Mobility Good for Whom? : Critical Thoughts on Mobile Workforce in the Context of the Creative Class

In the creative class literature, the intrinsic mobility of creative people is arguably a central precondition for the diffusion of innovative know-how as well as innovativeness. Underpinning this contention is the concept that interactions between individuals with high human capital facilitate spillovers and the growth of knowledge. Therefore, mobile workers are the critical conveyance of knowledge and new ideas. This paper, however, argues that, in reality, this seemingly benign concept of mobile workers not only has its own contradictory aspects but also highlights only one side of a continuum. In particular, mobile workers stand on the labor market segmentation where non-fulltime workers are used as buffers with less market power and obtain lower wages. The deepening of the labor market duality considerably undermines the argument that creative workers occupy the high-end of the labor market and are less vulnerable to economic fluctuations. Second, the translation of the high mobility of workers from the view of organizations (firms) means a high turnover rate, a factor that is negatively correlated with innovation. Building on this problem orientation, this paper performs an analysis on the relationship between the employment practice and innovation by using survey data of the digital content industry. The findings show that that unlike the emphasis on the mobility of workers, the stability of creatives matters more for organizational competences and innovation. This paper concludes by discussing the local and regional workforce policies from these findings