Problematizing Mobility: A Metaphor of Stickiness, Non-Places and the Kinetic Elite

A ‘mobilities turn’ has taken place in the social sciences, which is finding its way into organization studies. As research highlights how work and organization are mobile and spatially dispersed, metaphors of liquidity, flows, fluidity and nomads have become significant. This article seeks to contribute to the mobilities turn by introducing the Sartrean metaphor of stickiness. In contrast to the currently dominant movement metaphors, this metaphor brings into focus ambiguities and frictions and overcomes problematic connotations of nomadism and sedentarism. The paper draws on the metaphor of stickiness to reveal the kinetic elite’s – the group of highly mobile elite workers – experiences of ‘non-places’ (Augé, 1995), which are ephemeral, interchangeable and monotonous spaces of mobility. Qualitative data gathered at two management consultancy firms show how the stickiness of being on the move can give rise to experiences of ambiguity, disorientation and loss: the lures of glamour, escape and liberation from places can collide with non-places that involve fixed instability, feeling stuck and that stick to one even when returning to places. In so doing, the article develops how the metaphor of stickiness can constitute an important lens for understanding and conceptualizing mobilities.