Moral and managerial perspectives on cooperatives
Towards a Luhmannian reconciliation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7169309 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vladislav Valentinov (0000-0002-4247-0364, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies Halle Germany, corresponding author), Constantine Iliopoulos (0000-0002-1770-8270, Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies Halle Germany) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 411-422 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Systems Research and Behavioral Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1092-7026 • E-ISSN: 1099-1743 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/sres.3012 |
| OpenAlex | W4396672704 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 36 |
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
Business · Epistemology · Knowledge management · Process management · Sociology · Business Strategy and Innovation · Computer Science · Cooperative Studies and Economics · Family Business Performance and Succession · Philosophy
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |