IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/zbw/espost/314369.html

Moral and managerial perspectives on cooperatives: Towards a Luhmannian reconciliation

Author

Listed:
  • Valentinov, Vladislav
  • Iliopoulos, Constantine

Abstract

The recent literature on cooperatives includes two distinct and partly conflicting strands. The moral strand emphasizes cooperatives as a sustainable alternative to shareholder capitalism, while the managerial one problematizes the maintenance organizational costs that must be incurred by these organizations. To reconcile the disparity between these strands, we develop a Luhmannian view of how cooperatives navigate the precarious relationship between the economic function system and the societal environment. On this basis, we show that the maintenance organizational costs plaguing many cooperatives are indicative of an imperfect business case for providing a sustainable alternative to shareholder capitalism. Consequently, we view these costs as a reflection of the heightened managerial challenges involved in pursuing elevated moral objectives.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentinov, Vladislav & Iliopoulos, Constantine, 2025. "Moral and managerial perspectives on cooperatives: Towards a Luhmannian reconciliation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 42(2), pages 411-422.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:314369
    DOI: 10.1002/sres.3012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/314369/1/Valentinov_2025_Moral_perspectives_cooperatives.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sres.3012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kenkel, Phil, 2015. "Profit Distribution Alternatives for Agricultural Cooperatives," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 30, pages 1-23.
    2. Michael L. Cook & Constantine Iliopoulos, 2000. "Ill-defined property rights in collective action: the case of US agricultural cooperatives," Chapters, in: Claude Ménard (ed.), Institutions, Contracts and Organizations, chapter 22, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Novkovic, Sonja, 2008. "Defining the co-operative difference," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2168-2177, December.
    4. Vladislav Valentinov & Constantine Iliopoulos, 2021. "Social capital in cooperatives: an evolutionary Luhmannian perspective," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(4), pages 1317-1331, September.
    5. Sonja Novkovic, 2022. "Cooperative identity as a yardstick for transformative change," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 313-336, June.
    6. Hogeland, Julie A., 2007. "An Interpretation of the Competitive Yardstick Model Using Critical Discourse Analysis," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 20, pages 1-17.
    7. Hogeland, Julie A., 2004. "How Culture Drives Economic Behavior in Cooperatives," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 32(01), pages 1-18.
    8. Valentinov, Vladislav & Iliopoulos, Constantine, 2021. "Social capital in cooperatives: An evolutionary Luhmannian perspective," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 31(4), pages 1317-1331.
    9. Mooney, Patrick & Gray, Thomas W., 2002. "Cooperative Conversion and Restructuring in Theory and Practice," Research Reports 280024, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
    10. Spencer Thompson & Vladislav Valentinov, 2017. "The neglect of society in the theory of the firm: a systems-theory perspective," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 41(4), pages 1061-1085.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Tortia, Ermanno C., 2021. "Employment protection regimes and dismissal of members in worker cooperatives," MPRA Paper 109214, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Bodenstein Fouché, Karel & Polo-Garrido, Fernando, 2024. "Corporate reporting by cooperatives: Mapping the landscape and identifying determinants," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(3).
    3. Wanglin Ma & Sanghyun Hong & W. Robert Reed & Jianhua Duan & Phong Luu, 2023. "Yield effects of agricultural cooperative membership in developing countries: A meta‐analysis," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 761-780, September.
    4. Hogeland, Julie A., 2015. "Managing uncertainty and expectations: The strategic response of U.S. agricultural cooperatives to agricultural industrialization," Research Reports 279797, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
    5. S. Chinju Chandran & S. Rajitha Kumar, 2024. "Industrial cooperatives: A sustainable business model for promoting social entrepreneurship," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    6. Haluk Gedikoglu & Joseph L. Parcell, 2024. "Building Community-Based Social Capital by Enhancing Individual Social Capital: The Case of Farmers in Turkey’s Konya Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-30, September.
    7. Drini Imami & Orjon Xhoxhi & Davit Babayan & Thomas Herzfeld & Rustam Rakhmetov, 2026. "Treatment Effect Heterogeneity of Farmers Participating in Cooperatives," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(1), pages 94-106, February.
    8. Evans, Lewis & Meade, Richard, 2005. "The Role and Significance of Cooperatives in New Zealand Agriculture, A Comparative Institutional Analysis," Working Paper Series 3847, Victoria University of Wellington, The New Zealand Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.
    9. Sonja Novkovic, 2022. "Cooperative identity as a yardstick for transformative change," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(2), pages 313-336, June.
    10. Castilla-Polo, Francisca & Sánchez-Hernández, María Isabel & Gallardo-Vázquez, Dolores & Ruiz Rodríguez, María del Consuelo, 2016. "Diseño de un modelo de reputación para cooperativas oleícolas," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 154-167.
    11. Jozef Cossey & Adrien Billiet & Frédéric Dufays & Johan Bruneel, 2025. "How Do Institutional Prescriptions (Fail to) Address Governance Challenges Under Institutional Hybridity? The Case of Governance Code Creation for Cooperative Enterprises," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 196(2), pages 451-470, January.
    12. Knight, SL & Lyne, MC, 2002. "Perceptions Of Farm Worker Equity-Share Schemes In South Africa," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 41(4).
    13. Gray, Thomas W., 2009. "Selecting a Cooperative Membership Structure for the Agriculture-of-the- Middle Initiative," Research Reports 280104, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
    14. Hakelius, Karin & Hansson, Helena, . "Members’ attitudes towards cooperatives and their perception of agency problems," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(4).
    15. Yaffa Moskovich, 2020. "Business Sustainability Strategy in a Cooperative Kibbutz Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-23, November.
    16. Cornée, Simon & Rousselière, Damien & Thelen, Véronique, 2025. "The environmental benefits of grassroots cooperatives in agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    17. Marcos Carchano & Inmaculada Carrasco & Ángela González, 2024. "Eco‐innovation and environmental performance: Insights from Spanish wine companies," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 595-623, June.
    18. Vladislav Valentinov, 2022. "System or Process? A Meta-theoretical Reflection on the Nature of the Firm," Systemic Practice and Action Research, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 1-14, February.
    19. Chitvan Trivedi, 2010. "A Social Entrepreneurship Bibliography," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 19(1), pages 81-85, January.
    20. Constantine Iliopoulos & Vladislav Valentinov, 2018. "Member Heterogeneity in Agricultural Cooperatives: A Systems-Theoretic Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:zbw:espost:314369. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/zbwkide.html .

    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.