Contextualizing the Governance of Community Co-operatives: Evidence from Austria and Germany

Abstract

The article inquires into the role of the institutional context in explaining the governance of community co-operatives. These organizations do not solely focus on a member's advantage but act on behalf of some collective identity. To enhance our understanding of the nature of co-operative governance on the neighborhood level, we draw on theoretical concepts that are context-sensitive, helping us to catch the institutional conditions in a specific place which are enabling individuals and groups to act and organize collectively. Thus, we enrich the abstract concept of governance put forward by New Institutional Economics. Based on a systematic analysis of case studies, the paper shows that the governance of community co-operatives is based on place-bound values. However, the encounter of divergent imaginations of the neighborhood results in different co-operative practices: e.g., either a government-directed practice to ''discipline'' the community or a community-initiated practice of self-organization.Résumé L'article est une étude du rôle du contexte institutionnel pour expliquer la gouvernance des coopératives communautaires. Ces organisations n'ont pas pour seule priorité de bénéficier à un membre car elles agissent au nom d'une certaine identité collective. Afin d'optimiser notre compréhension de la nature de la gouvernance d'une coopérative au niveau d'un quartier, nous faisons appel à des concepts théoriques qui sont sensibles au contexte, pour nous aider à saisir les conditions institutionnelles dans un lieu spécifique qui permettent aux individus et aux groupes d'agir et de s'organiser collectivement. Nous venons ainsi enrichir le concept abstrait de gouvernance développé par la Nouvelle économie institutionnelle (New Institutional Economics). Se basant sur une analyse systématique d'études de cas, l'article démontre que la gouvernance des coopératives communautaires repose sur des valeurs attachées au lieu. Cependant, la confrontation d'imaginations divergentes issues du quartier résulte en différentes pratiques de la coopérative : par ex. une pratique instruite par le gouvernement afin de « discipliner » la communauté ou une pratique d'auto-organisation initiée par la communauté.Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Rolle des institutionellen Kontexts für die Erklärung der Governance von Community Co-operatives. Diese Organisationen konzentrieren sich nicht nur auf die Vorteile für ihre Mitglieder, sondern handeln im Namen einer kollektiven Identität. Zur Vertiefung unseres Verständnisses der typischen Merkmale der Governance einer Genossenschaft auf Nachbarschaftsebene stützen wir uns auf kontextbezogene Konzepte, die uns helfen, die institutionellen Bedingungen an einem bestimmten Ort zu erfassen, welche gemeinschaftliches Handeln und kollektive Organisation ermöglichen. Somit erweitern wir das abstrakte Governance-Konzept der Neuen Institutionenökonomie. Anhand einer systematischen Fallstudienanalyse zeigt der Beitrag, dass die Governance von Community Co-operatives auf ortsspezifischen Werte...

Trust, Social Capital, and the Coordination of Relationships Between the Members of Cooperatives: A Comparison Between Member-Focused Cooperatives and Third-Party-Focused Cooperatives

“…Previous work has shown that neo-institutional economic theory, although widely applied in nonprofit studies, can neither adequately explain the existence of traditional, nor third-party-focused cooperatives as a type of social enterprise (Borzaga and Defourny 2001;Laville and Nyssens 2001;Dart 2004). Building on this fundamental insight, this article continues the work of previous studies on nonprofit and civil society governance in general (Steen-Johnson, Eynaud and Wijkstroem 2011;Stone and Ostrower 2007), the nature of member-focused and third-party-focused cooperatives in particular (Lang and Roessl 2011;Somerville and McElwee 2011;Roessl and Hatak 2014), and their relation to social capital and trust (Degli Antoni and Portale 2011).…”

“…The "bridging" social capital of third-party-focused cooperatives, which refers to horizontal linkages, is supported by empirical observations that such cooperatives are multi-stakeholder organizations, in the sense of building on community relations and associative networks as well as on the integration of users, thus being very much intertwined with their local socio-spatial and institutional context (e.g. Lang and Roessl 2011;Spear and Bidet 2005;Poledrini 2015). An important contribution in this vein is an empirical study conducted by Degli Antoni and Portale (2011) that shows the effect of inclusive participatory governance in Italian social cooperatives on employees' and members' social capital.…”

“…The relation between network structure and trust can be highlighted with an empirical case from Germany where a resident cooperative resisted the closure of a public pool in their 16 neighborhood (Lang and Roessl 2011). The initiative started as a small group of activists which was committed to establishing a community-based project together.…”

“…For example, based on case studies from Austria and Germany, Lang and Roessl (2011) analyze cooperative initiatives which operate for the benefit of local communities by taking over the provision of amenities and services in a neighborhood, such as cafes, shops, and recreational facilities. This leads to economic, social and even psychological benefits for all local residents arising from increased opportunities for social interaction as well as local volunteering and employment opportunities on a small scale.…”

“…In line with the understanding of social enterprises as representing an organizational continuum (Defourny 2001), we would thus define third-party-focused cooperatives as those social enterprises which emphasize the entrepreneurial and economic initiative as well as control and 4 ownership by the members of a particular community (typically place-based or within a specific geographical area) who benefit from their services and reinvested surpluses (Lang and Roessl 2011;Somerville and McElwee 2011). In other words, these social enterprises rather stress their cooperative character, e.g.…”