Cooperative Longevity: Why Are So Many Cooperatives So Successful?

Abstract

Despite popular misconceptions, cooperatives present a very successful organizational form worldwide. A recent study found that in the U.S., for example, 134 agricultural cooperatives celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2014. This observation on cooperative longevity is not matched by a corresponding research effort on what makes cooperatives so successful. Most of the extant research seems to focus on intra-cooperative problems that posit significant challenges to cooperatives. This special issue of Sustainability bridges the considerable gap between scholarly work and reality. By focusing on what makes cooperatives so successful for such a long period of time, this issue sheds light on key aspects of cooperative longevity. Bridging social capital, fundamental solutions to excessive heterogeneity-induced high ownership costs, tinkering, cooperative genius, and superior capacity to adapt to shocks and changes are among the factors identified to explain extended cooperative longevity. The insights thereby gained are useful to students of cooperatives, practitioners, and policy makers.

Would Kazakh Citizens Support a Milk Co-Operative System?

“…Co-operative and community-based forms of doing agriculture are common in most countries, especially in developed countries where "the access of small farmers to markets is usually facilitated by agricultural service co-operatives" [68]. According to recent research, 134 agricultural co-operatives in the US celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2014 [69]. Research on the longevity of agricultural co-operatives in developed countries listed several main reasons for that, such as the achievement of scale economic gains and the ability to adapt to dynamic situations.…”

Relational attractiveness between supplier-customer in a supply chain

“…It also offers a new perspective for research in cooperatives, which still have no consensus on the motivating factors for members’ participation (Morfi et al, 2018), including as evidence the results of the largest flower producing center in Latin America. The more a cooperative succeeds in increasing relational attractiveness, the greater the cooperative power and the ability to adapt to shocks and changes, which are fundamental factors for the success and longevity of the cooperative (Iliopoulos & Valentinov, 2018).…”

Advancing the Theory of Cooperative Organization: Interrogating the Developing Country Perspectives

“…With regard to the debate about the rarity and degeneration of cooperatives and countering the degeneration thesis, the following research questions have come up lately. Why are there a large number of successful cooperatives (Iliopoulos and Valentinov, 2018a;2018b)? How do we conceptualize a cooperative organization within the context of a developing country?…”