The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool went from being the largest grain handler in western Canada in the mid 1990s to undertaking a $405 million debt restructuring in January 2003. Provincial grain handling market share had been over 60 percent for two decades prior to the Pool becoming publicly traded in 1996. With the share conversion, the Pool began a capital expenditure program in an effort to adapt to industry deregulation and to compete with the multinationals that were entering western Canada. This program was not successful. SWPs long-term debt increased five fold over the period 19961999 and consecutive multi-million dollar net losses were incurred followed by the debt restructuring.<p>This thesis uses dominant logic theory and the principal-agent problem to analyze what went wrong at SWP. Theory suggests organizations faced with major industry change may have difficulty revising their dominant logic, which leads to organizational failure. Not only is there a tendency to hold on to established beliefs, but the creation of new beliefs is prone to error because of bounded rationality. The existence of a principal-agent problem can worsen an organizations ability to revise its dominant logic. Information asymmetry and the principals trust of the agent can lead to inaccurate beliefs and ineffective strategies being approved. <p>The results of personal interviews with twenty-one past management and elected Saskatchewan Wheat Pool personnel and grain industry affiliates are presented and analyzed in a case study format. The results suggest that deregulation of the grain handling industry and the anticipated arrival of multinational competitors pressured the Pool to respond quickly to major industry change. The Pool had difficulty revising its dominant logic; it retained outdated beliefs and accepted inaccurate new beliefs. Interviewees described how some investments were built on erroneous beliefs and lacked complete due diligence. Evidence suggests the principal-agent problem was also at play. The need for confidentiality after the share conversion increased information asymmetry, and management took advantage of the boards lack of experience as investments extended beyond the farm gate. The principal-agent problem in conjunction with an inaccurate revised dominant logic is a reasonable explanation for the Pools failure.

The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool went from being the largest grain handler in western Canada in the mid 1990s to undertaking a $405 million debt restructuring in January 2003. Provincial grain handling market share had been over 60 percent for two decades prior to the Pool becoming publicly traded in 1996. With the share conversion, the Pool began a capital expenditure program in an effort to adapt to industry deregulation and to compete with the multinationals that were entering western Canada. This program was not successful. SWPs long-term debt increased five fold over the period 19961999 and consecutive multi-million dollar net losses were incurred followed by the debt restructuring.<p>This thesis uses dominant logic theory and the principal-agent problem to analyze what went wrong at SWP. Theory suggests organizations faced with major industry change may have difficulty revising their dominant logic, which leads to organizational failure. Not only is there a tendency to hold on to established beliefs, but the creation of new beliefs is prone to error because of bounded rationality. The existence of a principal-agent problem can worsen an organizations ability to revise its dominant logic. Information asymmetry and the principals trust of the agent can lead to inaccurate beliefs and ineffective strategies being approved. <p>The results of personal interviews with twenty-one past management and elected Saskatchewan Wheat Pool personnel and grain industry affiliates are presented and analyzed in a case study format. The results suggest that deregulation of the grain handling industry and the anticipated arrival of multinational competitors pressured the Pool to respond quickly to major industry change. The Pool had difficulty revising its dominant logic; it retained outdated beliefs and accepted inaccurate new beliefs. Interviewees described how some investments were built on erroneous beliefs and lacked complete due diligence. Evidence suggests the principal-agent problem was also at play. The need for confidentiality after the share conversion increased information asymmetry, and management took advantage of the boards lack of experience as investments extended beyond the farm gate. The principal-agent problem in conjunction with an inaccurate revised dominant logic is a reasonable explanation for the Pools failure.

