Liminal Positions Between Autonomy and Dependency. The Case of Banking and Insurance Sector

Journal title STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Author/s Andrea Bottalico, Annalisa Murgia
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2022/2 Language Italian
Pages 35 P. 35-69 File size 374 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2022-002002
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The debate on liminality in organisational contexts has provided relevant in-sights and contributions for the interpretation of the changing dynamics of con-temporary work, representing ambiguous transitions and positionings. This is even more relevant in the case of solo self-employment, which is accompanied by a di-versity of positions oscillating between autonomy and heteronomy, corresponding to different forms of liminality linked to both individual characteristics and organi-sational contexts in which individuals perform their activities. In the light of this debate, the article investigates the case of self-employment in the financial sector and makes a twofold contribution to the debate on liminality in organisational contexts. First, the concept of liminality is extended to a largely unexplored sector, where forms of work on the boundary between self-employment and employment are increasingly present. Second, the concept of liminality itself is rediscussed ac-cording to the scientific literature and the research conducted - since it does not necessarily represent a condition of transition between two different states but can also assume the characteristics of a permanent condition. In the conclusions, with the aim of highlighting the variety of liminal experiences inherent in contemporary work, a conceptual scheme is discussed to show some of the main trends charac-terising the transformation of employment relationships in a rapidly changing and increasingly fluid labour market.

Keywords: Liminality; self-employment; dependent employment; autonomy; heteronomy; financial sector.

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Andrea Bottalico, Annalisa Murgia, Posizionamenti liminali tra autonomia e dipendenza. Il caso del settore bancario e assicurativo in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 2/2022, pp 35-69, DOI: 10.3280/SO2022-002002