Empower Workers to Innovate and Entrepreneurship: Raison d'être of Successful Workers Cooperatives

Sapovadia, Vrajlal (2015): Empower Workers to Innovate and Entrepreneurship: Raison d'être of Successful Workers Cooperatives.

Abstract

The study critically analyses selected Indian workers cooperatives to find reasons over time of its success or failures. Worker cooperatives flourish in many industries and regions, where decisions are made democratically by workers who also act as entrepreneurs, managers and members. By value creation it tends to provide employment, remains accountable to community. The entrepreneurs are risk takers but who innovate to satisfy ever-changing consumers’ needs succeed through well managed business.

The study has qualitative research design employed on variety of workers cooperatives. It looks at phenomena of business cycle, value creation cum distribution, overlapping multiple roles of workers, management practices, innovation & product life cycle, consumer satisfaction vis-à-vis business performance. We attempts to explore and interpret dynamism of activities and interactions among key stakeholders to ascertain success factors. We find that continuous innovation and entrepreneur spirit is the key to success. The finding may help to advance socio-economic enterprises.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Workers Cooperative, Labour Cooperative, Industrial Cooperative
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A1 - General Economics > A12 - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines; A - General Economics and Teaching > A3 - Collective Works; L - Industrial Organization > L0 - General > L00 - General

References

Bellas C.J.(1972). Industrial Democracy and Workers Owned Firms, Praeger, New York

Carlberg J.G; C.E. Ward and RodneyB.H.(2006). Success Factors of New Generation Cooperatives, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, Volume IX

Dickestein C.(1991). The Promise & Problems of Worker Cooperatives, Journal of Planning Literature, Sage Publications

Gulati G.M. and T.M.Thomas and William A.K. (2002). When a Worker Cooperative Works? The Case of Kerala Dinesh Beedi, UCLA Law Review-V

Nachiappan S. and S.N.Soundara (2008), The Economic Empowerment of Women: The Case of Working Women, Journal of International Women's Studies

Nicholas L. and S.Amy and Hoyt L.(2010). “Sustainable Economic Democracy: Worker Cooperatives for the 21st Century”, MIT Community Innovators Lab

Patel K.V. and S.Kolluri (2010). Success Story of Gambhira Cooperative Farming: Survival of the Weakest Through Anti Darwinian Principle, ICA Research Conference, Lyon

Sapovadia V.K. (2004). Comparative Financial Performance of Indian vs. US Cooperatives, Ph.D.-Thesis, Saurashtra University

Sapovadia V.K. and A.V.Patel (2013). What Works for Workers' Cooperatives? Empirical Research on Success & Failure of Indian Workers' Cooperatives, ILO Workshop, Geneva

Seetharaman S.P. & N.Mohan (1981), Workers Cooperative - An Indian Experience, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Working Paper

Sudarshan, N.T.(2012). Co-Operative Farming: A Case of Gambhira Collective Farming Society, Working Paper, IRMA

Sudarshan, N.T.(2014). Case study of Gambhira Collective Farming Society, Adapted Working Paper IRMA

Ujjwala M.(2006). Corporate-nonprofit Partnerships - Case study of MEADOW, IIM-B

Whyte W.F. and K.K. Whyte(1991). Making Mondragón: Growth & Dynamics of Worker Cooperatives

http://www.ncui.coop/ http://www.ulccsltd.com/ http://sewa.org/ http://www.lijjat.com/ http://www.indiancoffeehouse.com/ http://www.dabbawala.in/ http://workingwomensforum.org/ http://kamanitubes.com/index.aspx http://www.tata.com/ http://www.keraladinesh.com/