Building co‐operative knowledge through an unlearning context

Purpose – In order to build good relationships with co‐operative members, it is necessary to serve each member in their preferred way. However, this task is very hard to accomplish without first being fostered and it therefore requires empowerment by co‐operative managers and not obstruction by the erroneous perceptions of managers. This paper aims to highlight the links between the extent to which a co‐operative possesses an unlearning context, and the strengths of its co‐operative knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – The research model and hypothesized relationships are empirically tested using the structural equation modeling approach, validated by factor analysis of 277 co‐operative members in the agricultural sector in Murcia (Spain). Findings – The authors' results suggest that before intelligence generation, it is necessary to identify new ways of doing and interpreting things, which in turn results in a shift in relations that favour the co‐operative members. Originality/value – The paper shows that although co‐operative managers provide a vital knowledge base in developing programs and better access to services for co‐operative members, they may extend themselves into domains where their existing core competencies are no longer appropriate.