The system of agricultural cooperatives, collectively referred to as JA, is one of the most politically powerful organizations in Japanese politics. Based on its strong ties with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in government for almost the entire postwar period, JA has...

In the paper we examine the issue of food systems in which farms participate in multiple networks that, for their part, tend also to be members of networks of networks. The issue is addressed through a descriptive analysis of the fruit sector in Emilia-Romagna (Italy). The farms in the area tend...

Accounting information has been employed in many economic-financial models applied to registered corporations to predict business failure. Nonetheless, there are practically no research works that predict failure in agricultural cooperatives. The fundamental elements of this legal form justify...

This paper introduces and defines the concept of collective entrepreneurship. A review of the defensive single-level rent-seeking objective of traditional agricultural cooperatives is introduced followed by an analysis of recent studies documenting a shift in the objective functions of producers...

Since the inception of Pro-Fac Cooperative (PF) in 1960, the cooperative has undergone significant structural and organizational changes. The PF case presents a unique opportunity to examine the changes in the processed fruit and vegetable industry and the strategies adopted by a producer-owned...

This article examines the use of Economic Value Added (EVA) as a performance measure that South African wine co-operatives can use to determine whether value has been created for members. A detailed explanation of EVA is given, and the components of EVA are calculated. The EVA's of a number of...

This paper examines new agricultural cooperative organizational models from an ownership rights perspective. We argue that new cooperative organizational models differ in the way ownership rights are assigned to the economic agents tied contractually to the firm � members, patrons, and...

The present paper investigates the effect of certain economic factors on the competitiveness of Greek Wine Enterprises and Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives (UACs). Data on 41 wineries and 10 UACs of Greece was collected for a period of three years (2004-2006). Financial analysis results were...

The objective of this research is to investigate whether agricultural cooperatives can facilitate smallholder farmer access to input and product markets. Farmers in two case study communal areas of KwaZulu-Natal face high transaction costs as reflected primarily in their low levels of education...