Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Feng, L.
Author-Name-Last: Feng
Author-Name-First: Li
Author-Name: Hendrikse, G.W.J.
Author-Name-Last: Hendrikse
Author-Name-First: George
Title: On the Nature of a Cooperative: A System of Attributes Perspective
Abstract: In the 1950s and 1960s there was a debate about the nature of an agricultural cooperative: the cooperative as extension of the farm, the cooperative as vertical integration or the cooperative as a firm. We revisit this debate with various concepts from the theory of the firm that have been formulated since 1990. Two concepts shed light on this debate: the enterprise as a system of attributes and the delineation of a governance structure in terms of ownership rights, control rights and income rights. We argue that viewing the cooperative as a system of attributes integrates these three views. It emphasizes that a cooperative is a firm in itself, with many input suppliers as owners. The feature of many input suppliers as owners implies that the behavioral differences between a cooperative and an investor owned firm have to be addressed by highlighting the unique aspects of the stakeholder owning the enterprise.
Creation-Date: 2007-12-19
File-URL: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/10886/ERS-2007-093-ORG.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
Series: RePEc:ems:eureri
Number: ERS-2007-093-ORG
Classification-JEL: L2, M, M13, O32
Keywords: cooperative, extension of the farm, governance, vertical integration
Handle: RePEc:ems:eureri:10886