IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v87y2016i3p433-456.html

What Do Mondragon Coopitalist Multinationals Look Like? The Rise And Fall Of Fagor Electrodomesticos S. Coop. And Its European Subsidiaries

Author

Listed:
  • Anjel ERRASTI
  • Ignacio BRETOS
  • Enekoitz ETXEZARRETA

Abstract

The Mondragon Cooperative Group reflects the effort to combine the basic objectives of business development in international markets with job creation, the use of democratic methods in the organisation of the business and a commitment to the development of its surrounding community. The multi-nationalisation of Mondragon cooperatives entails new dilemmas, paradoxes and contradictions regarding these objectives. This article analyses the case of the Mondragon cooperative-multinational Fagor Electrodomesticos. Following years of international expansion via foreign direct investment, the recent recession forced Fagor to institute radical job restructuring processes, both in the plants of the parent company in the Basque Country and in its European subsidiaries: the French company Fagor-Brandt and the former communist Polish firm Wrozamet. Finally, the Basque domestic appliance company, Fagor, declared bankruptcy in November 2013. Analysing the economical and organizational problems during the downfall of Fagor, and the measures taken to downsize employment in the Basques factories and in the foreign subsidiaries, helps us further our knowledge about the organisational characteristics of the Mondragon multinationals and reflect on the possibilities of extending the cooperative model to subsidiaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Anjel ERRASTI & Ignacio BRETOS & Enekoitz ETXEZARRETA, 2016. "What Do Mondragon Coopitalist Multinationals Look Like? The Rise And Fall Of Fagor Electrodomesticos S. Coop. And Its European Subsidiaries," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 87(3), pages 433-456, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:87:y:2016:i:3:p:433-456
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apce.2016.87.issue-3/issuetoc
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Burdín, Gabriel & Dean, Andrés, 2009. "New evidence on wages and employment in worker cooperatives compared with capitalist firms," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 517-533, December.
    2. Ben-ner, Avner, 1984. "On the stability of the cooperative type of organization," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 247-260, September.
    3. Saioa Arando & Fred Freundlich & Monica Gago & Derek C. Jones & Takao Kato, 2010. "Assessing Mondragon: Stability & Managed Change in the Face of Globalization," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp1003, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    4. Flavio DELBONO & Carlo REGGIANI, 2013. "Cooperative Firms And The Crisis: Evidence From Some Italian Mixed Oligopolies," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(4), pages 383-397, December.
    5. Christina A. Clamp, 2000. "The Internationalization of Mondragon," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(4), pages 557-577, December.
    6. Izaskun AGIRRE & Pedro REINARES & Amaia AGIRRE, 2014. "Antecedents To Market Orientation In The Worker Cooperative Organization: The Mondragon Group," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(3), pages 387-408, September.
    7. Timothy P Blumentritt & Douglas Nigh, 2002. "The Integration of Subsidiary Political Activities in Multinational Corporations," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 57-77, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Emilie Bourlier-Bargues & Jean-Pascal Gond & Bertrand Valiorgue, 2022. "Fast and spurious: How executives capture governance structures to prevent cooperativization," Post-Print hal-03828145, HAL.
    2. Ignacio Bretos & Marie J. Bouchard & Alberto Zevi, 2020. "Institutional and organizational trajectories in social economy enterprises: Resilience, transformation and regeneration," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(3), pages 351-358, September.
    3. Imanol Basterretxea & Chris Cornforth & Iñaki Heras-Saizarbitoria, 2022. "Corporate governance as a key aspect in the failure of worker cooperatives," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 43(1), pages 362-387, February.
    4. Mirene Begiristain‐Zubillaga & Enekoitz Etxezarreta‐Etxarri & Jon Morandeira‐Arca, 2022. "Towards the transformative social economy: Proposal of a system of indicators for cooperative social entrepreneurship," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 457-501, June.
    5. Ignacio Bretos & Anjel Errasti & Carmen Marcuello, 2020. "Is there life after degeneration? The organizational life cycle of cooperatives under a ‘grow‐or‐die’ dichotomy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(3), pages 435-458, September.
