Tensions in stakeholder engagement through an evolving workspace: experiences and responses in a nonprofit organisation

Purpose This article examines tensions experienced by internal stakeholders (employees and volunteers) through a shared workspace in a nonprofit organisation, focussing on how these tensions unfold as the workspace is enacted and how the organisation responds to them. Design/methodology/approach The study applies an inductive case study design, drawing on ethnographic, in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders conducted in 2021, complemented by retrospective autoethnographic reflections on organisational responses to tensions during 2022–2025. Findings The analysis outlines three core tensions unfolding through the shared workspace: (1) confusion versus clarity, (2) inclusion versus exclusion and (3) fragmented versus shared goals. These tensions were treated as productive through iterative adjustments, enabling sustained internal stakeholder engagement over time. Practical implications The findings highlight the importance of recognising shared workspaces as inherently tensioned, processual and shaped through continuous engagement. Originality/value By examining how employees and volunteers experience a shared workspace, this study offers new knowledge on how tensions between internal stakeholders are worked with through the workspace as an ongoing and agentic accomplishment.