At the moment, an intra-organizational transformation process is emerging, especially in knowledge-intensive fields of employment such as IT services and medicine, which has so far received little attention. Contrary to the statements of many economic theories, (highly) qualified external employees, especially solo self-employed and temporary workers, are increasingly working together with permanent employees in the success-critical core of organizations. However, both types of workers usually differ in their working conditions and terms of employment. Comparative and altered knowledge transfer processes can occur as a consequence of such group constellations, and different perceptions of organizational justice can arise and clash. The integration of external employees into the core of organizations thus introduces a new element of competition into the previously valid cooperative relationships. 

Using a mixed-methods study design, the research project aims to investigate the (non-)intended effects of this transformation process on both corporate and inter-company cooperative relationships and the interaction of both levels. In addition to (1) expert interviews with the strategic organisational level and with representatives of company and inter-company interest groups, (2) participatory observations on the organisational level and (3) problem-centred interviews with employees of different employment status are used. By means of a (4) quantitative survey, in which patterns of perception of cooperation between external employees and permanent staff will be analyzed comparatively, the qualitative results will be generalized.

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