sampling
- Research Instrument
- Demographic 1. What is your age?
- Coworking space preference
- The influence of technologies toward influence in purchase decisions 1. How likely or unlikely are technologies influencing you to make a decision
- Data Analysis
Participants were selected based on the researcher's judgment so that participants could answer the questions as a specific purpose. Small samples of office workers were selected in Bangkok, Thailand with the age range ranging from 22 – 45 because the majority of these young adults and new business owners tend to rent more work space in Bangkok. Moreover, a high level of technological confidence within this group tends to be an encouraging factor when they need to remove their work from their regular office or hold a separate meeting between professionals.
An interview is the method that interviewee can get an in-depth information through the face-to-face conversation with the interviewee. The interview would be interpreted and then used for the development of the thematic interpretation. The research began by asking the participant to respond to three behavioral aspects dimensions which are demographics, collaboration space preference and the influence of technologies on influence in purchasing decisions.
In addition, open-ended questions and interviews were encouraged to allow participants to reveal their feelings, perceptions, and behavioral intentions toward using the coworking space. How much are you willing to pay for a workspace with amenities like a proper workspace, conference room, client meeting area / phone room. How likely or unlikely are the technologies that influence you to make a decision to use the collaboration space.
To analyze the interview, a Researcher tries to put the information into perspective such as the comparison of the results between the participants, any common standards for the business of the shared space, and the strengths and weaknesses of the workspace, etc. A researcher will then record the recommendations in a report to help individuals understand about the shared space business.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
- Price
- Work Environment
- Location
- Staff
- Community
- Infrastructure and Design
Co-working spaces allow tenants to share the cost of utilities, internet and office machines, and they offer short-term membership plans. Moreover, users can easily get discounts if they have membership of their selected workspace. The results of the interviews show that more than half of the respondents agree that renting co-working space can help them reduce their rental costs.
The working environment or atmosphere provided by coworking space is one of the most important factors when choosing rental space. So if users find themselves having to chat with customers while sending emails or meeting during lunch, they will most likely fit into a coworking space with a social environment. With coworking space, freelancers won't look inexperienced or unprofessional because a successful image is part of the deal with a coworking space.
Therefore, the work environment in a coworking space will affect productivity if they feel that they could match the workplace. Some of the interviewees have just started their business, so they choose a coworking space that is not located in the center of business areas in Bangkok, but rent a coworking space that is located near public transportation to make it easier for them to contact customers. and deliver the product. The staff of the coworking space could represent the coworking space itself and the companies of the tenants, as they will be the people who will greet the customers when they enter the building and visit the business.
Basically, employees in a coworking space should be people who are friendly and helpful, as they have to help and advise users when they have problems. Half of the interviewees will view the coworking space before signing the lease agreement, or some will try to rent a personal desk for two to three days to observe the environment and culture of the coworking space to make sure they can get along with the place. This will help the tenants to make an easier decision, as they will notice when looking at the bar whether they could get along with the culture of the coworking space or not.
This is one of the main factors why people choose to work in the coworking space. This can help them enjoy and build lasting relationships among coworking space members within the place. Some interviewees are willing to pay if they are impressed with the design of the coworking space's infrastructure. So, there are many coworking spaces that are well designed and stylish and can also enhance the image of the users.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
Recommendations
- Provide innovative interior design
- Improve working space environment
- Arrange community activities
- Choose the right location
- Do more marketing
- Limitations and further research
Building community in the workspace is important because many startups try to network their projects through formal and informal community events. For example, shared space providers can organize a small get-together every Friday where people within the community can come to join the party and share their experiences over afternoon tea. In other words, community content within the coworking space grows their network and helps their business grow.
Therefore, both tenants and service providers need to find the middle ground where tenants can get along with the coworking space culture and service providers can provide for the community without disruption. Although the place is cool but if it is too far to reach it will reduce the popularity of the place. It is not so important that the office is located in the city center or on the outskirts of the city.
Classic marketing techniques for coworking spaces are popular in coffee shops, events and word of mouth. Therefore, it will be necessary for coworking space providers to set up a website and social media accounts and develop a logo to advertise themselves. Effective marketing campaigns can improve the coworking space's image and help it increase profitability.
The first limitation of conducting a quantitative survey is a sample size, because at least a number of people must be conducted for the analysis, so the sample size can be small. Therefore, if further research has more time to conduct and analyze, the larger sample size is recommended. Most coworking space providers do not allow on-site research to avoid disruption and to protect their own customer information.
Therefore, access to participants is limited if the study does not have a coworking space user network.
