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The resilience of the cooperative model: How do cooperatives deal with the COVID ‐19 crisis?
Author(s) -
Billiet Adrien,
Dufays Frédéric,
Friedel Stefanie,
Staessens Matthias
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
strategic change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.527
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1099-1697
pISSN - 1086-1718
DOI - 10.1002/jsc.2393
Subject(s) - centrality , embeddedness , business , solidarity , resilience (materials science) , covid-19 , industrial organization , value (mathematics) , corporate governance , economic system , economics , political science , sociology , finance , computer science , medicine , physics , mathematics , disease , pathology , combinatorics , machine learning , politics , anthropology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , thermodynamics
The centrality of user‐members in cooperatives and cooperatives' embeddedness in their community and in a global network influence positively their resilience in times of crisis, as illustrated by cases of cooperatives that acted entrepreneurially during the COVID‐19 crisis. Cooperatives are hybrid organizations that maximize value, instead of profit. They are owned, governed, and controlled by their members. They are more resilient than the conventional enterprises in times of crisis, thanks to their peculiar governance characteristics that ensure member centrality. Next to member centrality, the embeddedness of cooperatives in their local environment and a global movement enhances mission centrality as well as trust and solidarity among their members, local communities, and other cooperatives.