Generic solutions to coordination and organizational costs: informing cooperative longevity

Abstract

For years, scholars and policy makers have ar gued that cooperatives, particularly agricultural cooperatives, exhibit organizational inefficiencies primarily caused by individual member behavior that is often independent and non-cooperative conflicting with the formation of effective coalition building. This free riding tendency creates significant challenges for a continued joint collaboration between and among member patrons. Yet, agricultural cooperatives have a long history of surviving as successful business enterprises. This paper presents a framework that proposes generic solutions effective as design principles in addressing the negative consequences of high organization costs, thus leading to sustainable common group interest activities.