Measuring Changes in Farmers’ Attitudes to Agricultural Cooperatives: Evidence from Swedish Agriculture 1993–2013

Abstract

This study assessed changes in farmers' attitudes to agricultural cooperatives by developing a behavioral framework based in psychological and psychometric theory for measuring attitude change. The assessment focused on a unique dataset that allowed attitude coverage and strength of evaluation derived from data collected in 1993 and in 2013 to be evaluated. Explorative factor analytical methods revealed the attitude construct to be two-dimensional in both datasets, covering the domains named "Commitment" and "Trust" in both cases. Thus, the coverage of the attitude construct seemed unchanged. However, the strength of evaluation of both attitude dimensions was significantly increased. These findings have clear policy implications for agricultural cooperatives, since understanding the nature of changes in attitudes to these organizations is important for their successful development.

Social Capital among Members in Grain Marketing Cooperatives of Different Sizes

“…Social capital is highly relevant in a cooperative context. If a cooperative society is to enjoy member satisfaction and member loyalty, it must be governed by the members themselves, that is, there must be some form of social relations within the membership (Hakelius, ; Borgen, ). There must be trust in the sense that the members should have at least some confidence in one another, in the elected representatives, and in the management (Morrow, Hansen, & Pearson, ; Nilsson, Kihlén, & Norell, ).…”

A Review of the Empirical Literature on Farmer Cooperatives: Performance, Ownership and Governance, Finance, and Member Attitude

“…). Yet organizational growth is linked to increased heterogeneity in member attitudes and objectives (Hakelius and Hansson ), which relates negatively to various attributes and characteristics of the cooperative (Höhler and Kühl ). Meanwhile, farmer cooperatives also face numerous external developments which impact their survival and longevity, including consumer segmentation, price volatility, and policy change (Grashuis, forthcoming).…”

“…With increased competition at every stage of the agri-food value chain (Adjemian et al 2016), the capital constraint facilitates consolidation to allow net asset investments in scale and scope economies (Briggeman et al 2016). Yet organizational growth is linked to increased heterogeneity in member attitudes and objectives (Hakelius and Hansson 2016), which relates negatively to various attributes and characteristics of the cooperative (Höhler and Kühl 2017). Meanwhile, farmer cooperatives also face numerous external developments which impact their survival and longevity, including consumer segmentation, price volatility, and policy change (Grashuis, forthcoming).…”

Avaliação Dos Relatórios De Não Conformidades De Um Abatedouro De Aves Utilizando O Ciclo Pdca

“…5764/71, do Estatuto de Cooperativismo, que regulamento o funcionamento das cooperativas brasileiras, estabelece que as cooperativas para serem constituídas precisam de ao menos 20 proprietários e que as cotas de capital pertençam exclusivamente aos cooperados. Sendo assim, as cooperativas podem ser entendidas como, o controle e a posse de um negócio na busca por benefícios de diversas pessoas (HAKELIUS;HANSSON, 2016).…”