This article focuses on the key question for co-operatives and mutuals of whether they can continue to be genuine member-owned and controlled businesses once they become very large. After providing a commentary on current attempts to revitalise member democracy in the UK consumer co-operative...

This article reports the findings of a project entitled 'The participation of members in mutual businesses'. A previous project developed a theoretical model of what makes people participate, focusing on the participation of public service users in council housing and social care services. The...

This article reports on findings from a three year study of co-operatives in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The article asks three questions: why do co-operative sectors need reforming; what is the co-operative reform process; and why has reform succeeded in some countries but not others? It provides a...

Presents a short history of the labour and the cooperative movements. Compares the situations of workers of the organized sector with that of the unorganized sector. Proposes a joint strategy to be undertaken by unions and cooperatives.

<title>Abstract</title> This article provides a systematic descriptive and analytical framework for understanding the comparative advantages of member-owned businesses (MOBs) such as cooperatives, mutuals, and economic associations. First, it provides a short description of two main ownership types—consumer...