The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

The Journal of Community Development (Rural-Urban)

Sociological analysis of members' participation in agricultural cooperatives with an emphasis on cooperative principles (case study: Agricultural cooperatives of North Khorasan province)

Authors
Hosein Feizabadi 1
Aliakbar Majdi 2
Gholamreza Hasanidarmyan 3
Hadi Vakili 4
1 PhD student in Economic Sociology and Development, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 2. Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,
4 Associate Professor, Department of History, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
10.22059/jrd.2023.350194.668769
Abstract
Introduction: The main difference between cooperatives, including agricultural cooperatives, and other commercial companies is the existence of cooperative principles, and the element of member participation in cooperatives plays a very important role in implementing these principles. The purpose of this research is to analyze the participation of members in agricultural cooperatives with emphasis on the principles of cooperatives.
Method: In terms of method, this research is qualitative with an inductive approach. Data collection was done using a focused group discussion method and a discussion paper tool. In order to analyze the data in this research, the qualitative method of thematic analysis was used.
Findings: From the perspective of the participants in the research, the factors influencing the participation of members in agricultural cooperatives are: distrust of agricultural cooperatives, low familiarity with cooperatives, low participation of members in agricultural production cooperatives, high participation of members in cooperatives that supply agricultural needs, high participation In traditional agricultural cooperatives and the lack of connection between the laws of cooperatives and the participation of members.
Conclusion: The results of the research showed that stereotypes about cooperatives have a great impact on members' participation. The mentality of people and members towards cooperatives is completely different from the functioning of today's cooperatives. Also, differential participation shows the difference in the amount of participation of members in different cooperatives. Finally, regarding the implementation of the principles of cooperation with agricultural cooperatives, the results showed that the principles of cooperation and the existing laws did not conform to the conditions of agricultural cooperatives in Iran, and these principles and laws in Iran need to be carefully revised to conform to the economic, social and cultural conditions of Iran.
Keywords
Agricultural cooperatives
North Khorasan
principles of cooperation
participation
cooperation
Subjects
  • Hazrati, Majid and Babaei Fini, Umm al-Salma (2012), Identifying the factors affecting the deactivation of agricultural cooperatives using Delphi analysis (case study of Khodabandeh), Regional Planning Quarterly, second year, number 6, pages 91-103. (In Persian)
  • Abbasi, Rasul; Rasulzadeh, Behzad and Abbasi, Parveen (2009), Factors affecting the success and failure of production cooperatives in Ardabil province, Cooperative Magazine, 20th year, numbers 210 and 211, December 2018, pages 71-90. (In Persian)
  • Abera, Y., Haji, J., Legesse, B., & Sassi, M. (2021). Challenges of agricultural cooperatives and their impact on the profitability of potato producers in eastern Ethiopia.Review of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
  • Ajili, Abdulazim; Manjemzadeh, Zohra and Ashrafi Parisa (2009), examining the issues and problems of women's cooperatives in Khuzestan province and their quantitative and qualitative solutions, Cooperative Magazine, 20th year, numbers 208 and 209, November and December 2018, pages 63-79. https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.27835464.1388.20.208209.5.8 (In Persian)
  • Akbari, Hossein (2014), comprehensive plan for the formation and development of cooperatives in North Khorasan province, research project of the General Directorate of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare of North Khorasan. (In Persian)
  • Barraud-Didier, V., M. C. Henninger and A. El Akremi. 2012. The relationship between members’trust and participation in the governance of cooperatives: The role of organizational commitment.International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 15 (1): 63–86.