A presente pesquisa analisa as práticas de governança corporativa indicadas aos seguintes mecanismos de monitoramento: (a) o conselho fiscal; (b) a auditoria externa e (c) a auditoria interna. Buscou-se verificar quão próximas as cooperativas agropecuárias estão do que é indicado pelos códigos de melhores práticas de governança. Utiliza-se como fundamentação teórica a perspectiva da firma como um conjunto de contratos em um contexto no qual pode existir delegação de parte do poder de controle e decisão dos ativos. Assim, analisa-se teoricamente as motivações para a adoção de estruturas de governança corporativa que desempenhem funções de monitoramento da gestão. Para tanto, considera-se a condição de incompletude dos contratos, os pressupostos comportamentais da racionalidade limitada e oportunismo dos agentes econômicos e o processo decisório em um contexto de propriedade coletiva. Nas análises, utilizou-se primeiramente as cooperativas agropecuárias constantes no banco de dados da FIPECAFI Melhores e Maiores entre os anos de 2005 e 2009. A amostra foi composta por 72 cooperativas para o período de cinco anos. Verifica-se que as empresas de auditoria externa que compõem o grupo das maiores apresentam menor representatividade no mercado de auditoria independente para cooperativas comparadas às menores empresas de auditoria constantes no banco de dados. Ainda, aplicou-se um questionário fundamentado nos Códigos de Melhores Práticas de Governança Corporativa do IBGC (Instituto Brasileiro de Governança Cooperativa) e da OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), sendo que o instrumento apresenta Alfa de Cronbach de 0,77. Verifica-se que as práticas e mecanismos de governança indicados em códigos de governança corporativa, apresentam níveis de adoção consideravelmente menores comparados àqueles presentes em lei, não sendo possível verificar tendência para adoção de práticas que não são regulamentadas na maior parte das cooperativas agropecuárias estudadas. Apesar de constatada maior adoção de práticas regulamentadas, os estudos de caso realizados em duas cooperativas comuns à amostra do banco de dados da FIPECAFI e do questionário apontam a tendência de cooperativas maiores implementarem práticas de governança corporativa não regulamentadas. / This research examines the corporate governance practices related to the following monitoring mechanisms: (a) the fiscal board, (b) the external audit and (c) the internal audit. The aim is to determine how close the agricultural cooperatives are from the recommended by codes of best corporate governance practices. It is used as the theoretical perspective that the firm is a set of contracts in a context where it is possible the delegation of part of power to the control of assets. Its analyzed theoretically the reasons to adopt corporate governance practices that perform monitoring functions of management. For that, was considered the condition of incompleteness of contracts, the behavioral assumptions of bounded rationality and opportunism of economic agents and the decision-making in the context of collective proprietorship. In the analysis was primarily used the agricultural cooperatives contained in the database of FIPECAFI Better and Bigger in the years 2005 to 2009. The sample was composed of 72 cooperatives for the period of five years. It appears that the external audit firms of Bigger group are less representative in the independent auditors for cooperatives market if compared to smaller audit firms listed in the database. A questionnaire, based on Codes of Best Practice for Corporate Governance IBGC (Brazilian Institute of Cooperative) and OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), was applied and the instrument has Cronbachs Alpha of 0, 77. It is verified that corporate governance practices and mechanisms that are indicated in codes, have lower level of adoption compared to those regulated by law. It was not possible to verify the tendency to adopt corporate governance practices indicated in codes in most agricultural cooperatives studied. Despite most part of corporate governance practices verified by the questionnaires application are regulated by law, case studies realized in two cooperatives that make part of questionnaire and FIPECAFI database, point to the tendency of large cooperatives implement not regulated corporate governance practices.

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar os principais indicadores econômico-financeiros que devem ser considerados no acompanhamento do desempenho das cooperativas agropecuárias. Para tanto, foram analisados 172 demonstrativos financeiros de cooperativas agropecuárias paulistas, dos quais 22 não dispunham de todos os dados necessários, sendo portanto, excluídas, restando 150 observações. As cooperativas apresentam dupla dimensão: a social e a econômica. Estudos comprovaram que, em cooperativas agropecuárias, o desempenho social é uma conseqüência do desempenho econômico. Diante disso, optou-se por avaliar o desempenho dessas entidades utilizando-se de indicadores econômico-financeiros. Para tanto, foi empregada a ferramenta estatística Análise Fatorial, o que permitiu verificar o nível de correlação entre os diversos indicadores, bem como a possibilidade de agrupá-los em fatores. Como pré-requisitos à aplicação desta ferramenta foram utilizados os testes de esfericidade de Bartlett e o teste KMO. Por meio dos testes, comprovou-se adequado uso da ferramenta, porém objetivando melhorar o nível de significância do modelo foram retiradas da análise as variáveis que individualmente apresentavam um baixo nível de relacionamento com as demais, verificando-se melhor nível de adequação do uso da ferramenta. A partir do resultado obtido conclui-se pela existência de quatro fatores centrais formados por nove principais indicadores. Finalmente, por meio das cargas fatoriais obtidas para cada uma das observações, foi possível analisar individualmente três cooperativas e comparar a metodologia empregada neste estudo com a metodologia tradicional, verificando haver coerência entre ambas. Conclui-se que o uso da Análise Fatorial, em relação às cooperativas agropecuárias, proporciona uma maior objetividade na escolha dos principais indicadores, o estabelecimento de um número menor de índices, a avaliação simultânea de vários indicadores, a criação de novos índices que englobam o conteúdo informacional dos indicadores tradicionalmente empregados e a classificação e comparação do desempenho das cooperativas agropecuárias de forma objetiva. / The purpose of this study was to identify the main economic and financial indicators which should be considered to monitor the agricultural cooperatives\' management. It has been analyzed 172 financial statements of agricultural cooperatives from São Paulo state. 