Étude d'un modèle de décision dans la coopération agricole : quand la tradition se change en innovation

Traditionally, the French agricultural sector is characterised by the force of the social and supportive economy. The emergence of mergers or «unions» of cooperatives seems to be conducive to the adoption of the private sector's management practices to the detriment of decision-making mechanisms which involve the stakeholders more. The study of the “union” of two cooperatives in Western France shows in this respect that cooperation offers a framework facilitating innovative decisions, which is in keeping with the objectives of “progress” specific to the social and supportive economy. The results also indicate that these specificities do not prevent “unions” from remaining competitive. Indeed, the decision-making model put forward helps the takeover of the “union” objectives by the stakeholders and thus the sucess of the whole project.