  • Borgen, S.O. 2001. Identification as a trust-generating mechanism in cooperatives. Annals of Public andCooperative Economics 72: 209-228. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8292.00165
  • Chloupkova, J., Svendsen, G. L. H., and Svendsen, G. T (2003). Building and destroying social capital: The case of cooperative movements in Denmar k and Poland, Agr. Hum. Values, 20, 241– 252, 43. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026141807305
  • Danesh Mehr, Hossein; Karimi, Alireza and Mahmoudi, Jahangir (2021). Institutional Ethnography of Self-Management Policy in Rural Production Cooperatives (Study Case: Rural Production Cooperatives of Kurdistan Province), Cooperative and Agriculture Quarterly, No. 37, Pages 38-62. https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.27835464.1388.20.212.8.7 (In Persian)
  • Dobrohoczki, Robert, (2006), Cooperatives as Social Policy Means for Creating Social Cohesion in Communities, Journal of Rural Cooperation, 34, issue 2. 22004/ag.econ.44669
  • Eisenhardt, K.M. 1989. Agency theory: an assessment and review. Academy of Management Review 14: 57-74. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4279003
  • Faizabadi, Hossein, Mohammadnia, Ahmed, (2008), examining the role of entrepreneurship and adherence to the principles of cooperation and its relationship with the success of cooperatives, summary of the article of the National Conference on Cooperation and Entrepreneurship, Tehran, September 2018, pages 24-25. (In Persian)
  • Faizabadi, Hossein; Basiri, Ali Reza and Rajaei Sadr, Zainab (2009), review and analysis of the characteristics of the country's top cooperatives in 2018, Cooperative and Agriculture magazine, numbers 204 and 205, pages 129 to 146. (In Persian)
  • Fama, E.F. and M.C. Jensen. 1983. Separation of ownership and control. Journal of Law and Economics26: 301-325.
  • Farhadi, Morteza, (1994), Helping culture in Iran, first volume, Tehran: University Publishing Center. (In Persian)
  • Farhadi, Morteza, (2007), Vareh, an introduction to anthropology and sociology of cooperation, Tehran: Publishing Company. second edition. (In Persian)
  • Feng, L. and G.W.J. Hendrikse. 2012. Chain interdependencies, measurement problems and efficientgovernance structure: cooperatives versus publicly listed firms. European Review of AgriculturalEconomics 39: 241-255. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbr007
  • Flick, Uwe (2012). An introduction to qualitative research, translated by Hadi Jalili, Tehran: Ney Publishing. (In Persian)
  • Fulton, Murray E. and Brent Hueth. 2009. Cooperative conversions, failures and restructurings: an overview. Journal of Cooperatives 23: i-xi.
  • Haqaei, Behzad (2009), Factors affecting the failure of cooperative companies in the agricultural sector in Bushehr city, Cooperative Magazine, 20th year, number 212, March 2018, pages 188-200. (In Persian)
  • Harte, Laurence N. 1997. Creeping privatisation of Irish co-operatives. A transaction cost expla-nation. In Strategies and structures in the agro-food industries. J. Nilsson et G. Van Dijk, dir. Assen, Netherlands: Van Gorcum 31-53.
  • Hashemi, Seyed Zia; Fouladiyan, Majid; Mir Mohammad Tabar, Seyed Ahmad, Timuri, Mahmoud; Timuri, Mustafa (2023). Investigating factors affecting the success of cooperatives in Iran: a meta-analysis study. Journal of local development (rural-urban), pages 27-54. DOI: 10.22059/JRD.2022.340085.668708 (In Persian)
  • Hazar Jaribi, Jafar (2013), investigation of the factors affecting the inefficiency of non-use cooperatives in the city of Kermanshah, Regional Planning Quarterly, second year, number 8, fall 2013, pages 53-66. (In Persian)
  • Heilbrunn, S. (2005). Entrepreneurship, social capital and community development: The case of the Israeli kibbutz. Journal of Rural Cooperation, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 111 - 126. http://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.45105
  • Henink, Monique (2012), International Guide to Focus Group Research, translated by Iraj Faizi and Mehsa Taheran, Tehran: TISA Publications. (In Persian)
  • Holmström, Bengt. 1999. The future of cooperatives: a corporate perspective. Finnish Journal of Business Economics 48(4): 404-417.
  • Hong,Gwangseog and Thomas L. Sporleder (2007). Social Capital in Agricultural Cooperatives: Application and Measurement. Available at: www.usaskstudies.coop/socialeconomy/files/congress07/hong_sporleder.pdf.
  • Kara, M., Çendek, S. Y., & Örki, A. (2020). Applications and Suggestions for Increasıng The Foreign Trade Performances of Agricultural Cooperatives: The Case of Thrace.
  • Karimi Dermani, Hamidreza, (2017), Helping in Iran (different types of help, help, self-help), Tehran, Kendokav Publications. (In Persian)
  • Kimberly, Zoli, Robert, Krapp, (2006), principles and approaches of cooperation in the 21st century, translated by Marjane Soltani, Tehran, Payegan publishing house. (In Persian)
  • Laffont, J.J. and D. Martimort. 2002. The theory of incentives: the principal-agent model.Princeton UniversityPress, Princeton, NJ, USA.
