Journal of Co-operative Organization and Management最新文献

Worker cooperatives seek both compliance with cooperative principles or “cooperativism” and economic efficiency. To fill the evidence gap on whether the two goals collide or coincide, we drawn on microdata including over 7,000 Brazilian cooperatives. Stochastic frontier models were used to estimate the relative level of efficiency and to relate it with cooperativism level measured as participatory decision-making and integration to cooperatives’ networks. Results showed that the former dimension of cooperativism presented a positive effect that dominated the negative effect of network integration. So that efficiency (weakly) increased with an index aggregating the two cooperativism’s dimensions. This was coherent with case studies attesting Brazilian cooperatives capacity to overcome threats to efficiency with organizational changes including the introduction of probation, dismissing and hiring of non-member workers, thus preserving core principles. Results were also consistent with theoretical studies which both argue that shirking and high transaction costs are the main threats to efficiency facing cooperatives and also that these are mitigatable by common principles fostering consensus and a participatory environment minimizing conflicts and disclosing private information. Government support to creation of cooperatives is recommendable as a poverty alleviation policy whether homogeneous social groups more prone to mutual trust are prioritized.

There has been a strong co-operative response to the neoliberal takeover of education in recent years, with both co-operative schools and higher education emerging in the UK. In this article we label these ‘Education Co-operatives’ as a distinctive form of co-operation, and consider the implications of this for the movement. Drawing on the historical importance of Co-operative Identity, we argue that whilst it is a valuable resource for Higher Education Co-operatives, it needs be interpreted carefully for their multiple contexts. With reference to Bourdieu’s forms of capital, we advocate a more nuanced understanding of member economic participation as part of a broader attempt to translate the Co-operative Identity to Education Co-operatives. Finally, we point to the importance of the emerging co-operative educational ecosystem and the scope for the sector to grow its membership by engaging new groups in co-operation, as well as considering the challenges this poses. At the heart of all of this, we argue, sits the Co-operative Identity.

In most countries, self-financed accumulation of capital in cooperative enterprises makes substantial (but variable) use of indivisible reserves, which can be understood as common-pool capital resources, since they are characterized by rivalry and non-excludability in utilization among the members of the cooperative. The paper is structured in two main parts. The first part deals with dynamic inefficiency in investments and the problem of undercapitalization due to the members’ truncated temporal horizon in worker cooperatives. The conjugation of different types of reserves, divisible and indivisible, is envisaged as possible solution to under-investment. In the second part, a new layered system of reserve funds, both divisible and indivisible, is discussed, showing that each different layer has distinctive functions in facing the stability vs performance trade-off: stability and strength of patrimony are adjudicated to the indivisible layers, while efficient allocation of reinvested funds and members’ financial involvement require divisible reserve layers.

The article contributes to the co-op theory by exploring a current understanding of the dual nature at the core of co-op ideology that summarises its original purpose. The literature review examines this dual nature, highlighting its importance in the context of democratic governance. The empirical study focuses on exploring the significance that members of the governing bodies attach to the dual nature, and the effect the two roles have on putting the duality of a co-op into practice today. Based on the research, we argue that co-ops’ business role determines their operation along with the financial benefits to their members. In particular, the social objectives associated with the member association role are subordinate to the co-op’s business role, and this creates conflicting expectations and practices in co-ops’ management. The article highlights how business plays a dominant role and undermines co-ops’ democracy and social goals. We suggest that finding a balance between the member association and the business roles reflects a new co-op ideology, in which business dominates. We also argue that the governing body members’ deep understanding of the dual nature reinforces the fulfilment of the co-ops’ member association role, and thus its ultimate and original purpose.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can benefit from membership of a co-operative. This study aims to test previous antecedents of why SMEs join a co-operative. We interviewed members and executives of four Australian co-operatives to investigate reasons why SME owners joined them. All interviewees agreed that the co-operative had to provide economic benefits in addition to information, business support, knowledge, and networking. The SME owners’ disposition of collective action towards a common sense of purpose supported the decision to become a member of their co-operatives. Asset, temporal, location & relational specificity provided the external resources through their co-operative to challenge the environmental uncertainty the SMEs faced.

