The Role of Proximity in Value Preferences: A Study of Consumer Co‐operatives

Abstract

Proximity is seen as an essential part of the relationship between a co-operative and its members, one that is a source of member value and competitive advantage. As the restructuring trend in co-operatives has tended towards scale and centralization, proximity to the member decreases. Thus, proximity between the members and the co-operative is a major challenge. Still, proximity has received limited attention in both the co-operative and consumer (member) value literature. The purpose of this paper is to begin filling this gap by investigating the relationship between proximity (both spatial and non-spatial) and members' value preferences in a co-operative. Our findings based on a credit union member survey indicate that in terms of member value preferences, spatial proximity has an indirect impact and non-spatial proximities impact directly on member value preferences. Implications of the study are discussed.

The Determinants of Membership in Cooperative Banks: Common Bond Versus Private Gain

“…Byrne et al. () have also stressed the role of proximity (both spatial and non‐spatial) as influencing the value preferences of members in financial cooperatives. Increased distance from the cooperative, either spatial, relational or cognitive, makes it less likely that the voice of the member is being heard.…”

Diagnosing member-customer ostracism in co-operatives and counterpoising its relationship-poisoning effects

“…General discussion and implications Member-customer proximity enables co-ops to thrive, even when other business forms might fail, as in times of crisis (Birchall, 2013;Byrne et al, 2015). This inherent relational proximity, however, is challenged by the core threat of membership "distance", which acts as a relationship poison.…”

“…Membercustomer ostracism in co-operatives While extant literature has repeatedly emphasised the importance of membership in co-ops (Byrne et al, 2015;Fulton, 1999;Kalogeras et al, 2009), and has long documented the co-op model advantages and shortcomings (Nilsson, 2001;Novkovic, 2008), it has paid limited attention to the social components of membership or the view of members on such issues (Bhuyan, 2007). As a result, little is known about core co-op threats from a membercustomer standpoint.…”

Social Capital and Mutual Versus Public Benefit: The Case of Renewable Energy Cooperatives

“…First, by facilitating direct social interactions and face‐to‐face communication, spatial closeness further facilitates the activation of social norms in the group (Byrne et al. ). Indeed, shorter physical distances between actors in general mean lower interaction costs than longer distances (Westlund ).…”