Organizational models for the major agri-food cooperative groups in the European Union

Abstract

In this paper, through the analysis of the organizational structure of the 20 largest cooperative groups in the European Union in four sectors (dairy, meat, horticulture and supplies; 80 in all), five organizational models were established, and their economic and financial characterization is provided. In these five organizational models, two groups of entities were analyzed differently: entities which, during their development have created a business corporation (with more or less participation of the cooperative or its members) and entities which have continued with a more traditional model (federated or not); to test whether the creation of business corporations has caused an increase in their size or financial stability, and if it has allowed them to improve their cost efficiency and profitability.