Sustaining cooperative organizations in rural China: farmer involvement in organizing for alternative capitalisms

Abstract

The article explores cooperatives in China through their identity as social networks and their behavior as economic organizations. Attention is focused upon Specialized Farmers Cooperatives, which have emerged since 2000 as voluntary collective organizations for the production and marketing of agricultural produce in Mainland China. The research is informed by a multiple case study research design for the tea industry and presents four in-depth case studies in the regions of Kaihua and Yueqing (Zhejiang Province), and Liyang (Jiangsu Province). A dummy case is included, which is ‘cooperative’ in name only, to establish a benchmark from which the alternative character of three more authentic cooperatives may be evaluated. The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) Principles are adopted in the paper as an ethical framework to evaluate the distinctiveness of Chinese cooperatives as alternatives to investor or family owned companies. First, the organizational structures of different types of cooperatives are explored in relation to their social performance and organizational behavior. Second, internal factors within the cooperatives are considered in relation to their stakeholder relations, focusing attention on the power dynamics that exist. Third, typologies of Chinese cooperatives are developed to assess their alignment with the ICA Principles. The paper explores the relationships between the benefits provided by cooperatives in relation to democratic control, and to the legitimacy of cooperatives in relation to farmers’ self-identification as cooperative members.

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ORCID for Hao Dong: orcid.org/0000-0002-3458-4986

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