This dissertation evaluates the applicability of Elinor Ostrom’s theory of the commons to other forms of collective action by mapping it on a case study of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia and its efforts to overcome the vast disparities that have long structured the global coffee commodity chain (the “Coffee Paradox”). The conclusions I draw are the following. While Ostrom’s theory has serious omissions, it also sheds much needed light on the struggles of Ethiopia’s coffee farmers to overcome their poverty. Both the design principles that Ostrom identifies for governance rules and her list of predictors for successful common property resource management institutions suggest that Ethiopia’s coffee cooperatives could be in peril. However, by expanding Ostrom’s governance framework to incorporate a broader enabling role for governments as well as supportive roles for civic organizations, NGOs, and social movements, we see greater potential for the success of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union.

Yes / We contribute to research on cooperative resilience by examining how their main advantage of social foundations may facilitate the assembly of resilience capabilities. Drawing from the social capital literature, we focus on the strategies and activities of a nationally known rural cooperative in Indonesia to reveal social capital mechanisms, specifically channeling and targeting social capital, that underlie diverse sets of resilience capabilities. By conceptualizing cooperative resilience according to cooperatives’ dual objectives of economic and social viability, we build an empirically grounded framework that encompasses social capital-driven mechanisms that underlie cooperative resilience. Economically, strengthening social capital (channeling) may result in organizational transparency and collaborative work, while widening social networks (targeting) develops velocity and flexibility. Socially, both mechanisms lead to the emergence of individual-level resilience capabilities. Our study informs business research on resilience by conceptualizing it in the context of cooperatives and shedding light on its underlying social capital-driven mechanisms.

Globalization, specialization, decentralization, and urbanization are changing social, economic, and ecological conditions for forest landowners throughout the United States. One possible response to these new and recurring challenges is economic cooperatives, an old idea being retooled and reapplied, keeping more of the power, control, and profit generated by natural resource extraction and management in the hands of private forest landowners and local communities. Detailed case studies were carried out on four cooperatives in the Southern Appalachian region. The objectives for this study were: 1) to develop a set of potential criteria/attributes/dimensions/benefits by which these cooperative ventures can be evaluated, 2) to document and understand what mechanisms, institutions, and people will contribute to the success of these cooperatives, 3) to document and understand what obstacles stand in the way of these cooperatives, and 4) to illustrate these findings using four case studies and summarize results in key challenges and keys to success. The four main criteria developed to assess the success or potential success of landowner and business cooperatives were economic feasibility, social feasibility, community enhancement, and ecological sustainability. The results of this study show that cooperative forestry endeavors such as those studied here are reaching out to forest owners missed by traditional service providers and outreach programs. They emphasize a different set of services coming from a different set of trusted sources and can build community capacity, improve ecological qualities, and enhance local economies; however, professional forestry, state and federal governments are only marginally involved with cooperative ventures. Additionally, nine key challenges that forestry cooperatives need to overcome were identified, and twelve keys to success defined. / Master of Science

The writer proposes in this study to make a survey of the organization and development of consumer cooperatives in Plano, Texas. Various phases of the development and present status of the consumer cooperatives are to be dealt with including history of organization, financial growth, operating procedure, management, benefits to the community, comparison with Rochdale Principles, and the reasons for the success of the cooperatives in the Plano community.

The word ‘co-operative’ means to work together for a common goal. A co-operative is a group of people who together own and control an organisation or a business for the benefit of its members. A co-operative is democratic, and so the members of the co-operative are responsible to each other. They work for themselves; and together they decide how to run the co-operative and how to share the profits. / This booklet was put together by members of Cope, with the help of Paul Crankshaw (editing and layout), Leslie Lawson (photographs and interviews) and Sue Beattie (drawings)

