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Resisting Colonization: Worker Cooperatives’ Conceptualization and Behaviour in a Habermasian Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Frédéric Dufays

    (KU Leuven, Belgium)

  • Noreen O’Shea

    (ESCP Business School, France)

  • Benjamin Huybrechts

    (emlyon business school, France; Liège University, Belgium)

  • Teresa Nelson

    (Simmons University, USA)

Abstract

This article contributes to understanding the role and position of worker cooperatives in society, providing a socio-political explanation to their existence as well as conceptual tools that can be used to imagine and implement economic democracy practices. It uses and complexifies Habermas’s social theory and its separation between system and lifeworld to show that cooperatives may act, intentionally and idealistically, at the interface of these two domains. This positioning enables cooperatives to participate in resisting colonization of the lifeworld by endowing individuals with resources favouring communicative action and by redefining institutional arrangements within the system. This article identifies factors explaining the varying degrees of resistance to colonization by cooperatives. It also contributes to theorizing the potential effects of organizing work in an economically democratic way.

Suggested Citation

  • Frédéric Dufays & Noreen O’Shea & Benjamin Huybrechts & Teresa Nelson, 2020. "Resisting Colonization: Worker Cooperatives’ Conceptualization and Behaviour in a Habermasian Perspective," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(6), pages 965-984, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:34:y:2020:i:6:p:965-984
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017019895936
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Dow,Gregory K., 2003. "Governing the Firm," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521522212, January.
    2. Malleson, Tom, 2014. "After Occupy: Economic Democracy for the 21st Century," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199330102.
    3. Hansmann, Henry, 1988. "Ownership of the Firm," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 267-304, Fall.
    4. Benjamin HUYBRECHTS & Sybille MERTENS, 2014. "The Relevance Of The Cooperative Model In The Field Of Renewable Energy," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(2), pages 193-212, June.
    5. Teresa Nelson & Dylan Nelson & Benjamin Huybrechts & Frédéric Dufays & Noreen O'Shea & Giorgia Trasciani, 2016. "Emergent identity formation and the co-operative : theory building in relation to alternative organizational forms," Post-Print hal-02312324, HAL.
    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. Teresa Nelson & Dylan Nelson & Benjamin Huybrechts & Frédéric Dufays & Noreen O’Shea & Giorgia Trasciani, 2016. "Emergent identity formation and the co-operative: theory building in relation to alternative organizational forms," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3-4), pages 286-309, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Devi Vijay & Héloïse Berkowitz & Benjamin Huybrechts & Luc Audebrand & Marcos Barros & Marianna Fotaki, 2025. "Another World is Possible, It's Already Here: A Review and Research Agenda on Alternative Organizing," Working paper serie RMT - Grenoble Ecole de Management hal-05132352, HAL.
    2. Karoline Anita Anderson, 2024. "Cisnormative symbolic colonization and transgender and gender nonconforming individuals in the workplace," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 1-15, January.
    3. Benjamin Huybrechts & Dylan Nelson & Teresa Nelson & Noreen O'Shea & Frédéric Dufays, 2024. "Conform and Oppose through Numbers: Quantifying Hybrid Organizations at the International Cooperative Alliance," Post-Print hal-04818482, HAL.
    4. Damion Jonathan Bunders & Agnes Akkerman, 2023. "Commitment issues? Analysing the effect of preference deviation and social embeddedness on member commitment to worker cooperatives in the gig economy," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(4), pages 1007-1026, November.

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