Cooperatives' performance relative to investor-owned firms: a non-distorted approach for the wine sector

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether significant performance differences between cooperatives and investor-owned firms (IOFs) may exist.Design/methodology/approach Based on data from a sample of Italian wine firms for the period from 2009 to 2018, an adjusted measure of performance called earnings before interests, taxes, depreciations and amortizations gross the raw materials cost was adopted to consider the different objectives of cooperatives relative to those of IOFs.Findings Empirical evidence shows that in the context under analysis, cooperatives have performed better than IOFs.Originality/value Despite the theoretical literature suggesting that the cooperative form of organizations suffers from many weaknesses, these results highlight that cooperatives operating in the wine sector are at least as economically efficient as other organizations, and more specifically, they perform better than for-profit firms. Consequent implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Digitalization as a driver of transformation towards sustainable performance in wine tourism – the Italian case

“…Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the situation in the tourism sector (Yeh, 2020). For example, in Italy, which is the most productive country in the world in the wine sector and with other relevant records that set it as most probably the most relevant country in the world concerning wine (D'Amato et al. , 2021; Smyczek et al.…”

“…Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the situation in the tourism sector (Yeh, 2020). For example, in Italy, which is the most productive country in the world in the wine sector and with other relevant records that set it as most probably the most relevant country in the world concerning wine (D'Amato et al, 2021;Smyczek et al, 2020), the economic expansion of wine tourism was sharply arrested in the more critical COVID-19 period, because of the limitations imposed on movements due to the lockdowns.…”

Wykorzystanie kredytu handlowego przez mleczarnie w Polsce z uwzględnieniem formy prawnej podmiotu

“…Więzi pionowe między członkami spółdzielni a przetwórcą składają się z elementu transakcyjnego i elementu własnościowego, podczas gdy w podmiotach należących do inwestorów zewnętrznych relacje przetwórcy z dostawcami surowca mają jedynie charakter transakcyjny (Feng, Hendrikse, 2012). Podkreśla się, że spółdzielcza forma działalności pozwala tworzyć nowe rynki lub zapewniać dostęp do rynków swoim członkom, sprzyja zwiększeniu efektywności rynku czy ograniczeniu kosztów transakcyjnych (D' Amato, Festa, Dhir, Rossi, 2022). Badania największych spółdzielni na świecie, w tym sektora rolno-spożywczego, wskazują, że zachowują one płynność finansową i są rentowne (Zuba-Ciszewska, 2020a).…”

Social or environmental consciousness? Exploring the consumption of cooperative wines among European citizens

“…However, they pointed out the economic advantages linked to eliminating supply chain intermediaries [10]. Moreover, some scholars demonstrated that cooperatives are able to produce positive net economic results [11,12].…”

“…The presence of cooperatives covers a significant part of the wine production sector [19]: for example, according to ISMEA [20], more than 55% of Italian wine production comes from cooperatives, which, therefore, could play a role in the improvement of wine farm sustainability [21,22]. The close relationships that cooperatives create with grape producers may support the change of farm practices, including supporting the adoption of more sustainable methods of grape growing, may enhance positive external social impacts [23] and may increase economic performance [11,24].…”