The Resilience and Adaptative Strategies of Italian Cooperatives during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Third sector organizations, like the rest of the economic system, have been heavily affected by the pandemic. The aim of this work is to study resilience and adaptability to crisis in terms of economic results and innovative outcomes of the cooperative business model in the Italian third sector during the COVID pandemic. It uses new evidence from a recent survey on the Italian third sector and consists of two main parts. In the first, the institutionalist literature on contractual failures is assumed as an interpretative key in the comparison between the business model, governance, and routines in social cooperatives versus other non-profit organizations (NPOs) interpreted as third sector entities. In the second, we use the new data from a third sector survey in the Marche region, collected in the late spring of 2021 at the end of the pandemic outbreak. Empirical assumptions concern organizational resilience and adaptation to unexpected negative shocks in cooperatives and other NPOs. The results show that, in the management of the crisis, cooperatives are better able to preserve their human capital and resort to layoffs less often than other NPOs. Shared decision-making, employee involvement, and the adaptability of the work process emerge as dominant organizational characteristics that support resilience and service innovation in cooperatives. The main policy implication concerns the ability of cooperatives to play a stabilizing and a-cyclical role during the crisis and to fill the supply gaps left open by other organizational forms (private, non-profit and the public sector). The originality of the paper lies in its new approach to cooperative organization and in the analysis of the reaction of cooperatives to the pandemic.

Positioning Koperasi Melalui Pendekatan ICA Grid Model

In order to know whether a cooperative organization is really a cooperative in a true sense, it is necessary to first look at its identity. The identity of a cooperative is a basic characteristic inherent in a cooperative since its birth. It undergoes a very long and crystalline process of growth and maturity, thus placing the cooperative as a business entity that has a positioning for its members. Cooperatives operate in a space that is limited by their identity and by the rules that apply to free market players such as corporations. Cooperatives also play in a competitive market economy and also in an environment where market conditions sometimes do not apply. Therefore for cooperatives it is important to know where their position is at certain times in an effort to maintain and secure their identity, with the aim of maintaining their existence as a cooperative.

Rebranding Strategies and Performance of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Many SACCOs operating in Kirinyaga County are facing fierce international and local competition forcing relocation to other counties and shop closure to others. Different branding strategies are being employed by SACCOS in order remain competitive in the increasing volatile business environment. Hence this research will investigate how Kirinyaga County Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization’ performance is influenced by rebranding strategies. The specific objectives were to examine how corporate culture revision, product differentiation and business process reengineering influence performance. Dynamic capability and RBV theories will form the study’s anchor. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. Three SACCOs that have rebranded in Kirinyaga County will be the population of interest. The target population was the 172,222 ordinary members and 33 managers. In respondents’ selection simple random sampling method was utilized and in respondents’ sampling stratified sampling method will be utilized. For data collection, questionnaires were used. The pilot study findings assisted the researcher in improving the instrument and ensure that the questionnaires items are valid and reliable. Descriptive as well as inferential statistics were used to analyze data. Standard deviation, mean and distribution frequency were utilized in data presentation. Further, the study conducted inferential statistical involving regression and correlation and analysis. It found a positive and significant association between corporate culture revision, product differentiation, business process reengineering and performance. The study concluded that employees’ ability is supported by well-defined corporate values vision and mission. The study concluded that introducing distinctive, unique features or characteristics to a product with the aim of ensuring a unique product selling proposition is product differentiation. The study concluded that business process enable the organization to analyze its workflows to discover processes that are not efficient and then optimize those processes to eliminate tasks that do not offer any value. The study recommends that the organization should demonstrate to employees that their involvement is critical. The study recommended that the organization should understand the market type which it is competing with, give consideration to what their target clients want from their product which the competing products are not offering, differences in product attributes, and have direct online access of the product by customers. The study recommends that the organization should first define its requirements based on a benchmark, current state, and an ideal future state. Understand what the current performance level is based on the objective and key performance indicators or break the overall process into component parts and set up benchmarks within each one.

Sustainability Indicators: Information Asymmetry Mitigators between Cooperative Organizations and Their Primary Stakeholders

The research aims to identify indicators of representative information on sustainability from the cooperative organizations’ primary stakeholders’ perspective to mitigate information asymmetry. The study develops in seven stages: the primary stakeholders’ selection and training; the evidence survey; the triangulation between stakeholder responses, forming an indicators list; the indicators analysis by specialists; tests for indicators disclosure; and the indicators validation through the disclosure analysis. As a result, a list contains 61 sustainability indicators from the primary stakeholders’ perspective, in four pillars: economic, 20; social, 18; environmental, 13; and cultural, 10. With the cooperative organizations’ websites disclosure analysis, we found that the disclosure policies focus more on information asymmetry mitigating in the pillars: cultural and social, with the environmental and economic being neglected. Therefore, the procedures for disclosing information on sustainability have weaknesses. These policies reduce the primary stakeholders’ reliability about the cooperatives management system respective, limiting the primary stakeholders’ perspective on the cooperative organization value.