22 of them did not present all requested data, remaining 150 observations for the assessment. The cooperatives have two dimensions: the social and economic. Studies have shown that, in agricultural cooperatives, the social performance is a consequence of the economic performance. Therefore, it was chosen to evaluate the performance of these entities by using economic and financial indicators. Applying the Factor Analysis statistical technique it was possible to find out the level of correlation among several indicators, as well as to group them into factors. As a prerequisite for its implementation it was used Bartlett\'s tests and KMO test, proving that the use of the technique was appropriated. However, in order to improve the significance level of the model, some variables which had shown a weak correlation to the other variables were removed, resulting in better outcomes after the application of the technique. It has been found four main factors by combining nine indicators. Finally, through the factorial loadings obtained for each observation, three cooperatives were analysed, and the methodology employed here is compared to the traditional methodology, looking for the existence of some coherence. It follows that the use of the factorial analysis, for agricultural cooperatives, allows less subjectivity in the choice of the key indicators, establishment of a smaller number of indexes, evaluation of multiple indicators, creation of new indexes to cover the informational content of traditional indicators and thus classification and comparison of the agricultural cooperatives´ performance.

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo identificar a relação entre a riqueza criada e o desempenho econômico-financeiro das cooperativas agropecuárias no Brasil. As cooperativas são organizações econômicas intermediárias, que prestam serviços aos associados, satisfazendo suas necessidades econômicas particulares. O fato é que além das sobras, que pode ser uma estratégia das cooperativas a partir dos interesses dos associados, as cooperativas também prestam serviços, como assistência técnica, orientação, compra de insumos/produtos, comercialização, agregando valor e gerando riqueza aos associados. Assim, avaliar os resultados de uma cooperativa e o seu desempenho da mesma forma com que uma empresa, cuja finalidade é a maximização do lucro, é avaliada pode não ser o mais adequado. Identificou-se, então, a necessidade de buscar outra maneira que possa contribuir na mensuração dos resultados das cooperativas. A riqueza criada é uma maneira de avaliar o desempenho econômico e social de uma organização e, é evidenciada na Demonstração do Valor Adicionado. Para tanto, identificou-se a relação entre o valor adicionado produzido pela cooperativa e os índices econômico-financeiros relevantes na avaliação de desempenho das cooperativas agropecuárias, por meio do método estatístico de regressão de dados em painel, considerando 34 cooperativas agropecuárias brasileiras durante 5 anos consecutivos e, realizou-se um estudo de caso em uma cooperativa agropecuária da amostra a fim de identificar qual é o valor agregado produzido pela cooperativa e qual a sua estratégia de distribuição do valor adicionado ao produtor rural associado. Os resultados evidenciam que há variáveis de tamanho, rentabilidade e network inseridas no modelo que contribuem para explicar a riqueza gerada pelas cooperativas da amostra. A variável venda líquida, utilizada como proxy para tamanho, a margem de vendas, utilizada como proxy para rentabilidade e o fato da cooperativa participar de uma cooperativa central, proxy para network são significativas e estão relacionadas positivamente com a riqueza criada. / This research aims to identify the relationship between the value added and the financial performance of agricultural cooperatives in Brazil. Cooperatives are economic intermediary organizations that provide services to members, satisfying their particular economic needs. The fact is that besides the leftovers, which can be a strategy of cooperatives based on the interests of the members, the cooperatives also provide services such as technical assistance, guidance, purchase of inputs/products, marketing, adding value and generating value to members. Thus, evaluating the results of a cooperative and its performance in the same way that a company whose purpose is profit maximization, is valued may not be the most appropriate. Then, we identified the need to find another way to contribute to the measurement of the results of cooperatives. The value added is a way to evaluate the economic and social performance of an organization and is shown in the Value Added Statement. For this, we identified the relationship between the added value produced by the cooperative and the relevant economic and financial indicators in assessing the performance of agricultural cooperatives, using the statistical method of panel data regression considering 34 Brazilian agricultural cooperatives during five years consecutive and performed a case study in an agricultural cooperative of the sample in order to identify what is the value added produced by the cooperative and what is its distribution strategy of value added to the associated farmers. The results show that there are varying size, profitability and inserted into the network model that can contribute to the value added by the cooperatives of the sample. Net sales variable, used as a proxy for size, sales margin, used as a proxy for profitability and the fact that the cooperative part of a central cooperative proxy for network are significant and are positively related to value added.

