Democratic Administration and Commitment of Members of Agricultural Cooperatives: A Case Study from a Prefecture in Greece

Konstantina Ragazou, Evgenia Anastasiou, George Theodossiou and Konstantinos Koutsogeorgos
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Konstantina Ragazou: Department of Planning and Regional Development, Polytechnic School, University of Thessaly, 38 334 Volos, Greece
Evgenia Anastasiou: Department of Planning and Regional Development, Polytechnic School, University of Thessaly, 38 334 Volos, Greece
George Theodossiou: Department of Business Administration, School of Economics and Business, University of Thessaly, 41 500 Larisa, Greece
Konstantinos Koutsogeorgos: Department of Business Administration, School of Economics and Business, University of Thessaly, 41 500 Larisa, Greece

Businesses, 2021, vol. 1, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Cooperatives are democratic organizations, governed and controlled by their members, who are actively involved in their policy-making and decision-making process. The aim of this paper is to investigate the correlation between cooperative culture and the way that cooperatives are governed. To this end, a probability sampling method is used in the agricultural cooperatives of the Greek prefecture of Larissa, which is one of the most powerful and dynamic in the agricultural economy. The data collection was carried out to 100 members of agricultural cooperatives through the use of a closed-ended questionnaire. The findings highlighted that agricultural cooperatives are distinguished for their increased level of cooperative culture and commitment, provided that the conditions for the democratic governance of cooperatives are met. The role played by the level of education of the members of the agricultural cooperatives was also important, thus confirming the main purpose of the research, which was none other than to prove this correlation. Finally, this correlation can lead to the improvement of certain elements which contribute to the optimization of agricultural governance.

Keywords: agricultural economy; anthropocentrism; commitment; cooperatives; democracy; governance; education; Greece; members (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A1 D0 D4 D6 D7 D8 D9 E0 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 F0 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 G0 G1 G2 H0 J0 K2 L0 L1 L2 M0 M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 N0 N1 N2 O0 O1 P0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jbusin:v:1:y:2021:i:2:p:9-126:d:629633

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