IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/urdbrr/280003.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Cooperatives in a Changing Global Food System

Author

Listed:
  • Seipel, Michael F.
  • Heffeman, William D.

Abstract

This study examines how U.S. agricultural cooperatives are responding to current trends toward the globalization of the agricultural and food sector. Information from three case studies illustrates the extent to which cooperatives’ organizational structure may limit or enhance their ability to compete with investor-owned firms (IOFs) on a global scale. Concentration levels in key agricultural production, processing, and distribution markets are reviewed. Next, the report examines new global strategies being employed by IOFs and their impact on farmer-owned cooperatives. The international activities of three regional cooperatives are examined in detail and data are used to highlight advantages and disadvantages that cooperatives may experience in global competition with IOFs. Factors limiting international involvement by cooperatives include the diverse interests of their members, ties to domestic resource bases and social groups, the high risk levels and long-term nature of international investment, and symbolic barriers, including language barriers and the different connotations of the term “cooperative” in other nations. Potential advantages for cooperatives include their reputation as reliable, high-quality suppliers and ethical business partners and their ability to meet specialty, niche demand created within a global food system. Cooperatives must seek opportunities in the new global system that their organizational structure makes them uniquely qualified to fill. They must also seek member response to questions of international involvement and encourage a spirit of “permanent innovation” among cooperative members and staff. Finally, cooperatives must enhance the potential social, cultural and economic benefits from international cooperation for their membership.

Suggested Citation

  • Seipel, Michael F. & Heffeman, William D., 1997. "Cooperatives in a Changing Global Food System," Research Reports 280003, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:urdbrr:280003
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.280003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/280003/files/rr157.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.280003?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. Condon, Andrew M. & Cotterill, Ronald W. & Rhodes, V. James & Shaffer, James D. & Staatz, John M., 1987. "Cooperative Theory: New Approaches," Service Reports (SR) 280614, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
    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. Bolotova, Yulia V., 2023. "Market Power in the U.S. Dairy Industry," Applied Economics Teaching Resources (AETR), Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 5(2), March.
    2. Dionisio Ortiz-Miranda & Olga M Moreno-Pérez & Ana M Moragues-Faus, 2010. "Innovative Strategies of Agricultural Cooperatives in the Framework of the New Rural Development Paradigms: The Case of the Region of Valencia (Spain)," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(3), pages 661-677, March.
    3. 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.
    4. Stofferahn, Curtis W., 2010. "South Dakota Soybean Processors: The Discourse of Conversion from Cooperative to Limited Liability Corporation," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 24, pages 1-33.
    5. Mooney, Patrick & Gray, Thomas W., 2002. "Cooperative Conversion and Restructuring in Theory and Practice," Research Reports 280024, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.

    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. Jerker NILSSON, 1996. "The Nature Of Cooperative Values And Principles," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(4), pages 633-653, December.
    2. Cook, Michael L. & Burress, Molly J. & Iliopoulos, Constantine, 2008. "New Producer Strategies: The Emergence of Patron-Driven Entrepreneurship," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 44397, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Valentinov, Vladislav & Iliopoulos, Constantine, 2012. "Property Rights Problems in Agricultural Cooperatives: A Heterodox Institutionalist Perspective," Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, Journal of International Agricultural Trade and Development, vol. 61(3).
    4. Thembi Xaba & Nyankomo Marwa & Babita Mathur-Helm, 2018. "Efficiency and Profitability Analysis of Agricultural Cooperatives in Mpumalanga, South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(6), pages 1-10.
    5. Yildiz, Özgür & Rommel, Jens & Debor, Sarah & Holstenkamp, Lars & Mey, Franziska & Müller, Jakob R. & Radtke, Jörg & Rognli, Judith, 2014. "Research Perspectives on Renewable Energy Cooperatives in Germany: Empirical Insights and Theoretical Lenses," MPRA Paper 55931, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Chaddad, Fabio Ribas, 2006. "Investment Constraints in Agricultural Cooperatives: Theory, Evidence and Solutions," 44th Congress, July 23-27, 2006, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil 143259, Sociedade Brasileira de Economia, Administracao e Sociologia Rural (SOBER).
    7. Bijman, W.J.J. & Hendrikse, G.W.J. & van Oijen, A.A.C.J., 2012. "Accommodating Two Worlds in One Organization: Changing Board Models in Agricultural Cooperatives," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2012-015-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    8. Bontems, Philippe & Fulton, Murray, 2009. "Organizational structure, redistribution and the endogeneity of cost: Cooperatives, investor-owned firms and the cost of procurement," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 322-343, October.
    9. A.Allan Schmid, 2004. "The Spartan School Of Institutional Economics At Michigan State University," Research in the History of Economic Thought and Methodology, in: Wisconsin "Government and Business" and the History of Heterodox Economic Thought, pages 207-243, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Royer, Jeffrey S., 2012. "Implications of the Cooperative Organizational Form for Vertical Expansion," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 40(2), pages 1-20.
    11. Liang, Qiao & Dong, Han & Bailey, Adrian R. & Hu, Weibin & Jia, Fu, 2022. "Exploring multiple drivers of cooperative governance: a paired case comparison of vegetable growing cooperatives in the UK and China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(4), September.
    12. Jos Bijman, 2018. "Exploring the Sustainability of the Cooperative Model in Dairy: The Case of the Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Liang, Q.X. & Hendrikse, G.W.J., 2012. "Cooperative CEO Identity and Efficient Governance: Member or Outside CEO?," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2012-019-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    14. Iliopoulos, Constantine, 2003. "Long-term Financing in US and European Agricultural Co-operatives: Emerging Methods for Ameliorating Investment Constraints," 2003 Annual Meeting, October 29 31804, NCERA-194 Research on Cooperatives.
    15. Parliament, Claudia & Lerman, Zvi & Fulton, Joan R., 1990. "Performance of Cooperatives and Investor-Owned Firms in the Dairy Industry," Journal of Agricultural Cooperation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, vol. 5, pages 1-16.
    16. Huck, Petra & Salhofer, Klaus & Tribl, Christoph, 2006. "Spatial Competition of Milk Processing Cooperatives in Northern Germany," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25633, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    17. Chaddad, Fabio Ribas & Cook, Michael L., 2002. "An Ownership Rights Typology Of Cooperative Models," Working Papers 26032, University of Missouri Columbia, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    18. Hadjielias, Elias & Christofi, Michael & Vrontis, Demetris & Khan, Huda, 2022. "Social impact through family firms’ interorganizational relationships within a community and a cooperative: An embedded view of stewardship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 584-601.
    19. Chaddad, Fabio Ribas & Cook, Michael L., 2002. "Testing For The Presence Of Financial Constraints In U.S," Working Papers 26045, University of Missouri Columbia, Department of Agricultural Economics.
    20. Liang, Qiao & Hendrikse, George, 2016. "Pooling and the yardstick effect of cooperatives," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 97-105.

    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:ags:urdbrr:280003. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rdagvus.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.