The main focus of this thesis is on how cooperatives can minimize both democratic and agency costs. In particular, the thesis examines how differences in the level of heterogeneity and member participation amongst cooperatives affect their management of these costs. The thesis is one of the first studies to empirically examine how cooperatives manage their decision making costs. The relationships amongst the key variables of the study are examined in three studies. First, we develop a measurement of heterogeneity based on a \'grouping\' method, with the aim of showing the presence (absence) of a dominant group and the size of the minority group(s). Cooperatives are ranked from homogenous to more heterogeneous based on both cooperative and member characteristics. Five different types of cooperatives are identified. Based on these results, a model is developed that predicts a non-linear relation between heterogeneity and member participation. Second, we distinguish all conflicts of interests (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) which exist at the different levels of cooperative decision making. By doing so, we are able to obtain a more complete picture of the costs of cooperative decision making. We also examine a broader range of decision making costs than most studies, as both democratic and agency costs are considered. In the present thesis, we have contributed to the literature by developing the concept of democratic costs. We distinguish between both direct and opportunity costs for both types of decision making costs. In doing so, we draw attention to the fact that the mechanisms used to increase member participation are not without costs. Frequently, studies focus mainly on the benefits of increased member participation, thereby disregarding some of the costs associated with it. Moreover, the thesis indicates that there are differences in the relative importance of direct and opportunity agency costs: direct agency cost should be a smaller concern for cooperatives compared to exposure to high opportunity agency costs. With regard to opportunity costs, a further distinction is made between costs associated with over-and underrepresentation of member groups in the board of directors. We show that the relation between member participation in the board of directors and democratic costs is more complex than is often assumed in the literature. Compared to previous studies, we focus not only on board size, but also on board composition; i.e., which member groups the board represents. Finally, we show the difficulties cooperative face in minimizing (balancing) both democratic and agency costs. / O principal foco desta tese é sobre como cooperativas podem minimizar tanto custos de tomada de decisões democráticas quanto de agência. Em particular, a tese examina como diferenças nos níveis de heterogeneidade e de participação dos membros afetam estes custos e o controle dos mesmos. Esta tese é um dos primeiros estudos que se propõem a examinar empiricamente como as cooperativas controlam seus custos de tomada de decisões. Os relacionamentos entre as variáveis-chave da tese são examinados em três estudos. Primeiramente, nós desenvolvemos um modelo de mensuração de heterogeneidade baseado em categorização, o qual leva em consideração a presença (ausência) de um grupo dominante e o tamanho do(s) grupo(s) minoritário(s). O modelo classifica cooperativas desde homogêneas até mais heterogêneas, com base em características tanto dos membros quanto da cooperativa. Cinco níveis de heterogeneidade são identificados. Com base nestes resultados, nós desenvolvemos um modelo que prevê um relacionamento não-linear entre heterogeneidade e nível de participação dos membros no processo de tomada de decisões da cooperativa. Em segundo lugar, este trabalho distingue os conflitos de interesse que existem em todos os níveis (horizontais, diagonais e verticais) do processo de tomada de decisões da cooperativa. Isto possibilitou o entendimento de todos os custos advindos destes conflitos. Em relação a estudos anteriores sobre custos de tomada de decisões, nós examinamos uma gama maior de custos de tomada de decisões, a qual inclui tanto os custos de tomada de decisões democráticas quanto custos de agência. Além disso, a presente tese contribui com a literatura existente, quando desenvolve o conceito de custos democráticos. Este trabalho, ainda, distingue estes custos em termos de custos diretos e custos de oportunidade. Em fazer isto, nós demonstramos que o processo de fornecer incentivos para membros para participar na governança da cooperativa envolve substanciais custos. Freqüentemente, estudos neste assunto focam principalmente nos benefícios advindos da participação dos membros na governança, porém ignoram os custos associados ao processo de fornecer incentivos. Mais do que isto, nós demonstramos que custos diretos de agência e custos de oportunidade de agência têm, relativamente, diferente importância, sendo custos diretos provavelmente menos onerosos quando comparados com o risco de exposição a custos de oportunidade. Com relação a custos de oportunidade, nós os distinguimos, ainda, em relação à sub e super representação com relação à participação dos membros no conselho de administração. Nós demonstramos também que a relação entre participação dos membros no conselho de administração e custos democráticos é mais complexa do que a freqüentemente apontada pela literatura. Isto é possível uma vez que nós temos focado nosso estudo não somente no tamanho, mas também na composição (representatividade) do conselho. Finalmente, nós demonstramos as dificuldades que as cooperativas enfrentam em tentar minimizar custos de tomada de decisões (democráticos e de agência).