Cooperative Membership and Strategizing in a Korean Consumer Cooperative Network: The Case of iCOOP

Sumi Cho () and Seungkwon Jang ()
Additional contact information
Sumi Cho: Sungkonghoe University (Republic of Korea)
Seungkwon Jang: Sungkonghoe University (Republic of Korea)

Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, 2023, vol. 12, issue 2, 99-115

Abstract: Membership is the foundation of cooperative identity distinguishing member-owned businesses from investor-owned businesses. While previous studies have largely focused on membersÕ motives and the structures designed to encourage their participation in democratic control and economic contributions, our research explores how consumer cooperatives build and manage networks with diverse interests and how the membership plays in this process. A strategizing perspective sheds light on what organizations do and how members engage in the strategy development and implementation process. Cooperatives use strategic texts to represent their identity and persuade their legitimacy. The authors adopt critical discourse analysis to analyze the discourses within the iCOOP consumer cooperativeÕs network. The cooperativeÕs network changes based on its predispositions, which draw on its history and experiences to overcome immediate impediments. Membership facilitates greater engagement among cooperative stakeholders, who utilize strategic discourse to influence other members. This self-referential and self-clarifying discursive practice strengthens the cooperativeÕs identity and fosters innovation. This study thus contributes to cooperative research by providing insights into the importance of membership and practice.

Keywords: Membership; Cooperative network; Strategizing; Discursive practice; iCOOP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M10 M14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://jeodonline.com/jeod_articles/cooperative-m ... k-the-case-of-icoop/ (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:trn:csnjrn:v:12:i:2:p:99-115

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity from European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Barbara Franchini ().