The Co-operative Difference. Economic, organisational and policy issues

The paper poses the question what is different about co-operatives and is co-operative action still relevant today? Why should policymakers pursue it in development strategies? In what way are co-operatives different in terms of economic theory and organisation theory? And if there are differences in organisation, human resource management practices, property rights and forms of collective action, what are the governance issues to be addressed so as to allow cooperatives to operate and grow correctly? The article proposes a reflection both on research opportunities and on the management challenges of co-operatives with particular emphasis on co-operative relationships and organizational lifecycle issues.