Governance structure and its links with justice in the context of cooperative organizations

Abstract

Objective: Cooperative organizations have unique characteristics in their processes and control structures. Given the nature of the relationships that permeate them, justice has stood out as the basis of these relationships, given that the organizations involved seek justice when comparing the rewards and costs involved in interactions. The objective of this essay is to present a theoretical model that makes it possible to explain the links between the governance package (PGov) and the cooperative members' perception of justice and how both reflect on the relational performance of cooperative organizations.Method: This study adopts the theoretical essay method, and assumes the epistemological dimension of structuralism, which generally seeks to explore the structure of the phenomenon and, through its essence, determine its determinant links and interrelationships (Triviños, 1997).Originality/Relevance: Despite advances in understanding the role of control and governance in interorganizational relationships (Ding, Dekker, & Groot, 2013), studies that consider the perspective of justice are still scarce (Dhaundiyal & Coughlan, 2020; Su, Zhang and Guo (2020), and who strive to understand the impacts of these links on performance, which is a differential of the model presented in this essay.Results: This study proposes a model for analyzing the links between the PGov, Organizational Justice and its effects on relational performance. To do so, it was based on the governance and management control structures defended by van der Meer-Kooistra and Scapens (2008), in organizational justice, outlined in its three aspects: distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice, addressed by Luo (2007), as well as the notions of relational performance adopted by Su et al. (2020).Theoretical/methodological/practical contributions: The application of the model can bring practical contributions, specifically for the review of the cooperative's PGov and the governance structures to be reformulated (or not), in order to reinforce the justice perceived by the cooperative members. In this way, it is believed that the use of the model will enable the ideal channels of justice to be identified, enhancing the reach of the governance structure and the achievement of the objectives of cooperative organizations.