Cooperative Management

This book is the fruit of our work on and with cooperatives of the last 20 years. Throughout this period, we have conducted extensive research on the management of cooperatives, many using the research-action methodology, i.e., directly involving teams of managers, employees and administrators. We also wrote many cooperative management cases while sitting on different (cooperative) boards. On the theoretical level, our work has allowed us to develop three key ideas on which is based our conception of the management of cooperatives. First, a cooperative equilibrium model that aligns values and cooperative principles leading to a proper management framework better adapted for cooperatives. A second key model, developed in the late 1990s, introduces what we have called the identity malaise observed in many cooperatives. This identity malaise needs to be understood for a solution to be found. The third key model in our management approach to cooperative identifies the strategic levers leading to what we have named a new cooperative paradigm (NPC). Started more than 20 years ago, this reflection leads us today to recognize a significant competitive advantage inherent in cooperative organizations. The basic idea of this NPC is focused on finding inherent benefits embedded in the cooperative values and principles when confronted with current and future market challenges, compared to other modes of organization. Today, our vision of these challenges is fuelled by the recognition of emerging strategies namely the congruence of organization-employee values, the shift from customer orientation to engagement orientation to enhance customer loyalty, the feeling of psychological ownership as a differentiator and the democratization and value cocreation process. This book also presents several cases studies of cooperatives in different sectors (agricultural, credit union, insurance, food retail). These cases were written over the last 20 years. They illustrate the different facets and components of the three ideas (models) at the heart of this book.

During the last two decades, companies were (and still are) looking for new sources of efficiency, while most industries have reached stages of maturity and saturation. Moreover, internationally available information and communication systems, at near-zero transaction costs, are leading to intensified interactions between customers, and between customers and firms. As for cooperatives, they are experiencing not only the impacts of market transformation, but also pressure on the relevance of their own identity. In this book, two theoretical models are developed: a new cooperative paradigm (NPC), and a cooperative equilibrium model. The combination of these two models highlights the potential competitive advantages of the cooperative organization in response to the transformations mentioned. In relation to the NPC, the strategies selected are: (1) value congruence, (2) psychological ownership, (3) loyalty and customer engagement, and (4) value co-creation. For each of these strategies, three key questions are addressed. First, what are the competitive advantages associated with them, regardless of the organizational form? Second, how do the foundations of the cooperative distinction converge with the essential parameters to be mastered to design, implement and operationalize these strategies? Finally, what are the unique sustainable competitive advantages of a cooperative organization relative to these same strategies? Furthermore, for the logic of action specific to the cooperative management method to be expressed, the cooperative values, principles and rules must be articulated in an appropriate management framework. This is what the cooperative balance model proposes. The last key idea introduced in this book concerns the denaturalizing tendency observed among many cooperatives, which leads to an identity crisis. The two theoretical models cited are highly relevant to the challenges resulting from this denaturalizing tendency. The three models introduced constitute the first part of this book. The second part offers a practical perspective while several cases of cooperatives are included.

Enterprises all over the world are experiencing a rapid development of networked computing for applications that are required for the daily survival of an organization. Client-server computing offers great potential for cost-effective networked computing. However, many organizations have now learned that the cost of maintenance and support of these networked distributed systems far exceeds the cost of buying them. Computer Supported Creative Work (CSCW) is the new evolving area that promotes the understanding of business processes and relevant communication technologies. Cooperative Management of Enterprise Networks uses CSCW as the medium for conveying ideas on the integration of business processes with network and systems management. This book will be useful for systems management professionals wishing to know about business process integration; business managers wishing to integrate their tasks with network/systems management; software system developers wishing to adopt participatory design practices; and students and researchers.