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Article
Power and communication in worker cooperatives: An overview
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  • Avery C. Edenfield, Utah State University
Document Type
Article
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Publication Date
7-1-2017
Disciplines
Abstract

Technical communication research has critically engaged with organizational trends toward flattened organizations like networks, horizontal arrangements, and adhocracies, assemblages that hybridize top-down management in favor of autonomous groups. There has been no engagement with a related but distinct trend: worker cooperatives. Co-ops promise similar advantages but are distinct as they claim to deliver what flat organizations promise: access to governance, empowerment, and autonomy. In this article, I survey literature on flattened organizations, apply technical communication theory to account for cooperative communication, and conclude with an analysis from a qualitative study at a cooperative site.

Citation Information
Edenfield, A. C. (2017). Power and communication in worker cooperatives: An overview. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (47)3, pp. 260–279.