Cooperatives, History,

and Theories
 Rochdale Pioneers
o In modern form, cooperatives date
from 1844, when a group of 28
impoverished weavers of Rochdale,
England, founded a mutual-aid society,
called the Rochdale Society of
Equitable Pioneers

1844 – 2022 = 178 years ago

Robert Owen
o Owen first cooperative theorist and
credited with inspiring the Rochdale
Pioneers, who in 1844 began the
cooperative movement at Rochdale,
Lancanshire
Dr. William King (1786 – 1865)
o Although Owen inspired the
cooperative movement, Dr. King took
his ides and made them more
workable and practical.
o King believed in starting small and
realized that the working classes
would need to set up cooperatives for
themselves, so he saw his role as one
of instruction.
How does Cooperative initiated?
o Cooperatives were born out of the free
market economy and the many
failures and injustices it has generated.
o The very first documented
cooperative was in fact a reaction to
the abuses of capitalism and it can be
traced back to 1844 in Rochdale,
England were a group of 28 weavers
(27 males and 1 female) formed the
Rochdale Society of Equitable
Pioneers in October 24, 1844.
Global Significance of
Cooperative
o Cooperatives are playing an
increasingly important role worldwide
in facilitating job creation, economic
growth and social development.
Ranging from small-scale to multi-
million dollar business across the
globe;
o Cooperatives are now venturing into
new fields of activity, such as
information and communication
technology, tourism and cultural
industries.
The International Labor Office
(ILO) states that:
o Cooperatives have historically
emerged out of the need to provide
goods and services not accessible
from the public sectors and
conventional businesses.
o As such needs expand and become
increasingly complex, cooperatives
finds more space to meet these needs,
providing services while advancing
livelihoods and creating jobs in the
process.
The International Labor Office
(ILO) states that:
o Cooperatives exist in all sectors of the
economy around the world, and while
they are commercial organizations,
they operate within a broader set of
values and principles, not only aiming
to generate profit.
Membership in Cooperatives
according to Word watch
Institute
o On October 31, 2011, the US Census
Bureau made a lower estimate that
within 7 Billion world population in the
United Nations, 1 Billion people are
members of cooperative.
Membership in Cooperatives
according to Word watch Institute
o The country with the largest number of
individual members indirectly represents the
Alliance is the US with 256 million members.
o In Asia, India following next behind the US
with 93.7 millions individual members. And
then Japan with 77 million individual members.
o The fourth largest number of members is in
Iran with 36.9million individual members.
o All in all, five of the top ten countries by
membership, that the Alliance represents are
in Asia.
The World Cooperative Monitor, 2016
Edition revealed that:
o The world’s largest 300
cooperatives and mutuals have
grown their turnover by 7.20
percent to USD 2.53 tn dollars .
o It is estimated that cooperatives
employ some 250 million people
according to World Cooperative
Movement.
What is Cooperative now?
o In general, a cooperative
comprises a voluntary network
of individuals who own or control
a business that distributes
benefits on the basis of use or
ownership where ownership is
largely weighted equally across
individual members.
What is Hybrid Cooperatives?
o Defined by ICA as a cooperative that
has issued equity shares to non-
member investor (ICA 2015, p. 100).
o Broader approach has been
considered here as a substantial
challenge for cooperatives is the
discussions around “hybridized forms
of governance, where there may seem
to be an appearance of autonomy,
whilst control is continually conferred
to the same actors” (Roelants et al.
2009, p. 73).
Benefits:
o A share of surplus or profits
o Improve working conditions and benefits
o Lower prices
o Higher quality of product, product type
o Variety that better serves member’s
preferences
o Better access to credit
ü Members control the cooperative on the
basis of one vote, with a guaranteed
platform to exercise voice
ü Members invest in the cooperative and
thus have a financial stake in the
organization
ü In the cooperative financial risk is more
narrowly distributed amongst users or
workers
-end of slides presentation-