The Knowledge-based Agricultural Cooperative: A Validation from the Trentino Case

Eddi Fontanari () and Silvia Sacchetti
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Eddi Fontanari: European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises (Euricse), Trento (Italy)

Journal of Entrepreneurial and Organizational Diversity, 2019, vol. 8, issue 2, 46-70

Abstract: The new agri-food market is considered a detrimental factor for the competitiveness and financial equilibria of agricultural cooperatives. According to this view, as a result of market saturation and globalisation processes, shifting investments to supply chain forward activities (e.g., for brand development or for research and development activities) would represent a serious threat to the cooperative model. Taking a contrasting view, this paper aims at demonstrating that the cooperative model continues to play a strategic role in the current competitive environment. In particular, the adoption of the knowledge-based theory of the firm combined with the “open innovation” approach permits a renewed interpretation of the role of modern agricultural cooperatives as knowledge developers and disseminators, for the benefit of members and their communities. This theoretical approach will be tested by studying a sample of agricultural cooperatives operating in the province of Trento, in North-East Italy.

Keywords: Agricultural cooperatives; Agri-food sector; Innovation; Knowledge creation and transfer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L23 O31 O35 Q13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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