As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

As cooperativas agropecuárias são representativas dentro do cooperativismo e do agronegócio brasileiro. O ramo agropecuário possui 23% do total de cooperativas brasileiras (OCB, 2010), com participação considerável em inúmeras cadeias do agronegócio. Apesar da importância dessas organizações, com as mudanças que ocorreram nas últimas décadas na economia brasileira e mundial, como abertura econômica, menor aporte financeiro do estado às cooperativas agropecuárias e internacionalização dos mercados, muitas dessas organizações têm apresentado dificuldade de se manterem no mercado. As cooperativas agropecuárias tradicionais, conforme descreve Cook (1995), possuem os seus direitos de propriedade difusos, gerando problemas de governança (carona, horizonte, portfólio, controle e custos de influência), causando conflitos na organização cooperativa. De acordo com a intensidade dos problemas mencionados, podem levar à liquidação do empreendimento cooperativo. O Rio Grande do Sul apresenta-se como um dos estados onde o cooperativismo teve sua gênese. Diante do exposto, o trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a presença e a intensidade dos problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, bem como analisar e discutir as estratégias empregadas pelas cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul e presentes na literatura para minimizar esses problemas. Verificou-se que o problema mais intenso nas cooperativas agropecuárias do estado é o do horizonte, sendo seguindo pelo problema do carona, de portfólio, de controle e custos de influência. Constatou-se que, em geral, as cooperativas que têm os “grãos” como principal atividade de negócio apresentam maior intensidade do problema do horizonte e carona que o grupo das demais cooperativas. As cooperativas agropecuárias do estado apresentam um grande número de estratégias e mecanismos para minimizar os problemas oriundos dos direitos de propriedade difusos, diferindo entre os diferentes grupos de cooperativas. No entanto, a ausência de estratégias para mitigar os problemas em algumas cooperativas, aumenta a incidência dos problemas. Os novos modelos organizacionais de cooperativas podem ser uma forma de minimizar os problemas de governança das cooperativas agropecuárias do Rio Grande do Sul. / The agriculture cooperatives are representative within Brazilian cooperativism and agribusiness. The agricultural line of business detains 23% of the total of Brazilian cooperatives (OCB, 2010), with a considerable participation in several chains of agribusiness. Despite the importance of these organizations, with the changes that took place in the last decade in the Brazilian and the world’s economy, such as the opening of economy, the diminishing of financial support from the government to the agricultural cooperatives and the internationalization of the market, many organizations such as these have been showing difficulties to keep themselves in the market. The traditional agricultural cooperatives, as Cook describes (1995), have their ownership rights diffused, creating governance issues (“free ride”, horizon, portfolio, control and influence costs), causing conflicts in the cooperative organization. According to the intensity of the issues mentioned above, they can liquidate the cooperative enterprise. Rio Grande do Sul is one of the states where cooperativism had its genesis. Considering what has been presented so far, the goal of this work was to verify the presence and intensity of the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, as well as analyze and discuss the strategies used by the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul and that are present in the literature in order to minimize these problems. It was verified that the most intense problem in the agricultural cooperatives in the state is the one related to “horizon”, followed by the “free ride” problem, the portfolio, the control and the influence costs ones. It was also verified that the cooperatives which have “grains” as their main business activity present a greater intensity of the “horizon” and the “free ride” problems, compared to the group of the other cooperatives. The state’s agricultural cooperatives have a great number of strategies and mechanisms to minimize the issues stemming from the diffused ownership rights, differing amongst the different cooperative groups. The lack of strategies to minimize the problems in some cooperatives increases the incidence of these issues. The new organizational models of the cooperatives can be a way of minimizing the governance problems of the agricultural cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul.

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.

Bibliography: pages 608-625. / This study is a sociological analysis of participatory-democratic organisations in 'third world' contexts. Firstly, it assesses the degree of participatory democracy in each enterprise studied. Secondly, it explores whether cooperative development is a process. Thirdly, it assesses the applicability of existing theory in the field for organisations in 'third world' contexts. The data used is predominantly qualitative, though quantitative information is utilised. Qualitative data is gathered from in-depth interviews using semi-structured questionnaires, observation and the examination of primary sources. Empirical information is analysed in the light of theoretical constructs reviewed and practical constraints identified by other researchers in the field. The key construct is an 'ideal-type' participatory-democratic organisation. Significant findings include the following: (a) cooperatives in 'third world' contexts are formed and joined primarily for material reasons; (b) specific constraints include a severe lack of basic education among cooperators, relationships of dependency between co-ops and service organisations, and a 'survival' consciousness among cooperative members; (c) the nature of relationships between cooperatives and service organisations have significant implications for co-op development; (d) there is a relationship between organisational structures and viability as an economic unit and (e) members in different positions in the enterprise have different conceptions of cooperation. The study concludes that cooperative development is a process involving different stages characterised by different degrees of participation in decision-making, viability, organisational development and cooperative consciousness.