T4 or T7 meso analysis, Stage 3
French agricultural cooperatives are increasingly developing complex organizations which combine business-law subsidiaries operating under cooperative control. More than 3 out of 4 producers are cooperative members of 2700 cooperatives which control 1 out of 3 brands in agrofood. Their economic power is growing, with more and more of it becoming concentrated in the hands of just a few cooperative groups. In 2015, if agricultural cooperatives achieved a turnover of 85 billion euros, 60% of it came from only 19 groups. This concentration into complex groups underlines the increased need for member commitment, which is reinforced by their heterogeneity. This proposal analyzes how agricultural cooperative groups deal with all these strategic challenges by adapting their organizational design and governance for greater commitment and enhanced membership. These cooperatives face unique organizational design issues. The background used here mobilizes economic and management cooperative literature (Hansman, 1996; Cook and Chaddad, 2004; Bijman et al., 2012; Chaddad and Iliopoulos, 2013). The hypothesis tested is in what respect territorial organization could influence better commitment between owner-members and their cooperatives. We have undertaken different cases studies of major cooperative groups (Maisadour, Euralis, France Prune, Kiwi Coop, Agrial, Sodial) in order to analyze their governance, strategies and relations with owner-members.
The aim of these case studies is to present and analyze the evolutions of French cooperative groups, testing the hypothesis that the new organizational design is in response to increased member heterogeneity. We describe groups in various dimensions, in their economic, historical and geographical context. The results show the positive impact of territorial organization, combined with formal and informal governance bodies. The professionalization of governance needs to be related to a clear delegation of member power associated around an economic project.
Bijman, J., C. et al (2012). “Support for Farmers’ cooperatives”, Final report, European Commission, 127 p.
Chaddad F., Iliopoulos C., (2013), Control rights, governance, and the costs of ownership in agricultural cooperatives, Agribusiness, 29, (1), 3-22.
Cook, M.L. and Chaddad, F. (2004). Redesigning cooperative boundaries: the emergence of new models, American journal of agricultural economics, 86(5). 1249-1253
Filippi M., Frey O., Torre A., (2011). The modalities of territorial embeddedness of French cooperative groups in: Torre A., Traversac J.B. (eds), Territorial governance, rural areas and agrofood systems, Springer book. 43-65.
French Report. (2011). Support for farmers’cooperatives in france, DG-Agri, 85p
Hansmann H., (1996), The Ownership of enterprise, Harvard University Press, Canada