  • Lambton, Catherine Swinford (1960), Owner and Planter in Iran, translated by Manouchehr Amiri, Tehran: Book Translation and Publishing Company. (In Persian)
  • Latifi, Samieh (2011), pathology of rural handwoven carpet cooperatives (case study of Hamedan city), Iranian Carpet Scientific Association Quarterly, No. 18, spring 2013, pages 81-96. http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20082738.1390.7.18.6.6 (In Persian)
  • Levi, Yair and Peter Davis. 2008. Cooperatives as the "Enfants Terribles" of Economics: Some Implications for the Social Economy. The Journal of Socio-Economics 37(6): 2178-2188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2008.06.003
  • Ministry of Cooperatives (2005), principles and ideas of cooperatives, Tehran: Ministry of Cooperatives, Deputy of Research, Education and Promotion of the Ministry of Cooperatives. (In Persian)
  • Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare (2019), statistics of the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare in 2018, Strategic Information and Statistics Center, Tehran. (In Persian)
  • Nakoui Nayini, Seyyed Ali; Ali Beigi, Amir Hossein and Zarafshani, Kyomarth (2009). Analyzing factors affecting the success of rural cooperatives in Kermanshah city, village and winter development; 12(4):1-22. (In Persian)
  • Österberg, Peter and Jerker Nilsson. 2009. Members’ perception of their participation in the gov-ernance of cooperatives: the key to trust and commitment in agricultural cooperatives. Agri-business 25(2): 181-197. https://doi.org/10.1002/agr.20200
  • ÖZALP, A., & YILMAZ, İ. (2020). Evaluation Of The Problems Of Milk Collecting Agricultural Cooperatives In The West Mediterranean Region Of Turkey. International Journal of Agriculture Forestry and Life Sciences, 4(2), 311-314.
  • Pahlavani, Misib; Karim, Mohammad Hossein and Ghorbani, Hossein (2008), review and survey about the problems and capabilities of the cooperative sector of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Village and Development Quarterly, Year 11, Number 1, Bhar 1387, Pages 101-129. (In Persian)
  • Regina Leite, A., Machado Padilha, A. C., &Binotto, E. (2021). COOPERATION CHALLENGES IN AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES. Brazilian Journal of Management/Revista de Administração da UFSM, 14(4).
  • Richards, T.J., K.K. Klein and A. Walburger. 1998. Principal-agent relationships in agriculturalcooperatives:an empirical analysis from rural Alberta. Journal of Cooperatives 13: 21-33. 22004/ag.econ.46223
  • Safari, Saeed (2018), the reasons for not achieving the goals of the fifth economic, social, and cultural development program in the development of cooperatives, scientific-research quarterly of the management and development process. 2017, No. 31 (4), pages 63-98. http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.17350719.1397.31.4.1.8 (In Persian)
  • Safinejad, Javad (1989), Baneh (Traditional Agricultural Systems of Iran), Amirkabir Publishing House, Tehran, 1368. (In Persian)
  • Siebert, John W. and John L. Park. 2010. Maintaining a Healthy Equity Structure: A Policy Change at Producers Cooperative Association. International Food and Agribusiness Man-agement Review 13(3): 87-96.
  • Swedenberg, Richard and Granwater, Mark (2012), Economic Sociology; Social construction and economic action, translated by Ali Asghar Saeedi, Tehran, Tisa Publications. (In Persian)
  • Taleb, Mehdi (2012), Cooperative principles and ideas, Tehran, Tehran University Press. (In Persian)
  • Taleb, Mehdi and Bakshizadeh, Hassan (2012), Rural Cooperatives and Rural Governance in Iran, Local Development Journal (Urban-Rural), Volume Four, Number Two, Autumn and Winter 2013, Pages 25-46. https://doi.org/10.22059/jrd.2013.30285 (In Persian)
  • Turkman, Mehdi and Afshar, Mehdi (2010), examining the strengths and weaknesses of managers and ways to improve management skills in active cooperative companies in Hamadan province, Cooperative Magazine, year 21, number 20, pages 111-127.https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.27835464.1389.21.2.6.2 (In Persian)