40 Years of Policy Evolution of Chinese Farmer Cooperative Organization – Quantitative Analysis of Policy Text Based on the No. 1 Central Document

The issue of agricultural and rural farmers is a fundamental issue related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Solving farmer issues is always the top priority of the central government. At present, the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. Farmer cooperative organization have played an important role in agricultural output and farmers' economic income. Through text comprehensive analysis and policy tool analysis, the policies of farmer cooperative organization involved in the No.1 Central Document from 1982 to 1986 and 2004 to 2020 are sorted out, mainly including the evolution of the name of farmer cooperative organization and the policy support for the development of farmer cooperative organization. Chinese future farmer cooperative organization policies should focus on further improving the system construction of farmer cooperative organization and cultivating talents for farmer cooperatives.

System of Continuous Improvement for a Cooperative Organization in Southern Brazil

Quality management requires from organizations more than knowledge and practices about tools and more than tradition and commitment to quality. It requires a system of continuous improvement which, although it can be guided by formal instruments (standards, models), must be structured based on the application of theoretical knowledge to the reality of each organization. This study aimed to suggest a system of continuous improvement suitable to the operations of a cooperative organization in the agricultural sector, located in the south of Brazil. The exploratory and descriptive study used interviews, on-site observation and document analysis. As a result, we suggest a continuous improvement system based on the PDCA cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), with quality tools associated with each stage, with emphasis on the planning stage, which requires more decisions than the others. In addition, it is suggested to intensify the training of employees and review the criteria for setting goals, in order to create conditions to organically integrate a set of elements capable of effectively contributing to the continuous improvement of the studied organization's processes.

Non-Euclidean Biosymmetries and Algebraic Harmony in Genomes of Higher and Lower Organisms

The article is devoted to the study of the relationship of non-Euclidean symmetries in inherited biostructures with algebraic features of information nucleotide sequences in DNA molecules in the genomes of eukaryotes and prokaryotes. These genomic sequences obey the universal hyperbolic rules of the oligomer cooperative organization, which are associated with the harmonic progression 1/1, 1/2, 1/3,.., 1/n. The progression has long been known and studied in various branches of mathematics and physics. Now it has manifested itself in genetic informatics. The performed analysis of the harmonic progression revealed its connection with the cross-ratio, which is the main invariant of projective geometry. This connection consists in the fact that the magnitude of the cross-ratio is the same and is equal to 4/3 for any four adjacent members of this progression. The long DNA nucleotide sequences have fractal-like structure with so called epi-chains, whose structures are also related to the harmonic progression and the projective-geometrical symmetries. The received results are related additionally to a consideration of DNA double helix as helical antenna. This fact of the connection of genetic informatics with the main invariant of projective geometry can be used to explain the implementation of some non-Euclidean symmetries in genetically inherited structures of living bodies.

industrialization of potatoes and the socioeconomic development of family farming in Lima, Peru

Objectives: To analyze the factors that influence the industrialization of the potato and its role as an innovation for the socioeconomic development of small family farming in Lima, Peru. Methodology: This study is based on different information sources from public organizations in Peru to show that the industrialization of potatoes in Lima, Peru contributes to the socioeconomic development of family farming. On this basis, recommendations are made for a business model through cooperatives oriented mainly to family farming. Results: The determining factors that influence the industrialization of potatoes in Lima are, the use of certified seed and varieties suitable for processing, compliance with good agricultural practices in potato farms and the permissible limits of presence of agrochemicals in the tuber, the adaptation to the normative framework of DL 1062 Food Safety Law, allowing to enter a market that demands food with sanitary guarantee, which can be achieved through a cooperative organization of farmers. Conclusions: The industrialization of potatoes constitutes a business opportunity to increase the supply of processed potatoes through cooperatives, generating added value for small fresh potato producers in Lima.

The Assessment of Commitment in the Cooperative Organization in Nigeria

Limited studies exist on the commitment of members to cooperative business organizations. This study assesses commitment in the cooperative organization and determines its relationship with members’ individual characteristics. Primary data collected covers information on affective, continuance and normative commitment of cooperative members, in addition to demographic characteristics. Analysis of the data shows that cooperative members are indifferent to affective, continuance and normative measures of commitment in cooperative organizations. Gender characteristics, level of education and years of membership are critical to obtaining commitment in cooperative organizations. Cooperative organizations are encouraged to consider the personal characteristics of members in a drive to elicit the desired level of commitment.