    6. Josu Santos‐Larrazabal & Imanol Basterretxea, 2022. "Intercooperation, flexicurity and their impact on workers: The case of Fagor Electrodomésticos," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 607-635, September.
    7. Ignacio Bretos & Millán Díaz-Foncea & Carmen Marcuello, 2020. "International Expansion of Social Enterprises as a Catalyst for Scaling up Social Impact across Borders," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Marina Albanese & Cecilia Navarra & Ermanno Tortia, 2019. "Equilibrium unemployment as a worker insurance device: wage setting in worker owned enterprises," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(3), pages 653-671, October.
    2. Marina Albanese, 2020. "Social and Relational Variables in Worker Cooperatives: Implications for the Objective Function," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 9(1), pages 26-44.
    3. Luigi BONATTI & Lorenza A. LORENZETTI, 2018. "Why Wages Tend To Be Lower In Worker‐Owned Firms Than In Investor‐Owned Firms," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(4), pages 563-580, December.
    4. Marina Albanese & Cecilia Navarra & Ermanno Tortia, 2017. "Equilibrium unemployment as a worker insurance device: Worker insurance and wage setting in worker owned enterprises," DEM Working Papers 2017/09, Department of Economics and Management.
    5. Carmen GUZMAN & Francisco J. SANTOS & María de la O BARROSO, 2020. "Cooperative Essence And Entrepreneurial Quality: A Comparative Contextual Analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 91(1), pages 95-118, March.
    6. Dean, Andrés, 2019. "Do successful worker-managed firms degenerate?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 317-329.
    7. Dean, Andrés, 2024. "Worker takeovers: a comparative analysis of employee buyouts, other worker-managed firms, and conventional firms in Uruguay," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20, pages 1-1, January.
    8. Alves, Guillermo & Burdín, Gabriel & Dean, Andrés, 2016. "Workplace democracy and job flows," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 258-271.
    9. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2021. "Employment protection regimes and dismissal of members in worker cooperatives," MPRA Paper 109214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Derek C. Jones & Panu Kalmi, 2012. "Economies of Scale Versus Participation: a Co-operative Dilemma?," Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises, vol. 1(1), pages 37-64, December.
    11. Guillermo Alves & Gabriel Burdin & Paula Carrasco & Andrés Dean & Andrés Rius, 2012. "Empleo, remuneraciones e inversión en cooperativas de trabajadores y empresas convencionales: nueva evidencia para Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 12-14, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    12. Carlo Borzaga & Chiara Carini & Ermanno Celeste Tortia, 2022. "Co‐operative enterprise anti‐cyclicality and the economic crisis: A comparative analysis of employment dynamics in Italy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(3), pages 551-577, September.
    13. Artz, Georgeanne M. & Kim, Younjun, 2011. "Business ownership by workers: are worker cooperatives a viable option?," ISU General Staff Papers 201111090800001098, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    14. Ignacio Bretos & Anjel Errasti & Carmen Marcuello, 2019. "Multinational Expansion of Worker Cooperatives and Their Employment Practices: Markets, Institutions, and Politics in Mondragon," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 72(3), pages 580-605, May.
    15. Gabriel Burdín, 2012. "Does workers' control affect firm survival? Evidence from Uruguay," AICCON Working Papers 108-2012, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    16. Guido Caselli & Michele Costa & Flavio Delbono, 2022. "What do cooperative firms maximize, if at all? Evidence from Emilia‐Romagna in the pre‐Covid decade," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(4), pages 821-847, December.
    17. Esteves, Luiz A., 2014. "A Economia das Firmas Cooperadas e a Análise Antitruste [The Economics of Cooperative Firms and the Antitrust Analysis]," MPRA Paper 58908, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Izaskun AGIRRE & Pedro REINARES & Amaia AGIRRE, 2014. "Antecedents To Market Orientation In The Worker Cooperative Organization: The Mondragon Group," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(3), pages 387-408, September.
    19. Malleson, Tom, 2014. "After Occupy: Economic Democracy for the 21st Century," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199330102.
    20. Jose Garcia‐Louzao, 2021. "Employment and Wages over the Business Cycle in Worker‐Owned Firms: Evidence from Spain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 418-443, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:87:y:2016:i:3:p:433-456. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.