This study provides evidence that consumer co-operative societies (co-ops) drive reported earnings toward zero profit by adjusting sales, discretionary expenses, and costs of goods sold. Evidence also indicates that co-ops with small losses manage earnings up to avoid reporting losses and make small profits. Furthermore, earnings management tends to decrease after the 2013 MOSAL (Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor) regulation. This paper examines a highly significant and currently unresearched segment of the economy using a unique and comprehensive dataset of annual information on Kuwaiti co-ops. It also provides new insights on the role of government regulations in curbing the accounting practices co-ops managers use to misreport financial statements.

Agricultural cooperatives in post-socialistic countries often fail to justify their purpose. Lack of trust and social capital are plausible reasons. In this paper we map the relationship structure of farmers that seek information about rural development programs, in a region where cooperatives operate. The Social network analysis demonstrates low levels of social capital, however, the cooperative acts as valuable information provider for its members, serving as information mediator to the rural development program’s resources, required for farmers’ investment initiatives. This is a positive evidence of small-scale farmers' attitudes towards cooperatives and a step forward towards cooperation and re-establishment of agricultural cooperatives in post-socialist countries.

This paper investigates whether and how financial and administrative controllers of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) decrease agency costs in consumer cooperative societies (co-ops) in Kuwait. It hypothesizes that MOSAL controllers are effective monitors in reducing agency costs. The study employs a multivariate regression model and calculates the t-values using Roger’s robust standard errors, correcting for co-op clusters due to the potential cross-sectional correlation and autocorrelation of the error terms to test a sample of 929 observations for 59 consumer cooperative societies from 2000–2018. The empirical results support the hypothesis. Further tests show that low-performing co-ops have lower agency costs. However, the presence of the financial and administrative controllers has no effect on agency costs in high-performing co-ops. Also, the effect that MOSAL controllers have on agency costs varies among co-ops. This study complements a line of research on co-op governance and adds to the empirical evidence on the association of corporate governance and agency costs. It also helps understand how regulators influence management and board discretion to safeguard co-op shareholder rights. Further, it explores an important sector and analyzes a unique, comprehensive, and rarely tested dataset.

Organisational governance should not be detached from its effects. Based on this premise, this paper presents a selection of relevant theoretical elements and normative concerns for the study of governance and its consequences. Specifically, the paper considers a combination of resource integration mechanisms (contract, authority and cooperation) and structures (markets, exclusive structures and inclusive structures). These combinations are analysed along with their key effects with respect to information, knowledge sharing and creation, involvement and empowerment. The paper contributes to the governance literature by identifying criteria for appreciating the diverse ways of integrating and coordinating resources and anticipating the associated effects.

How collective organisations can provide smallholders access to modern markets is widely discussed. Smallholder farmers collectively gain economies of scale, access to technology, pool their capital resources to invest in value-added activities and gain bargaining power. Different forms of collective organisations have emerged around the developing world, where smallholder farmers are predominant. Nonetheless, information about the organisational attributes of different collective organisations is scant. This study aims to analyse and compare the organisational attributes of two forms of collective organisations namely, Cooperatives and Farmer Companies (FCs). A range of organisational attributes (ownership, control, benefit, governance, marketing, and external factors) of cooperatives and FCs in the Sri Lankan rice sector are analysed and compared. This study employed qualitative methodology, using face to face semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that cooperatives and FCs have similar control and benefit attributes and different ownership and governance attributes. These FCs accepted external investments while the cooperatives accepted products from non-members. The FCs were more specialised in the specific type of rice grain sold to regional and specific markets. Both types of collective organisations had received substantial governmental financial support, however cooperatives were also strongly influenced by external governmental departments and exempted from tax.