Alternative Organizational Survival: A Comparison of Two Worker-Recuperated Businesses in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This article examines the survival of worker-recuperated businesses (WRBs) in Argentina—enterprises closed by private owners, occupied by workers, and restarted as worker cooperatives—through a comparative case study of two Buenos Aires WRBs: the metallurgic factory FORJA San Martín, which ultimately closed, and the Hotel Bauen, which remained operational until 2020. The study finds that differences in labor processes (industrial versus service work), geographic location (urban center versus periphery), and the strength and diversity of political and social networks significantly influenced their divergent outcomes. While FORJA's hierarchical labor divisions, peripheral location, and limited political alliances constrained its sustainability, the BAUEN Cooperative's interactive service labor, central urban location, and broad engagement with social movements, NGOs, and political actors fostered legitimacy and resources that supported its longevity. These findings contribute to organizational and social movement theories by highlighting how labor dynamics, contentious politics, and spatial context intersect to affect the survival of alternative work organizations in capitalist economies.