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The purpose of this paper is to study the progress of rural development through the performance of a rural co‐operative.

Random sample of 100 members of the co‐operative have been selected. The opinion of sample members has been collected personally through questionnaire and also direct interview. Secondary data were collected from the published annual reports of the co‐operative. The data, both primary and secondary have been tabulated in a suitable sheet prepared for the purpose. Analyzing and interpreting the collected data, conclusion has been drawn.

The study reveals that the rural co‐operative has been able to improve the living standard of the rural people of the studied area, thus the rural co‐operative accelerated the process of rural development in remote India.

The study, is totally based on the sample opinion and published data of the co‐operative. The period of study is very short. So, the outcome of the study may not be generalized.

A smooth and active system of loan‐issuance and loan‐recovery of a rural co‐operative may uplift the living standard of the rural populace.

This research could assist in the management of a co‐operative since management‐efficiency regarding the recovery of loan has been proved in this paper.

Finds that agricultural co‐operatives have not been as sophisticated in their utilization of capital budgeting as a planning and financial management tool as have traditional corporations. Suggests that this may be due to the differences in the organizational objectives of the co‐operatives and the for‐profit corporations.

For many, co‐operatives represent a challenge to existing systems of industrial relations and organisation structure. However, many of the co‐operatives which have been formed in recent years do not approximate to this vision, since they have not been set up from an ideological standpoint. Co‐operatives can be divided into three types: small business; participative; ideological. It is also important to evaluate their development against the reasons for their evolution. Indeed, the new co‐operatives are ideologically diverse, organisationally different, and a considerable way off being the job generators of the future.

In this article it is intended to describe aspects of internal working relationships in small co‐operative businesses which distinguish such firms from conventional companies. Subsequently we go on to assess the effect of such relationships on the work of an outside consultant brought in to advise the co‐operative. The article is based on the work that the authors did with four small co‐operatives in the London Borough of Lambeth during the first half of 1980.

How the Chinese Nationalist Government tried to use co‐operatives as a socio‐economic instrument in mainland China (1928‐1949) but met with little success is discussed. The historical background of the Chinese co‐operative movement is presented, the structure and quality of different types of co‐operatives examined, the performance of co‐operatives and the benefits of being a co‐operator evaluated and the characteristics and problems of this system considered.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the historical basis of development of corporate social responsibility and the impact of this on co‐operative enterprises and member‐owned businesses.

This is a viewpoint identified by years of experience dealing with co‐operative organisations.

The paper finds that the basis of development of corporate social responsibility from the perspective of commercial corporations does not promote an adequate accounting framework for co‐operative enterprises and member‐owned businesses.

Practitioners in different areas of business are trying to make sense of sustainability accounting and reporting in a commercial setting. This piece by one of these, draws on a topical initiative around co‐operative enterprises to raise questions around what is meant by performance in the context of member‐owned enterprises and whether the field of corporate social responsibility has overlooked the relevance of ownership in terms of organisational incentives for action.

The author proposes a series of definitions for co‐operative performance, which are designed to underpin metrics that relate to “member value”. This is offered in contrast to “shareholder value” for companies that, unlike co‐operatives, are owned by external shareholders.

The field of corporate social responsibility is a major user and innovator of the tools and techniques for sustainability accounting and reporting. But it tends to be silent on ownership. However, if different models of ownership create different incentives for action on sustainable development, then rather than just accounting for “how” an enterprise operates, however it is owned and led, there may be value in tools to test “whether” an institution is fit for purpose in its fundamental design.

The paper develops a new perspective and future research opportunities in identifying performance measures for co‐operative enterprises.

The second half of the 1970s witnessed a resurgence of interest in industrial co‐operatives and all the evidence suggests that this interest will gain further momentum in the 1980s. An understandable but regrettable tendency to concentrate publicity on a number of celebrated rescue cases should not be allowed to obscure the fact that some 200 new industrial co‐operative ventures have been established over the last decade.

This paper promotes a critical approach to co-operative studies by contributing new theoretical insights. The aim is to propose a new view on the co-operative firm as a socioeconomic phenomenon embedded into the local contexts in which it is situated. Sociological and economic analyses have mainly explored the relationship between co-operative members and the organization, the economic performance of co-operatives or compared co-operatives with other firm types. Less attention has been given to the co-operative–territory relation, which can reveal insights into members' collective actions, a co-operative's origins from specific social groups or how they establish relationships with certain community stakeholders over others.

The paper begins with a literature review of academic studies that situate co-operatives in relation to community, with a focus on how social capital theory has been deployed to understand this relation. It then proposes a theoretical examination of two fundamental authors in the field of social capital theory: Robert Putnam and Pierre Bourdieu. Drawing on findings from the literature review and considerations derived from the theoretical dialog between Putnam and Bourdieu, the paper proposes a revised social capital-based framework for analyzing key relations and expected outcomes of the co-operative–territory relation.

Reconsidering the role of social capital theory for co-operative studies, this article unfolds a dual reflection. First, it underlines the necessity for research that more closely considers co-operatives' territorial relationships. Second, it critically interrogates and pushes forward social capital theory as a framework for examining the social relations that embed co-operatives and their capacity to activate territorial economies.

The paper highlights the necessity for a further examination of the co-operative–territory relationship. It presents an innovative framework for improving sociological understanding of co-operatives as organizations embedded into their local socioeconomic contexts.

This paper is concerned with the historical record of one business in the UK, which has long laid claim to the moral high ground in the conduct of its affairs – the amalgam of consumer co-operative business organisations, which eventually merged to become the Co-operative Group at the beginning of the 21st century. This paper aims to offer an assessment of the record of the British consumer co-operative movement’s efforts to abide by and promote its values and principles during the first 137 years of its existence (1863 to 1990).

The paper is developed using largely qualitative research methods and a variety of sources. These include archival resources and business-historical materials such as committee minutes and correspondence. These materials have been complemented by several semi-structured recorded interviews with senior members of the Co-operative Group.

The authors develop several conclusions. First, where ethical choices were possible and no serious commercial interests were impaired, the co-operative movement could and usually did do its best to adhere to its principles. Second, in several instances, commercial interests did frequently trump ideals. Finally, the organisational structure of the movement made it very difficult to ensure that co-operative principles and values were adhered to.

This paper presents a unique case-study that examines the inherent tension between commerce and ethics in the co-operative movement.

This chapter contributes to the discourse on the impact of employee participation in organisations. Using worker co-operatives as special cases of participatory firms, we discuss the role of values in organisations and their importance in a business context. We devise and apply the CoopIndex diagnostic tool as a method of assessment of the ‘health’ of an organisation whose members aspire to align co-operative management with the application of the co-operative principles and values.