Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics最新文献

In response to increasing demands for decision-making expertise in the global business environment, agricultural co-operatives face the challenge of balancing governance adaptations with the risk of agency costs. While various mechanisms exist to align the interests of principals and agents within these organizations, communication – particularly digital – appears to hold the greatest potential. However, empirical evidence on its effectiveness remains limited. This study addresses this gap by examining the relation between both digital and non-digital communication on principal–agent alignment and overall performance in agricultural co-operatives. The empirical basis consists of a survey conducted in 2023 with 41 agricultural co-operatives in Brazil. The results of a structural equation model show that (1) digital communication is related positively to principal–agent alignment, (2) non-digital communication is not related significantly to principal–agent alignment and (3) principal–agent alignment is related positively to performance. These findings offer important insights for the governance of agricultural co-operatives, which are further explored in the conclusion.

Joint liability lending, which leverages borrowers' social ties, is crucial for providing credit access to the poor. However, scholars worry that these lending practices might undermine the social capital they utilize, hindering its development as people become wary of such arrangements. While these concerns have persisted, they lack rigorous analysis. Using a game-theoretic framework, we show that when reciprocity motivations are strong, joint liability lending can trigger social sanctions among borrowers, eroding their social capital. We test these theoretical predictions using data from the China Household Finance Survey. Our analysis reveals that variations in loan amounts unexplained by observable borrower characteristics, which serve as proxies for the use of joint liability in lending decisions, negatively impact borrowers' expenditures on maintaining social ties — our measure of social capital. These findings suggest that financial institutions should carefully implement joint liability lending to avoid damaging community social capital while serving the poor.

This study investigates the impact of cultural difference on the location allocation of government procurement in China from 2015 to 2021. We find that cultural distance significantly hinders inter-regional government procurement, and the degree of impact has an upward trend. Mechanism analysis reveals that cultural distance affects the location allocation of government procurement through information communication and identity recognition between regions. Moreover, cultural distance has a greater impact on large and medium-sized enterprises, state-owned enterprises and non-high-tech industry enterprises obtaining cross-regional government procurement orders. Further, inter-regional trade barriers also hinder the integration of the government procurement market.

Energy cooperatives promote a vision of democratic management of energy transition, but enacting this vision requires the active participation of members. In this paper, we aim to study the conditions leading to participation in the governance of cooperatives and how these conditions interact. Based on original data from a survey of members of a French energy cooperative, the study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to research how the resources available to an individual interact with their motivations to influence participative behaviour. Our empirical results show that a strong ecological orientation is a necessary condition for active participation and that, depending on their socio-economic situation, different types of members mobilize different resources to participate. We contribute to the literature on cooperative participation and ‘green behaviours’ in general by making theoretical propositions to explain participation behaviour as a conjunction of motivations, resources and opportunities.

Cooperative organizations are built on strong principles and values rooted in equity and social responsibility. However, we observe a group of cooperatives that have become embroiled in material legal violations. They egregiously commit 602 violations over 20 years related to the safety and just treatment of their members, employees, community, customers and the environment, with penalties for misconduct totalling $2.3 billion. This directly opposes the ideals espoused by cooperatives, and their susceptibility to misconduct challenges the assumption that cooperatives are immune to the ethical failures seen in public firms. We find that when government agencies bring enforcement actions against misconduct, it reduces future negative behaviour. We also find that some cooperatives make changes to the leaders who are present at the time of wrongdoing, and these cooperatives have a decrease in the severity of misconduct in the future. Collectively, these findings suggest that a number of cooperatives harm the groups they claim to serve but that government enforcement and cooperative disciplining carried out in response to regulatory violations can mitigate future misconduct.

This study attempts to examine the effect of women's participation in self-help groups (SHGs) on their financial inclusion levels. A comprehensive financial inclusion index is created specifically suited to women by incorporating the concept of ‘autonomy’ in the usage of financial services. Adding this indicator with access and usage improves the practical effectiveness of women's financial inclusion as a means to a larger end. Further, objective weights have been assigned to the financial inclusion indicators through the application of the Criteria Importance through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method. The effect estimation is examined using propensity score matching (PSM) to gauge a true effect assessment free from self-selection bias. The results are also checked for robustness using inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA). Drawing primary data from 450 respondents from the Barak Valley region of Assam, the study establishes the importance of ‘autonomy’ in determining women's financial inclusion and finds SHG participation to be effective in enhancing the holistic financial inclusion of women. Underscoring the potential of SHGs in the upliftment of women, the study recommends regular monitoring of existing SHGs, besides expansion policies, to prevent group inactivity. To enhance women's financial autonomy, it is also suggested to conduct frequent training programmes on rights awareness, boosting self-efficacy for financial management and self-sufficiency in addressing financial challenges.

This study examines the influence of gender on the selection of business models within the social and solidarity economy (SSE), focusing on women's preference for collaborative and socially oriented business models that can promote inclusive and sustainable economic development. Using data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey in Galicia, Spain, the research highlights that women entrepreneurs are more attracted to the SSE because of its emphasis on generating social value rather than direct economic benefit. Gender differences are significant, with women showing greater alignment with SSE principles than men. These results underscore the importance of public policies designed to support female entrepreneurship in the SSE, recognizing women's potential to contribute to economic growth through sustainable practices. The study enhances the understanding of gender dynamics in entrepreneurship, offering valuable insights into how a gender perspective can enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the SSE and inform the development of targeted support strategies that promote economic development, job creation and social well-being.

This paper assesses the impact of the level of cooperatives’ vertical integration on the financial performance of smallholder rice farmers in the North Central province, Sri Lanka. A sample of 309 smallholder rice farmers was surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The sample represented 152 partially and 157 fully integrated smallholder rice farmers who are members of partially and fully vertically integrated cooperatives, respectively. The propensity score matching technique was applied to correct for potential selection biases. Three financial performance indicators: cost of production, operating profit and sales revenue have been used. Results show better financial performance for the farmers who are members of fully integrated cooperatives except for the cost of production. They receive higher operating profit and sales revenue than those farmers who are members of partially integrated cooperatives. However, the cost of production remains more comparable for both groups of farmers. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that the smallholders can enhance their financial performance through cooperatives that are fully vertically integrated.

This study aims to investigate the influence of social capital on perceived social mobility (PSM) at the individual level. Although evidence exists regarding both the relationship between social capital and actual mobility and about the social capital's influence on individual perceptions, the literature lacks evidence on the possible behavioural aspects related to its influence on the perception of such mobility. Employing data from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey, representing citizens from 63 countries, this study shows that individuals’ social interactions in voluntary associations are significantly related to personal values, particularly the belief in meritocracy and the role of individual effort to obtain success. Consistently with prominent studies highlighting the potential heterogeneous effects of social capital on personal attitudes and behaviours, this research provides evidence that bridging social interactions positively influences the perception of a more mobile and meritocratic society, whereas volunteering in bonding groups may hamper PSM. The size of these effects may depend on the contextual framework because the externalities created by bridging social capital outweigh those of bonding in wealthier countries.

There are few empirical explanations for the decreasing number of cooperatives in the agricultural sector. To address the gap in the literature, we investigate the incidence of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and liquidations and dissolutions (L&Ds) among more than 1000 farmer cooperatives in the United States for the 2010–2020 period by means of survival analysis within a competing risk framework. According to our novel results, M&As are more common than L&Ds, corresponding to exit strategies of larger farmer cooperatives to achieve scale and scope economies. The incidence of L&Ds is almost entirely driven by size as relatively small cooperatives are more at risk. Implications and future research directions are discussed in the conclusion.