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T13:53:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lidiany dos Santos Soares-dissertacao.pdf: 1260742 bytes, checksum: b6e9e8742ce7ee1e4384cb9557167afd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-25 / In any agricultural activity, there is the existence of practices such as planting, creation, production and even industrialization, for the purpose of disposal of products and obtaining profits. The cooperative model presents itself as an organization that promotes social, economic development based on the union of people aimed at meeting the needs of the group, seeking growth set and not individually. The agricultural cooperatives are characterised by services provided to members, with receipt or marketing of joint production, storage and industrialization, as well as technical assistance, educational and social. The study examined the perceptions of members in relation to the benefits obtained through cooperatives and the vision of cooperatives in relation to their performance along to its cooperative members, having as main objective to evaluate the importance of cooperatives in agricultural market to its members through promotion of benefits that justify its existence. The method of investigation used guided by qualitative approach to analysis and interpretation of data collected and as methodological procedure was employed multiple case studies that allowed the survey data that contributed to the research problem raised elucidation. The data were collected through structured questionnaire with closed questions to cooperative members and interviews conducted by the three agricultural cooperatives of southern Minas Gerais. It was found that the satisfaction of cooperative members is strongly related to the fulfillment of demands financial and technical assistance, being considered as significant advantages of cooperative ties. Although cooperatives studied do not always offer the best prices, both in the sale of supplies as in the negotiations of the products deposited, there was the satisfaction of the majority of members, however, with little involvement or interest in decisions of cooperatives. The results revealed that although cooperatives are ease of access, unaware of the perception of their members in relation to the benefits and little participation are encouraged through cooperative courses and on the decisions taken in meetings. / Em qualquer atividade agropecuária, verifica-se a existência de práticas como o plantio, criação, produção e até mesmo industrialização, com a finalidade de escoamento dos produtos e obtenção de lucros. O modelo cooperativista apresenta-se como uma organização que promove desenvolvimento econômico social, fundamentado na união de pessoas que visam à satisfação das necessidades do grupo, buscando crescimento conjunto e não individual. As cooperativas agropecuárias caracterizam-se pelos serviços prestados aos associados, com recebimento ou comercialização da produção conjunta, armazenamento e industrialização, além da assistência técnica, educacional e social. O estudo analisou a percepção dos cooperados em relação aos benefícios obtidos através das cooperativas e, ainda, a visão das cooperativas em relação à sua atuação junto aos seus cooperados, tendo como objetivo principal avaliar a importância das cooperativas no mercado agrícola para seus associados, através da promoção de benefícios que justifiquem sua existência. O método de investigação utilizado orientou-se pela abordagem qualitativa para análise e interpretação dos dados coletados, e como procedimento metodológico foi empregado o estudo de casos múltiplos que permitiu o levantamento de dados que contribuíram para elucidação do problema de pesquisa levantado. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de questionário estruturado com questões fechadas aos cooperados e entrevista realizada junto a três cooperativas agropecuárias do Sul de Minas. Verificou-se que a satisfação dos cooperados está fortemente relacionada com o atendimento das demandas financeiras e de assistência técnica, sendo considerados como vantagens significativas do vínculo cooperativista. Apesar de as cooperativas estudadas nem sempre oferecerem os melhores preços, tanto na venda de insumos como nas negociações dos produtos depositados, constatou-se a satisfação da maioria dos cooperados, porém, com pouca participação ou interesse nas decisões das cooperativas. Os resultados revelaram ainda que as cooperativas, embora manifestem facilidade de acesso, desconhecem a percepção de seus cooperados em relação aos benefícios oferecidos, pouco incentivam a participação através de cursos cooperativistas e ainda nas decisões tomadas em assembleias.

