In this paper, through the analysis of the organizational structure of the 20 largest cooperative groups in the European Union in four sectors (dairy, meat, horticulture and supplies; 80 in all), five organizational models were established, and their economic and financial characterization is...

This article is a revised and updated version of an earlier publication2. It begins by looking at the issue of the definition of the third sector arguing in favour of a coming together of the concepts of civil society and social economy - what they share as core values outweighing their...