Appel à communications sur les transformations de la gouvernance coopérative pour le 14 février 2020

Un appel à communications est lancé pour le Work Shop « Transformations de la gouvernance coopérative » qui se tiendra à la Faculté d’Économie de l’Université de Rennes 1 les 26 et 27 mai 2020

L’appel à communications est en anglais mais il est possible de répondre en français ou en anglais ici avant le 14 février 2020

1. Background
   The International Co-operative Alliance, in The Statement on the Co-operative Identity in 1995, defines a co-operative as an “autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.” Co-operative organisations share values that differentiate them from their investor-owned firms. Human interests prevail over capital.
   Nowadays, a diversity of co-operative organisations exists. Co-ops vary in size, growth strategy and governance. Like their competitors, they develop strategies to survive in the market by exploiting scale economies and accessing new technologies. Growth allows them to influence regulators and the economic environment. The increase in size and the adoption of new technologies lead to deep institutional changes and a decrease in social capital. Weakened collective action creates a loss in member governance and consequently a loss in co-operative values and principles. Co-operatives thus face a major issue. By remaining small, their survival rate diminishes. When they grow, their values fade.
2. Objectives
   This workshop will gather scholars from the social sciences (economics, management, law, sociology, and political sciences) to explore the dilemma between growth and values–what we call the co-operation tragedy. Two research areas will be investigated:
3. the diversity of growth strategies to better understand the drivers, objectives and safeguards of co-operative values and principles.
4. the circumstances under which co-operatives can avoid the co-operation tragedy by linking the search for scale economies with value safeguards.
   Both theoretical and empirical submissions are welcome.