With the highest representation of female parliamentarians in the world, Rwanda is a frequently reoccurring case when studying the impact of increased female representation. In this debate, little attention has been given to symbolic representation and particularly to the concept of the Role Model Effect. To bridge this gap, the purpose is to provide insights to how the Role Model Effect operates in a rural, non-quota context, separated from high politics. Consequently, the thesis seeks to examine how female board members in Rwandan agricultural cooperatives affect the willingness of female members to obtain board positions. The data was collected through a qualitative field study where 44 respondents in three different cooperatives in Rwanda were interviewed. Respondents were chosen through a combination of strategic selection and snowball sampling. The thesis found that the Role Model Effect required two conditions to be fulfilled before it could be manifested: geographical proximity and trust. If these criteria were met, both female board members and female leaders of lower ranks were found to explicitly and implicitly increase the willingness to obtain leading positions among female members, thus altering ruling gender roles.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第24684号 / 農博第2567号 / 新制||農||1101(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R5||N5465(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科生物資源経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 伊藤 順一, 教授 浅見 淳之, 教授 松下 秀介 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T18:39:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudemir Jose de Souza.pdf: 1056195 bytes, checksum: eeed9c2ff04bf66de796f986e06439a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-09 / In recent decades, studies on the management of risk through instruments such as derivatives have become frequent and many issues related to these instruments remain. Understanding the different classes of risk in which the agricultural cooperatives are exposed will cause financial managers use derivatives and other suitable methodologies for effective management in order to meet the thesis defended by the theory of Finance that the use of derivatives should have preferably the purpose of protecting the organization from risks and not be just another way to obtain results with speculative purposes. This study aimed to investigate the risk management in a sample of 47 agricultural cooperatives in the State of Paraná. Regarding the methodology used descriptive explanatory research with the application of a questionnaire sample financial managers. The evidence showed that the managed risk classes with more derivatives managed by financial managers of cooperatives are foreign exchange exposures, followed by commodities, interest rate and equity not following the same order of other surveys conducted in Brazil and abroad as well as showed that the biggest concern of financial managers is linked to institutional and legal aspects than financial. The knowledge and the management of the risks inherent to the activity in agricultural cooperatives in the State of Paraná have been contributing in the affirmative showing the constant need for improvement in the management of these organisations for the benefit of cooperative members, and consequently, for the good of society as a whole / Nas últimas décadas estudos sobre a gestão de risco através de instrumentos como derivativos tornaram-se frequentes e muitas questões relacionadas a estes instrumentos persistem. A compreensão das diferentes classes de riscos nas quais as cooperativas agropecuárias estão expostas fará com que os gestores financeiros utilizem os derivativos e demais metodologias adequadas para uma gestão eficaz de forma a ir ao encontro da tese defendida pela Teoria de Finanças de que o uso de derivativos deve ter preferencialmente o propósito de proteger a organização de riscos e não ser apenas mais uma forma de obter resultados com propósitos especulativos. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo de investigar o gerenciamento de risco em uma amostra de 47 cooperativas agropecuárias do estado do Paraná. Quanto à metodologia utilizaram-se a pesquisa descritiva explicativa com a aplicação de um questionário aos gestores financeiros da amostra. As evidências mostraram que as classes de risco mais gerenciadas com derivativos pelos gestores financeiros das cooperativas são as exposições cambiais, seguidas pela de commodities, de taxa de juros e de patrimônio não seguindo a mesma ordem das demais pesquisas realizadas no Brasil e no exterior assim como evidenciou que a maior preocupação dos gestores financeiros está ligada aos aspectos institucionais e legais do que dos econômico-financeiros. O conhecimento e o gerenciamento dos riscos inerentes à atividade nas cooperativas agropecuárias do Estado do Paraná vêm a contribuir de forma afirmativa mostrando a necessidade constante de aprimoramento na gestão destas organizações em benefício dos cooperados, e consequentemente, para o bem de toda a sociedade