Abstract
Covid19 has economic effects on Danish firms. Using survey data collected from 237 Danish SMEs during Covid19, our study provides pre liminary evidence that those firms using more freelancers are those that perceive the largest amount of uncertainty and coordination prob lems, following an exogenous shock such as the pandemic. We argue that this can be explained by the fact that freelancers cannot rely on tacit coor dination to the same extent as regular workers. Tacit coordination mechanisms, however, are often useful for coordinating when it becomes harder to specify how tasks should be done. Thus, firms using more freelancers before the shock might perceive greater impact and more coordination problems, due to freelancers’ need for clearly specified tasks. We conclude with sug gestions to how firms can manage the tradeoff between using freelancers and benefitting from robust coordination mechanisms.
| Translated title of the contribution | The Adjustment Paradox: A tradeoff between flexibility and coordination in the workforce |
|---|---|
| Original language | Danish |
| Journal | Økonomi og Politik |
| Volume | 94 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages (from-to) | 21-37 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| ISSN | 0030-1906 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |