The control within cooperate governance. The case of olive-oil cooperatives.

In most cases business success is associated with good governance. The good governance implies that the organization is able to implement control mechanisms that ensure efficient operation. The organizational control becomes... [ view full abstract ]

In most cases business success is associated with good governance. The good governance implies that the organization is able to implement control mechanisms that ensure efficient operation. The organizational control becomes then an essential aspect since it allows you to align the abilities and performance of all members, with the goals and aspirations of the organization (Cyert and March, 1963; Merchant, 1985).

Although the lack of adequate control mechanisms has occupied much of the literature on corporate governance, there are not too many studies in the field of cooperative organizations. The cooperative formula has been the basis for the development of the agricultural sector; this fact, together with its social base characteristics (conflict of interest, lack of participation, etc.) arise several problems that may indicate that either a lack of control or bad practices are being put in place.

For these reasons, our proposal is to analyze the function of control within the framework of the agricultural cooperative model, focusing on the so-called "control strategy", which involves analyzing the control mechanisms that are being in practice. Our study focuses on the case of the andalusian cooperative olive-oil for several reasons: the olive-oil sector has a very important role in the andalusian agricultural production, the cooperative organization is majority in the agricultural and oil sector and Andalusia is the first olive oil producing community in the world. Our goal is to develop a case study to compare how is the government strategy in the andalusian olive-oil cooperatives and check if there are differences between the cooperatives and others organizaciones.