IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05246932.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives: A systematic literature review

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre Chollet

    (MRM - Montpellier Research in Management - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - UM - Université de Montpellier, Labex Entreprendre - UM - Université de Montpellier)

  • Geoffroy Enjolras

    (CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, UGA INP IAE - Grenoble Institut d'Administration des Entreprises - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes)

  • Iciar Pavez

    (UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes)

  • Louis‐antoine Saïsset

    (UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement)

Abstract

This study examines how the literature addresses the sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives through four key dimensions: economic and financial, environmental, social and governance. As key entities within the social economy, agricultural cooperatives play a crucial role in advancing sustainable development goals due to their community‐oriented structure, democratic governance based on the user–owner principle and strong territorial ties. We systematically review 274 articles published between 1991 and 2024 that address at least one dimension of the sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives. Our thematic analysis reveals a significant increase in published studies since 2018, covering a wide range of countries and agricultural products. While the literature predominantly focuses on the economic and financial dimension—either alone or in combination with other dimensions—the environmental, governance and social dimensions are significantly underrepresented, especially in Europe and North America, and in specific sectors such as wine production. In addition, many studies lack a solid theoretical foundation. Overall, the sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives remains a complex and evolving issue, and this study highlights avenues for future research to improve knowledge and practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre Chollet & Geoffroy Enjolras & Iciar Pavez & Louis‐antoine Saïsset, 2025. "The sustainability performance of agricultural cooperatives: A systematic literature review," Post-Print hal-05246932, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05246932
    DOI: 10.1111/apce.70013
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05246932v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05246932v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/apce.70013?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
    ---><---

    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:hal:journl:hal-05246932. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    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.